Option to add phone's acceleratometer to track steps.

[rvillarreal0410]

Is it possible for the Fitbit to utilize the iphone’s built-in accelerometer in order to increase accuracy of step counting? For example, the Fitbit app could compare data from the Fitbit itself to the iPhone.

If the iPhone read 0 and the Fitbit had steps it would choose the Fitbit for accurate steps. 

If the Fitbit read 0 (or a drastic difference in steps from the iPhone), then the app would choose to use the data from the phone’s accelerometer. 

This could help solve issues when the hand is idle but the person is actually still walking. As long as the Fitbit app has permissions to receive data from the iPhone, I feel that this should be possible

Moderator Edit: Clarified Subject.

[MarcoGFitbit]

Hello @rvillarreal0410, I hope you're doing well, it's nice to see you around. 

We really appreciate our members's input and feedback and I would like to thank you for yours. Please note that the Fitbit app currently has a feature called MobileTrack that uses the sensors on your phone to track basic activity data including steps, distance, and calories burned.

If you already have a Fitbit account, log into the app and tap or click the Account icon, then choose the option for setting up a new device and follow the MobileTrack instructions. MobileTrack uses low-power step sensors inside your phone track your steps and send the data to the Fitbit app. Once you set up MobileTrack, your phone tracks your steps regardless of whether you're logged into the app. This feature will let you complement steps recorded by your tracker or serve as a tracker when you forget to put yours on.

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

[rvillarreal0410]

Perfect thank you very much for the information. I had no idea!

Thank you,

Richard Villarreal

UPDATE:

I do have a question about this feature. If I am wearing my tracker and have my phone in my pocket, if my tracker records zero steps and my phone tracks let’s say 1000 steps, will the phone steps show up on my account? Or will it still say zero because I was wearing my tracker and it recorded zero steps. 

This happens to me while walking with my children and pushing a stroller. I want to know if the phone still accurately counts steps and records them in my account because I know the Fitbit isn’t accurate because my arms are stationary. 

Moderator Edit: Removed Personal Information.

[MarcoGFitbit · Accepted solution]

Hello @rvillarreal0410, I hope you're having a great day, thanks for taking the time to reply! 

I appreciate your participation in the forums and would like to address your inquiries about this feature. Please note that when you use multiple devices (a tracker and MobileTrack in this case), we combine their data and present the totals. For example, if the your tracker counted 8000 steps and MobileTrack counted 9000 while you were not using the tracker, because you forgot to wear it or because you took it off, the total number of steps on your dashboard is 17,000. 

Now, if you're using both at the same time, we’ll reconcile the overlapping data to present the most accurate information possible on your dashboard, meaning that if when pushing a stroller, your tracker didn't count any steps, the steps counted by MobileTrack will be merged with the information from the tracker at that given time, meaning that indeed, those 1000 steps will still be added to your total even if the tracker didn't count them. 

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