MobileTrack steps don't match with Apple Health app steps.

[nicp289]

Hi guys, I have just been invited to join Fitbit by my wife who has a Charge. I wear an iwatch so googled it and found a solution to being able to challenge each other BUT.....my data in the Fitbit app doesn’t match the data in my phones Health app. I’ve tried syncing it over and over but nothing changes. Fitbit is logging less than half what my phone has logged for the same day?? I’m on a losing streak!! Heeeelp (bar being told to work twice as hard thank you haha)

Moderator Edit: Clarified Subject.

[BBallgrl5101]

Agreed! Why can’t the join together... oh well. It’s like you have to pick sides...

Sent from my iPhone

[MarcoGFitbit]

Hello @nicp289 and @BBallgrl5101, thanks for taking the time to reply. I appreciate your participation in the forums @bina_2323, thanks for joining us! 

We really appreciate our members's input and feedback and I would like to thank you for yours. Our team is always looking to improve the Fitbit experience and I appreciate you have shared your experience with me. I understand your concern about this issue not being resolved yet but our team is still working towards a proper resolution. Once I have more information to share with you I'll make sure to update this thread accordingly.

Thanks again for your patience and understanding, if there's anything else you might want to add, please feel free to reply. 

[motz34]

I am actually wearing both devices concurrently on the same wrist.  I look like a dork, yes, but I wanted to see the difference.  My fitbit is registering 5704 and my apple watch says 4588.  I had my watch off this morning for about 45 minutes while it charged, so that will account for some of the missing steps, but i was sedentary during that time, so not many.  I am wondering how close these actually are.  I will continue to wear both for another several days.  

[JCONE]

Good Afternoon,

Reading through this thread this is the exact issue I am having. However, after following the below steps, I still do not have matching data.

Could you help me?

1. Remove MobileTrack from the Fitbit app by going to Account > MobileTrack > Remove from Account
2. Force-quit the app
3. Go to your phone Settings > Fitbit  and disable Motion & Fitness.
4. Restart your phone
5. Go to your phone Settings > Fitbit again and enable Motion & Fitness
6. Set up MobileTrack in the Fitbit app again.

I hope this can be helpful, give it a try and keep me posted in case you need anything else. 

[ChuckC3]

I have this same problem - I think that the idea that MobileTrack is based on of attempting to count steps based on using the iPhone motion sensor to estimate steps is seriously flawed and is probably going to be impossible to “fix”.  The Fitbit app should just flush that approach and start over with a new approach based on getting the data directly from Apple Health.

The SynchSolver app does exactly that and works great - the only problem is Fitbit doesn’t trust data coming from a third-party app and won’t let it count towards the “Friends Leaderboard”

Surely, this can’t be a very difficult problem for Fitbit to solve and it has gone on for several years.

[MarcoGFitbit]

Hello @ChuckC3, have a warm welcome to the Fitbit Community. 

I appreciate your participation in the Forums and would like to thank you for your feedback. We're constantly striving to improve Fitbit products and services, and we very much appreciate all of the input we receive from our customers. 

Let us know if you have any additional questions or if there's anything else we can do for you. 

[Smittty]

Fitbit Team - It would be easier for everyone if you just read the steps in Apple Health and imported them into the application.   Why not just modify your phone app to read Apple Health data similar to how Withings and other have done?   

[ChuckC3]

I agree - I have suggested the same thing.  The rationale I was given is that Fitbit doesn't trust the results generated by a third-party application.  I don't think that argument is very valid.

[MarcoGFitbit]

Hello @ChuckC3 and @Smittty, I hope you're doing well, it's nice to see you around the Fitbit Community. 

I appreciate your participation in the Forumd and I would like to thank you for your suggestions. However, at this moment there are no plans to implement a feature that will allow Apple Health to sync wtih the Fitbit app. We continue to evaluate new partners and will update you if we have news to share. Fitbit has a history of working with the community to bring potential features to reality, and we thank you for taking the time to share your ideas and suggestions.

I hope this can be helpful and resolves your inquiry, if there's anything else I can do for you please feel free to reply, I'll be happy to continue helping you. Happy stepping!

[geekmechanic]

Well, that is just fine. The results between what you have and what Apple has are wildly different and the fact of the matter is that it just does not work in the way that we need it to. Otherwise, there would not be so many people here weighing in on this. I don't use your device. Only the software. In order to post my results to a silly insurance based app for my work. I guess when it comes right down to it doesn't really matter. But, if I can't use it then I won't. But, everyone else is playing ball. Why can't you?

[MajorJoe]

My Alta fitbit reports almost half as much data as my Apple Health app.

[geekmechanic]

I am happy to report that I started using the new Nokia health app that used to be Withings and it works great. Solves all these issues. Thanks Fitbit.

[MarcoGFitbit]

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

@geekmechanic, I appreciate you have taken the time to join the conversation and provide your feedback about this situation. Our team is always looking to improve the Fitbit experience and your feedback is always welcome. 

@MajorJoe, please note that Fitbit devices use a different algorithm to measure data different to the Apple Health app. Now, if you see the discrepancy is relatively big, restart your Alta and monitor it for the next few days to check if anything changes. 

Thansk again for your participation in the Forums, if there's anythign else we can do for you, please feel free to reply. 

[37Trix]

I walked on the treadmill for 60 minutes with my iPhone which shows 6,621 steps & also a new Fitbit Flex 2 that said 4,629 steps...not even remotely close!!

[MarcoGFitbit]

Hello @37Trix, thanks for joining the conversation, it's great to have you on board the Fitbit Community. 

I appreciate your participation in the Forums and for sharing your experience with us. Please note that your Fitbit Flex counts steps based on the movement of your arms. If you were walking on a treadmill and were holding its bars, it's possible the Flex 2 hasn't tracked your steps, which were instead recorded by your iPhone.

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. 

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

[cdacostamd]

Just purchased an Apple watch which has surprised me with how active I am compared to the fitbit, something which I always suspected: that fitbit wasnt counting movements which were not specific aerobic exercise.

[Bugglepop]

I think the real answer to this thread is:

Fitbit don’t want to count the steps from the Apple Watch because it is in direct competition with the Fitbit devices they sell.

When they introduced the ability to track the phone steps on the Fitbit app this was before the Apple Watch existed.

The Apple Health app uses a combination of Watch & Phone steps. So I think Fitbit are just tracking the ‘phone’ steps.

Fitbit want people to buy Fitbit devices. Not just to use the Fitbit App for free with their Apple Watch

Moderator Edit: Format.

[nicp289]

I’d have to agree 👍🏻

[Roundy711]

Just read this haven’t used the Fitbit app in ages as I swapped to Apple I haven’t weighed myself in age as I have the Fitbit scales . I would gladly pay a subscription fee for your app as it’s 100000’s times better than apples but the Apple Watch has other functions that I need .... if you got 10 to 20% more customers using your app based on a subscription you would make £’sssss why can’t you just do it .. 

[Wheatie13]

I have both an Apple Watch and an IPhone. I have been using them and we have a family group. I have been syncing to the Fitbit for over a year. For over a year it continually takes steps away. I have read all these threads. I have tried every suggestion nothing helps. It is suppose to be a fun challenge but I find I am so annoyed every time I sync my step. The more steps I have the more I loose. Tonight I had 13,450, after it sync I was reduce to just over 10,000 steps. How am I to get to the top of the pack if every night I loose steps. This is my last hope for a suggestion to fix the problem. Otherwise it is bye bye Fitbit Ap. I do not need this stress. In all my years I never knew I was so competitive, but I would like a level playing field