Surge walk function - not recording steps or distance!

[Ieshabunny]

Hi all! 

Can anyone help me out? 

My surge works fine throughout the day however I went for a walk this afternoon for approximately 40 minutes, and my surge has recorded the time, heart rate and gps tracking (I can see the map and track I walked on my app) however it seems to not be tracking my steps or distance correctly. The gps said it was connected a few minutes into my walk. 

When I got home I realised the distance recorded was 0.05km which is definitely incorrect as I know for a fact that the distance is at least 2km. It also only logged 91 steps, and even though my heart rate was on average 115bpm and was in the fat burn zone for 29 minutes, it has only logged 14 active minutes.

it used to work fine using the walk function but for some reason isn’t recording properly. I’m pretty annoyed because it was a lot of steps to not record! 

[YojanaFitbit]

Thanks for popping by the forums @Ieshabunny, welcome!

I really appreciate the details on your post. I'd like to mention that Surge uses GPS to get more accurate information of the distance that you're walking, so it is not a normal behavior. It sounds like something went wrong, since you are able to see the GPS map but with a wrong calculation of distance. 

Why don't you restart it and give it a try one more time to see how it goes? Just remember to check the start time and end time, since once in a while the satellite takes a moment to connect with your Surge. Read some tips about it this post.  

I also recommend to delete this walk and instead enter your steps manually, so you don't loose those steps. You can check how to do so here.

Whereas GPS gives you a more accurate measure of distance than step counting alone, the actual accuracy depends on both your environment and the weather. You can read more information about accuracy in this help article.

Let me know if you have any other question! 

[Ieshabunny]

Hi Yojana! 

I have restarted my fitbit today so will try again with the same track. I did walk a similar track yesterday again and this time did not put the walk function on, instead I let the Fitbit just track steps, this time it only counted around 40 steps the whole time and it was at least 2.5km which was not added to my total daily distance. Since I have restarted the fibit today, hopefully it will fix the problem for my next walk as I wouldn’t even know how many steps to log manually since it’s only managing to log 40 steps the whole time. 

I did check the start and finish time which in fact was correct so I have no idea what went wrong. Could it be because the fitbit is a few years old? It says that it is up to date on my computer. 

Thanks for your reply!

[AndreaFitbit]

I apologize for the delayed response and thank you for getting back to us and for letting us know about the steps you have followed and the result of your try @Ieshabunny. 

Was your issue resolved after restarting your device? How old is your Fitbit, it should work properly despite of its age. 

I'll be waiting for your response. 

[Ieshabunny]

Hi @AndreaFitbit ,

i have restarted the Fitbit twice and tried out the walk function both times to see what would happen. The first time didn’t work at all - it had the same issue so I had to manually log my walk. 

The second time was today. I decided to use map my walk on my iPhone at the same time to see whether it would be at least similar. 

There was a huge difference in the results, map my walk recorded 2.95km whereas my Fitbit recorded 1.77km. It also only recorded 2054 steps which should have been at least 5000 steps (according to my stride length). 

The recorded route on both Fitbit and map my walk are exactly the same. 

I honestly dont know what’s is wrong with it. 

Also, my Fitbit is approximately 5 years old. 

Thanks  

Moderator edit: updated post.

[AndreaFitbit]

I apologize for the delayed response and thank you for getting back to us @Ieshabunny. I appreciate the steps you have taken in order to resolve your activities record issue.

Factors such as device placement, dominant or non-dominant hand, and stride length affect the number of steps recorded. If you're pushing a stroller or shopping cart, try putting your wrist-based device in your pocket or use GPS if possible.

Please try to perform a step accuracy test in order to determine if it's the step count what is not working properly: 

1. Put your device on your wrist.

2. Walk 100 steps, making sure to count a step each time one of your feet hits the ground.

3. Pause, then check your device to see your step count.

If your device counted more or less than 100 steps, restart the device and try the step test again. 

How do you wear your device? Do you stop while performing it?

I'll be waiting for your responses.

[Ieshabunny]

hi @AndreaFitbit 

i have done as you requested and the step count is correct when doing the 100 step test. 

the problem is when i have the "walk" function on, it records distance, speed and steps incorrectly. 

I have gone on a walk today with the "walk" function on.

It is using GPS (i make sure it is connected before i leave) and has mapped the track correctly - but as you can see in the photos i have attached, I have synced the Fitbit to my phone and the distance says 0.27km. I know for a fact that it is approximately 3km.

It has recorded 525 steps - I would have to have a stride length of over 5 metres for this to make sense. 

And it did not record the pace at which I am walking at all.

I wear my device on my wrist as I always have. I have not had this issue in the past - it has only started to happen in the last few weeks. 

Thank you 

Iesha

[YojanaFitbit]

Thanks for getting back @Ieshabunny. Thanks for all the details on your post and for the pictures attached. Sorry for the time it took me to responde, I hope you're doing great.

This is not a normal behavior from the Surge. Every walk might be slightly different in regards to steps and distance since we not always walk exactly in the same way and on the same path. But these are too many steps and kilometers.

You mentioned that you've performed the restart on your Surge, that should be helping your Surge internally too. Let's forget your Surge from the Fitbit App > Dashboard > Surge > Remove. Then remove it from your phone's Bluetooth and pair it as a new device. Try again the restart before connecting it with your phone. Then please try the same path so we can test your Surge.

At least 24 GPS satellites are constantly in orbit around the Earth and broadcasting data. All GPS devices, whether your phone or a Fitbit device, require a direct path to these satellites in order to receive their radio transmissions. If the signal is blocked either because you're underground, near many tall buildings, or as a result of atmospheric effects GPS won't work. While GPS gives you a more accurate measure of distance than step counting alone, in this case we need to confirm if this feature is still working or if these discrepancies are been caused by the environment and the weather.

Would you be so kind to do a walk with your phone's GPS to test the accuracy of both options? Please follow the steps here to use the option Mobile Run. 

I really appreciate your time. Thanks for trying those steps, I know how important it is for you to have all your walks with accurate stats.

I'll be around.