App is not tracking my exercises.

[Trout33]

The app is not tracking my exercise.  I have Auto Recognize set up but it is not tracking in the app.  I can see active minutes, steps and floors but not exercise detail. 

Moderator Edit: Clarified Subject.

[SunsetRunner]

My fitbit only tracks steps erractically and the lights reset during the day. I still have battery power but end up with no or few steps recorded during the day. Am I suppose to set a daily goal number of steps?

[Sue1950]

Exercise track not working since first week of December. 

Moderator Edit: Clarified Subject.

[Sue1950]

Mine stopped working in December. Was good before. Something must have changed

[MrMarv]

@Sue1950 -

Do you mean that your app isn't auto-recognizing a walk or run for more than 10 minutes as a reportable activity in your activity log?

Or do you mean that you use MobileRun and you cannot get it to start and give you a map with your route, your mile splits, elevation, hear rate a calories burned per minute throughout your route in your activity log?

Or do you mean something else that you can give us a little more information on so we can picture the issue in our minds?

[Sue1950]

The first. The app doesn’t automatically recognize my exercise when it is more than ten minutes. It use to. Always got my daily goal. Doing the same thing everyday and not recognizing.

Sent from my iPhone

[MrMarv]

@Sue1950 -

The auto-recognize is a little finicky. This is going to be a bit windy, but may help, or at least I hope so. 

First, go back to the app and make sure your auto-recognize settings minimum times haven't changed.

From here on just my experiences and keep in mind that I'm kind of a "testing fool".

Let's say we are talking an auto-recognized walk of 10 minutes or more. In two tests that lasted exactly 12 minutes and 10 seconds, I have found I have to walk 65 seconds to get the device/app/Fitbit servers to recognize the walk for what it is.

--- begin edit---

And those 65 seconds are not included in the exercise that is posted to the account.

---end edit---

And both tests showed two different active minutes.

Here is what think happened:

The first test was from 21:09:52 to 21:22:02 last night, spanning 8 seconds of one full minute block, all 60 seconds of 12 full minute blocks, and 2 seconds of the last full minute block. I received credit for 12 active minutes and an exercise 11:05 in length starting at 21:11. That's 65 seconds to recognize the walk for what it was and not being credited for that recognition time.

The second test was from 06:55:10 until 07:07:20 this morning, spanning 50 seconds of one full minute block, all 60 seconds of 11 full minute blocks, and 20 seconds of the last full minute block. I received credit for 11 active minutes and an exercise 11:05 in length starting at 06:57. Once again, 65 seconds to recognize the walk for what it was and not being credited for that recognition time.

Bottom line - if your exercise is only ten minutes long, or not at least 11 minutes and then some, It will not track. After only two tests it is hard to make that a definitive claim, but the repetitiveness of the time booked is interesting.

I don't know how much of a break you can take inside an exercise period and still have Fitbit count it as a continuous exercise, so I cannot speak to that. But I'm sure I will be testing that, as well, in the near future. Just because I can and I'm a bit of a geek.

Unlike some, I will not tell you that the exercise credits aren't important, because even I, who looks at the whole day more than I do at small portions of it, sees the Exercise panel in my app as an important motivator. Not an overriding factor, but it does have some importance.

Bottom line, check your settings and be aware of exactly what you are doing and for how long and maybe be careful about how long your breaks are.

Good luck and welcome to the boards.

[Bethanyjm1]

Mine too!

[MarcoGFitbit]

Hello everyone, I hope you're doing well. 

Please note that SmartTrack recognizes activities based on the continuous movement of your arms. Sometimes, motions such as placing your arms on the bar of a treadmill, or pushing a stroller while you walk, may interrupt SmartTrack. Additionally, stopping in the middle of an exercise may interrupt the activity tracking.

By default, SmartTrack recognizes an exercise that lasts at least 15 minutes. If your activities aren't being recognized, lowering the time auto-exercise recognition setting to 10 minutes may help ensure they record properly.

For more information about how SmartTrack tracks activities, please review our help article: What should I know about SmartTrack exercise detection.

I hope these suggestions help you get back on track, but please let me know if you have any other questions or if there's anything else to help you.