Fitbit not keeping track of steps

[klasscat]

I got this Surge for mother's day gift, and tried for a month, but it does not track the steps I do walk or run on my manual treadmills which I need to hold onto the handle bar to push the roller going with my own legs pushing the floor base. For electric treadmills you can swing your arms while running or walking but without any arm swing motion, my hard work of walking or running steps are not recorded. I thought this devise will auomatically catch the body movement as steps not just arm swing. How do you make Surge count my steps while holding onto this handle bars? I don't understand why they record steps by arm swings, if this whole things count as arm swings as steps, the screen should say how many arm swings, instead of how many steps you did today!!!!.

Also I did hike up Mt. Wilson by Sierra Madre, CA which took over 12 hours of hike but this surge quit when I reached the top of Wilson which was about 5-6 hours from starting the climb of this mountain. Basically any Exercise setting for "Hike", it will not record more than 5 hours of HIKE!!!! It will use up all the juice of battery because using GPS funcition? The reason I got this Surge was to use for my hike to see how many distance I hiked, how may elevation gain I made, how many hours of hike I did. Web page of product informaiton for Surge says it will record all those, but it will not work if more than 5 hours of hike??? I charged the battery full the night before to do this long hike of 16 miles hike. 

Should I put my Surge on my ancle to get accurate steps when I do manual treadmills? And of course, as for regular walking, if your arm which has this devise is in the pocket or holding dog leash, it will not count steps eitgher. I wish I can return this products and get different products. 

[Julia_G · Accepted solution]

Hi, @klasscat, all Fitbits have 3 accelerometers built in.  They are definitely not just counting arm swings. However on a treadmill there is an extra issue, because the accelerometers are also designed to detect forward motion.  In that case the combination of no forward motion and no arm swing if you are holding on does create an extra challenge.  You could experiment with putting your Surge in your pocket while on the treadmill and see if that gives you better results.

I definitely find my Surge will count steps even if my hand is in my pocket.  

As for battery, originally the Surge would only last for up to 5 hours with GPS on.  However an update towards the end of 2015 extended the battery to up to 10 hours.  I haven't tested mine on walks longer than 5 hours, but I will say that my Surge outlasts both my Microsoft Band 2 and my Garmin GPS watch.

If you have had your Surge for less than 45 days and it was bought from Fitbit you can return it.  If bought from somewhere else you will need to consult their return policy.  

If you want it for GPS only really long hikes you might find that the Blaze works better for you.  You will still have the treadmill issue, but because it uses your phone's GPS the battery will last much longer.