Versa 4 is showing different distance data compared to my Elliptical machine

[KenS-FB]

I've had my Versa 4 for several days now, completed daily 1.5-miles plus walks outdoors , plus daily exercise sessions on my Elliptical machine. What I am finding is that the mile count is 50% less that the Elliptical machine distance recorded with its 20-inch stride length. This morning, wearing my chest HR monitor that syncs to the elliptical in real time, exercised for 35 minutes, 264 calories and 1.64 miles. The Versa 4 recorded 248 calories, 1972 steps and 0.8 miles

Second, I have used BaseMap iPhone APP to track my outdoor hiking for years that tracks distance, speed and altitude very accurately. I can backtrack if needed in a pinch, plus an emergency SOS for them to find me in the event of an accident etc. Again, the distance in my Versa 4 does not track accurately. Any suggestions on how to rectify this please?

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject

[MarreFitbit]

Hi there, @KenS-FB. Welcome to the Fitbit Community Forums. Thanks for the details provided in your post, I understand where your concern is coming from as you see a noticeably discrepancy on your distance data recorded on your Versa 4. I will do my best to help you with this! 

As a first approach, please note that if you are using the Treadmill exercise mode on the Versa 4 it will use the Walking Stride Length and not the Running Stride Length for calculating distance from the number of steps. This will cause the distance to be off substantially. So, if you are running on the Treadmill/Elliptical, it is better to use the Run exercise mode, assuming you have correctly set up the stride lengths for Walk and Run. However, keep in mind that it is important that your arms swing freely in order for the Versa 4 to count steps, and not held next to the body.

Also, please note that your Fitbit device may not detect the number of steps if your arm is not moving. If you walk with a normal arm swing on the Treadmill/Elliptical, it should count the proper number of steps and calories. For more information, see How does my Fitbit device calculate my daily activity? 

[KenS-FB]

Thank you Maria.

I am using the "Elliptical" exercise icon in my Versa 4, then walking/running at approx. 2.6 - 3.3 Miles per hour to keep my heart rate below 140 for the duration I select. The Elliptical Machine that has a fixed Stride length of 20 inches which also has fixed arm/handle bars that move back and forth with the feet platforms, so my arms move back and forth synchronized with my feet.

If the calculation is based on the running stride length, I will manually adjust the running manually (default 39.1 inches) down to 20 inches and see what that does since I do not run out on the street or trails.

[MarreFitbit]

@KenS-FB You're very welcome! Let me know how it goes after updating the running stride length. I'll be around! 

[KenS-FB]

Maria, the step count increased with the RUNNING stride set to 20" but still does not match my iPhone step count. I even used the step-count formula in a spreadsheet, converting miles to inches, then calculating Steps = (Miles x 63360) divided by 20" and it still does not match my Versa 4!

I went for a walk 1.66-mile walk tracked on my Base Map APP, on my iPhone 13. My Versa 4 logged 1.35 mile? Why the discrepancy?