Steps overnight

[Martini06]

I pre-ordered my Fitbit Versa and got it a few days before it launched. Up until a few days ago everything was perfect with it. 

Lately, however, when I don’t wear it to sleep it gives me 30k - 40k steps overnight. I have tried to turn it off at night and that helps but if I  don’t turn it off it happens again. 

I called customer service and they just told me to reset it and see if it works. Not very helpful to be honest. 

Has anyone else had this problem / found a solution for this? 

Thank you! 

[Baltoscott · Accepted solution]

Hi @Martini06

Restarting the tracker is always a good first troubleshooting step.  Sorry that didn't seem to work.

Have you checked your activity list to see if you have any activities recorded during the time period the steps are recorded.  If there is an activity, what does it say?

I have a couple apps linked to my fitbit account (Strava and MyFitnessPal) that migrate activities recorded there to my fitbit account.  I recently had near 100K step day because Strava recorded a 58 mile car trip as a hike (I actually started a hike in Strava, but didn't turn tracking off when I got in the car to go home).  Anyway, the next time Strava and Fitbit synced, Fitbit translated the 58 miles into steps based on my stride-length.  I just deleted the activity and everything when back to normal.

One other thought:  Some users who have reported putting their fitbits on nightstand and getting a lot of unearned steps have said it turned out to be vibration from a table fan.  

Hope this helps you troubleshoot what it going on.  Let us know.

[Martini06]

Hi! Thank you for you message. @Baltoscott

I think it might be related more to the vibrations of my humidifier? Maybe.

I have no other apps linked to my Fitbit and I was sleeping when the steps happened so nothing else was being tracked, not even on my phone. 

I will try placing it elsewhere overnight and see what happens.

Thanks again for your answer I hadn’t thought of the vibrations possibility. 

I will follow up on this. 

[Baltoscott]

The humidifier sounds like a possibility @Martini06.  

I'm still curious if anything shows up on your activity list.

Hope you get it figured out.

BTW, why not wear it to bed?  No interest in your sleep records, or resting heart rate?

[Martini06]

Oh no, nothing shows in my activity. Only the steps. No extra calories, miles, nothing else. 

I wore it to sleep a few nights but I’m not really interested in that anymore mostly because it’s really uncomfortable for me to have it on while sleeping. 

Will keep you posted tomorrow. 

[Martini06]

Hi @Baltoscott so here’s the update 

I think you were absolutely right about the vibrations of the humidifier making my Fitbit get steps overnight. It hasn’t happened again. 

Thank you so much for your help! 

[geepondy]

Look thru the other posts.  Massive overnight unwarranted steps is a common problem and unfortunately is why my Versa is going back today.  Myself and other people state this behavior is unpredictable.  Mine did it twice in a week but was fine for many nights.  At least in my case it has only happened when left out on the charger.  On nights I wore it or left it out but not on the charger, it was fine.

Look at the breakdown of your step graph on the day you received the over count.  If due to vibrations of an external source, the steps will show up on the graph and with that many, they should be easy to spot.  I'm willing to bet if you do that, you'll find no step activity.

[Sharn68]

My fitbit app (HR) Showed over 17,000 steps over night. The device showed correctly, but the app was way off. I plugged the fitbit device into the charger, held the button in for 15 seconds, then unplugged it. When I went back to my android and refreshed the app, the problem was SOLVED! Yay! Worth a try.