Hi everyone,
I’ve searched for this issue across dozens of forums and with a thousand different search terms but have not been able to figure out a solution to my problem.
I have been using an AW5 for the past week. I’d been a happy FitBit Alta user prior to that, and I decided to wear both trackers simultaneously for the time being to see how they compare to each other (thankfully I hardly see anyone these days due to the coronavirus because I look slightly ridiculous with both on one arm).
Based on everything I’d read, I expected my AW5 to record less steps than my FitBit. Instead, it’s been the exact opposite, and I’m starting to believe my AW5 has serious issues with over counting. The problem has also gotten exponentially worse. At first, the discrepancy between the two device was about ~500 steps. I considered that normal. However, it’s now grown to anywhere from a to 2,000 to 4,000 steps discrepancy depending on the day.
For example, I’ve worn my FitBit long enough to know that on a very “low activity” day for me I will be lucky to hit 1,500 steps by puttering around the house (unless I make a concerted effort to walk around more). On the exact same type of day, my AW5 says I’ve walked 3,782 steps! This seems absolutely impossible. When I go into the app to look at where all these steps are coming from, it seems that my watch will routinely add dozens of steps in a matter of seconds while I’m just sitting on my couch typing an email. I realize that arm movements trigger “steps” but I’ve never had a fitness tracker do it to this degree. My FitBit, for example, never picks up my typing as steps!
I’ve already done all of the following:
- Calibrated my watch by taking a 20 minute outdoor walk
- Restarted my phone
- Restarted my watch
- Reset my watch
- Unpaired and repaired my watch (all this did was give me that awful bug that shows two watches instead of one under my devices in the Health app…)
- Made sure my health info was inputted correctly in the Health app
- Made sure my watch is the priority device for counting steps in the Health app
Does anybody have any clue what is going on and what I can do to fix this? I realize that steps aren’t the be all, end all but this is so frustrating.
I’ve searched for this issue across dozens of forums and with a thousand different search terms but have not been able to figure out a solution to my problem.
I have been using an AW5 for the past week. I’d been a happy FitBit Alta user prior to that, and I decided to wear both trackers simultaneously for the time being to see how they compare to each other (thankfully I hardly see anyone these days due to the coronavirus because I look slightly ridiculous with both on one arm).
Based on everything I’d read, I expected my AW5 to record less steps than my FitBit. Instead, it’s been the exact opposite, and I’m starting to believe my AW5 has serious issues with over counting. The problem has also gotten exponentially worse. At first, the discrepancy between the two device was about ~500 steps. I considered that normal. However, it’s now grown to anywhere from a to 2,000 to 4,000 steps discrepancy depending on the day.
For example, I’ve worn my FitBit long enough to know that on a very “low activity” day for me I will be lucky to hit 1,500 steps by puttering around the house (unless I make a concerted effort to walk around more). On the exact same type of day, my AW5 says I’ve walked 3,782 steps! This seems absolutely impossible. When I go into the app to look at where all these steps are coming from, it seems that my watch will routinely add dozens of steps in a matter of seconds while I’m just sitting on my couch typing an email. I realize that arm movements trigger “steps” but I’ve never had a fitness tracker do it to this degree. My FitBit, for example, never picks up my typing as steps!
I’ve already done all of the following:
- Calibrated my watch by taking a 20 minute outdoor walk
- Restarted my phone
- Restarted my watch
- Reset my watch
- Unpaired and repaired my watch (all this did was give me that awful bug that shows two watches instead of one under my devices in the Health app…)
- Made sure my health info was inputted correctly in the Health app
- Made sure my watch is the priority device for counting steps in the Health app
Does anybody have any clue what is going on and what I can do to fix this? I realize that steps aren’t the be all, end all but this is so frustrating.