Inconsistent tracking when running between surge and synched results

[RunningMamaG]

Is anyone else having issues where during a run the Surge is telling different pace and difference to when you then synch the activity at completion?

I'm not talking a couple of secs or metres difference either.

Over a 15 km run the difference was 400m in length of run whilst the avg pace diff was 6.54 on watch and 7.04 on app. Plus the individual km splits are all off too.

Help!

[MariamV]

Thanks for taking a break from stepping to visit the Community @RunningMamaG! Try a restart by doing the following:

1. Press and hold the Home and Select buttons (left and bottom right) on your Fitbit Surge for 10 to 15 seconds, until you see the screen flash or start to dim.
2. Let go of the buttons.
3. After your screen turns completely off, wait 10 seconds and press the Home button to turn your Surge back on.

After the restart, please keep an eye to your tracker's behavior and post back if you notice this happens again. If possible post me a screenshot of the issue. Also, do let me know if this thread relates to what you are currently experiencing with your Surge. I'll be looking forward to your new comments. 

[RunningMamaG]

Hi MiriamFitBit!

No that thread is not what is happenning to me! I still get the map and the
distance - they are just all different.
I've logged an issue with support on this also and will be providing them
with a screenshot from my surge of my run and then my tracked/synched run.

RunningMamaG.

[MariamV]

Thanks for getting back to me, @RunningMamaG! Contacting our Support Team was a good idea indeed. It sounds pretty weird. Thanks a million for bringing this up to my attention! I think it's great that you'll be posting them with a screenshot from your Surge of your run and then your tracked/synced run; that shall help them to narrow down what could the issue be.

Good luck and keep me posted! 

[RunningMamaG]

Unfortunately I got a really dumb response back from the person who
reviewed the results I sent and told me to adjust my stride length in the
tracker.
1) Isn't my tracker ( a surge ) suppposed to use GPS for in run stats?
2) The actual issue is the fact that the synched results all post short (
and I know they are short as I am wearing a Garmin too to measure the
actual distance).

I am really frustrated and just about ready to turf the surge and sell it
to someone who isn't as much in need of ACCURATE information ( I'm training
for a 1/2 marathon and the pace stuff is really important to the training I
am doing).

Sonia.

[MariamV]

@RunningMamaG Thanks for getting back to  me! I'll do my best to answer your questions here:

1. Yes, when you're tracking an activity with GPS, your Surge calculates your distance using GPS data rather than steps. If you begin moving before you get a GPS signal, your Surge will calculate distance using steps and stride length (better to be updated ) until a GPS signal is found. So you might want to verify that your stride length has been updated.
2. I notice that you are comparing your Fitbit stats with a Garmin; the results will always vary as these are different devices using different technologies. For example, your Surge calculate distance by multiplying your walking steps by your walking stride length and multiplying your running steps by your running stride length. We estimate your stride lengths using your height and gender. If you feel like your tracker is under counting your steps hence your distance then it's important to specify whether you wear the tracker on your dominant or non-dominant wrist. However, the non-dominant wrist setting increases the sensitivity of step counting and should reduce any under counting of steps and this is the default setting.

Wow, half marathon is pretty amazing! I'm sure you're training hard. Way to go!  Have you tried restarting your tracker? If you have, then keep an eye to its behavior and post back with the results! 

[RunningMamaG]

As I keep trying to tell people - the issue is NOT with the tracker but
with the synched results.

I have measured routes using mapping tools, run with a garmin to confirm
the distance - check the distance with other runners as well as with the
surge. All are in similar BUT when I synch my results back to the app the
distance is way off.

I am finding this to be a very frustrating experience.

[MariamV · Accepted solution]

@RunningMamaG So sorry for any frustration and confusion here.  At this point, the best course of action would be to follow up with the support team, they should be able to investigate this further for you! 

Once again, thanks for bringing this up to my attention! 

[RunningMamaG]

Thanks Mariam.

Not getting a lot of love in terms of getting a response from your support
team to my emails.
Have just sent another one to follow up.

RunningMamaG

[MariamV]

@RunningMamaG I see. I'm sure they won't take long to get back to you. Let me know how it went! 

I'll be looking forward to your new comments!