Fitbit Sending Wrong Information to Strava

[JamesLB88]

Hi,

I'm hoping someone can help.

I very recently got a Fitbit Charge 4.

Up until now I've used Strava to log my runs, using the GPS on my iPhone 8 (which is surprisingly more accurate than my wife's iPhone 11, heres gives her a squigly line and she finishes her 5k run a few hundred meters sooner than me).

I've logged 2 runs with the Fitbit Charge 4 - and both have given one set of times, splits and distances. The run then gets sent to Strava, and the time, splits, and distance are completely different numbers!

Yesterday I logged the run using the fitbit app on my iPhone. The run information was almost identical on Strava (I didn't log it on Strava, I left fitbit to automatically sync the run), but Strava gave me a slightly quicker pace and time.

Today - I logged a 5k run using the Charge 4 device itself. The information went through the iPhone fitbit app fine. Then was instantly sent to Strava - but Strava was 300 meters shorter on distance, 3 seconds slower on total time, and a significantly slower pace.

I tried deleting the entry, then downloading the exercise file from Fitbit and manually uploading the file to Strava - but it came through with the same information again, 300 meters shorter etc.

Whats going on here?

Cheers,

James

[SilviaFitbit]

@JamesLB88 Welcome to the Community. Sorry for the delayed reply.

I appreciate that you mentioned you have a Charge 4 and using it with Strava. Thanks for manually uploading the file to Strava. 

All devices with GPS sensors require a direct path to GPS satellites to calculate location. A weak GPS signal might affect the accuracy of your route and other activity data. Your device uses your step count to calculate distance until it finds a signal, so the total distance calculated for a workout may be slightly less accurate when GPS isn't available for the entire time. 

Please check these tips to make sure your GPS isn't lost while exercising: 

- Confirm your Charge 4 is charged to at least 80%

- Make sure that you have a clear view of the sky when you start the exercise. Environmental factors, including tall buildings, dense forest, steep hills, and even thick cloud cover, can interfere with your device’s ability to connect to GPS satellites. If the signal is blocked—either because you're indoors, underground, or due to another reason—GPS won't work. 

- Avoid trying to start an exercise with GPS several times in a row, which can prevent your device from connecting to GPS.

Once you've checked this, please try tracking another activity and check the data tracked. Each device will use different algorithms to track stats, it's better if you compare yesterday's Charge 4 data to today for example. 

Let me know the outcome.