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Recording steps when driving

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My surge records lots of steps when I am driving vehicles. This can sometimes double my steps. I have already sent my Garmin back for doing the same. If this can not be corrected, should I do the same with my Surge?
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Hi @Strong5961.  As you've learned, this is not a problem unique to fitbit, and probably not your particular Surge.  In my experience all wristbased trackers can pick up false steps when driving.  This is because the tracker detects the road vibrations as movement.  The more vibration there is, the more likely the tracker is to pick up false steps.  That means you are more likely to see steps if you are the driver than if you are a passenger (because your hands are on the steering column).  If you really want to see the step count climb, try riding a big vibrating motorcycle!

 

There are a couple things you can do to minimize the problem.  First, restart your Surge.  (It is basically a computer and lots of computer problems get fixed through a restart).  Then try the "dominate hand" setting whether you have it on your dominate hand or not (to do so, log into your fitbit.com dashboard, click the gear icon in the top right, and go to Settings > Devices).  This makes the tracker less sensitive (though it may miss some real steps when you do this).  Finally, if still think you are getting too many steps while driving, you can enter a "driving activity" for the duration of the trip and that will delete the steps recorded for that time period.  

 

Personally, I just don't worry about it.  Although some steps may be recorded while driving, your heartrate doesn't increase like it would when you are really exercising, and your Surge will interpret the effort as minimal and not give you much calorie credit for the activity.  (You can test this theory by checking your total calorie burn just before entering the drive activity to see how much it goes down after the drive activity is applied).

 

Hopefully all this helps.  Let us know!  And go do a run or a bike ride today and enjoy your Surge!

Scott | Baltimore MD

Charge 6; Inspire 3; Luxe; iPhone 13 Pro

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I've started using DriveBit to stop this happening on my surge. Early impressions are it seems to do what it says.

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