Discrepancy between Charge 2 and Apple Health steps.

[Torrent329]

Recently received the charge 2, before I got it I was using my iPhone x health to track my daily steps. Since I carry my phone everywhere. Since I started using the charge 2 I have noticed that my steps are about 1000 steps difference from the iPhone x

For example- today my charge 2 says I did 2,500 steps

my iPhone x says 1,500 steps

Anyone else experience this, and has the difference been so big?

I have my charge 2 on my left hand, with the settings saying that my right is my primary hand. I changed it today to say, its on my left hand and my left hand is primary, in hopes to maybe see a difference to bridge that gap.

I guess the question i'm facing is - is the charge 2 over counting? or is the iPhone x under counting.

Thanks again for any insight

Moderator Edit: Clarified Subject.

[MarcoGFitbit]

Hello @Torrent329, have a warm welcome to the Fitbit Community, it's great to have you on board. 

Please note that Fitbit devices have a finely tuned algorithm for step counting. The algorithm is designed to look for intensity and motion patterns that are most indicative of people walking and running.  When working at a desk, cooking, or doing other arm movements, a device on your wrist can pick up some extra steps if it thinks you're walking. Many of these situations—such as working or cooking—do include a few steps in-between stationary periods so the device tries to give you credit for those steps which is the reason you might see a discrepancy between the steps showing in your Charge 2 and in the Apple Health app.

Additionally, please take in consideration that it's important to specify whether you wear the device on your dominant or non-dominant wrist:

• The dominant wrist setting decreases the sensitivity of step counting and should reduce any over counting of steps when your body is not moving.
• The non-dominant wrist setting increases the sensitivity of step counting and should reduce any under counting of steps. Non-dominant is the default.

Device location helps orient the screen correctly in addition to adjusting the sensitivity of step detection. To change your settings, in the Fitbit app go to Account tab and choose your device at the top of the screen.

I hope this can be helpful, if there's anything else I can do for you, please feel free to reply. 

[ntwrkguru]

Yea, I see the same thing. In fact, it doesn’t appear to be a percentage discrepancy, which is what I would expect if it were over counting. I’ve observed that it’s pretty much always 1,000 off. For example, today I have 7,642 on my charge 2 and 6,605 on my 8 plus. 

UPDATE:

(accidentally submitted too soon)

I tend to trust the Fitbit as it’s in my wrist all the time, plus it makes me feel better. 😀 In reality, I just use it as a relative gauge of progress. In other words, whether it’s 6,600 or 7,600, is it better than yesterday? Am I trending up? As long as the same scale is used, the accuracy isn’t as relevant to me. 

[Schnauzermum]

I use the gps tracking facility on my Fitbit iPhone app and it tells me my walk was 6.69km, showing me the km markers on the map of my walk, tells me that I did 7927 steps and have climbed the equivalent of 21 floors so far. Out of interest, I checked my iPhone 8+ (iOS12) and the Health app tells me that I’ve only walked 4.7km, using 6337 steps and climbed 9 floors. I’m not too worried about the floors because that can be explained by not carrying my phone with me in the house but 2km is a huge difference to be out by. Short of borrowing a measuring wheel from work to check the distances, it’s clear that one or other of the devices is giving a false reading.

[Rbeck]

I am having a similar issue with my new Fitbit Alta hr.   The discrepancy for me is at least 1000 steps difference.  

I just started searching for possible information. 

[MarcoGFitbit]

Hello @Rbeck, thanks for joining the conversation, it's always a pleasure for me to welcome new members to the Fitbit Community. 

I appreciate you have taken the time to report this situation to us. Tell me, when did you start noticing this discrepancy? Have you restarted your Alta HR lately? If so, please let us know so we can check this further. 

Thanks for your patience and understanding, we'll be waiting to hear from you. 

[ConstantG]

I came here because I just did my Sunday morning walk and there’ almost a1000 meters difference. The iPhone says I walked 8 km and the Fitbit 7... anyone found out which is the most accurate?

[Schnauzermum]

I’m trusting my Fitbit over the iphone’s Health app. As I also have a mapping account where I can check my distances, it shows me only being out by around 150 metres which is easily explained.

[ConstantG]

Thanks.. that the difference is 1000 steps is coincidental then..

i will trust the fitbit.

[MarcoGFitbit]

Hello @ConstantG, thanks for joining the conversation, welcome aboard the Fitbit Community. It's nice to see you too @Schnauzermum, thanks for your insight about this situation. 

@ConstantG, I appreciate your participation in the Forums and for sharing your experience with us. I'm very glad you decided to trust the Fitbit device over the iPhone measures. Just to be sure your distance and steps are calculated accurately, please restart your tracker. 

Thanks again for participating in the Forums, if there's anything else we can do for you, please feel free to reply. 

[Kitko]

My Fitbit Alta shows me walking 5.8 or the health app on the iPhone that shows me walking 6.2 miles? The Fitbit has 13,000 steps and the iPhone app 14,000 steps. There is a difference every time.

Today I had them both with me every minute.  Don't care about the steps but the distance should be the same.  It's always different with each.  The Fitbit is on my left wrist (always) and I'm holding (today) the iPhone with my right hand and it swings when I walk.  Sometimes the iPhone is in a pocket and there still is a difference.

[MarcoGFitbit]

Hello @Kitko, have a warm welcome to the Fitbit Community, it's great to have you on board. 

I appreciate your participation in the Forums and for sharing your experience with us. I would also like to thank you for providing many details about this situation. Please note that Fitbit devices and the Apple Health use different protocols to measure steps and distance. With that said, I would like to suggest you to go to the Fitbit app and make sure that if you're using your Alta in your dominant hand, your Alta has been set up as such. To check this go to the Fitbit app and tap on Account > Alta > Wrist and make sure "Dominant" is selected. 

Additionally, I would like to suggest you to restart your Alta and monitor it for a couple days to see if anything changes. 

Thanks for your patience and understanding, if there's anything else we can do for you, please feel free to reply. 

[Colorlove48]

Hi there, I am having the same exact discrepancies between my charge 2 and Apple Health on my phone. It’s frustrating because I’m trying to lose weight and want an accurate number to work with. Any help from the community is most appreciated. 

I’ve checked settings, etc. and it’s still over 1,000 steps off.

[Kitko]

I have the same problem and I think most people do too.  I've even walked the same distance two days in a row and get a different reading.  I would like to have something more accurate also, but I figure I'm walking with intention and it's helped me lose weight and helps me stay at my goal as well as avoiding Diabetes.

Wish you luck with your weight loss and don't let a little thing like this get in the way.

[Colorlove48]

Thank you so much for your encouragement! I really appreciate it! I’m
thinking I might change the setting from steps to miles and see what
happens. Best of everything to you!

[Kitko]

I get both....steps and miles on the FitBit and my Apple Health.  You should too!

What kind of a diet are you on or following?  I did WW and am continuing so I don't gain it back...again.  I found it easier this time around with the FreeStyle.  Not magic...but when you're hungry and want and need something to eat you have over 200 foods that don't have points.

But what ever is working for you....keep it up

1

[Dgg38]

I have a Charge 2 , non-dominant hand. My Fitbit was a mile different from my iphone pedometer. Iphone, 13282, 4.8 miles/ Fitbit, 15332, 5.8 miles, Is GPS tracking involved in either one? Why such a discrepancy?

[MarcoGFitbit]

Hello @Colorlove48, @Kitko  and @Dgg38, have a warm welcome to the Fitbit Community. 

I appreciate your participation in the Forums and for sharing your experience with us. Please note that, Fitbit devices have a finely tuned algorithm for step counting. The algorithm is designed to look for motion patterns that are most indicative of people walking. The algorithm determines whether a motion's size is large enough by setting a threshold. If the motion and its subsequent acceleration measurement meet the threshold, the motion will be counted as a step. If the threshold is not met, the motion won’t be counted as a step.

Other factors can create enough acceleration to meet our threshold and cause some over counting of steps, such as riding on a bumpy road. Our engineers have worked diligently on your tracker's algorithms to make sure that it does not pick up false steps or activity recordings while in a car. Unless you are driving in a car with a stiff transmission or on back country roads, your tracker should not give you credit for any work that you don't do. If you do pick up some steps while driving, see How do I edit or delete Fitbit data and activities? for instructions on removing steps.

I hope this resolves your inquiries, if there's anything else we can do for you, please feel free to reply. 

[Dgg38]

Is the reported distance covered, based on step count or GPS data? Each
person’s step is of a different length.

[Axlewren]

I will say I have been using both my Apple Watch and Fitbit for about 7.5 years consistently and on always y Fitbit is about 1000 step roughly higher than my Apple Watch ...always .

im not sure which is more accurate but that’s my experience for the length of time I’ve had both and wear both every day .