Murphy101 Posted February 2, 2019 Share Posted February 2, 2019 I have a Fitbit Blaze that I got as a gift over a year ago. I love that it tracks so much and that I don’t have to check my phone to see if I want to answer a text or call. The only time I ever have the sound on my phone now is when it’s too far away for my Fitbit to get the signal. I love that I can set the alarm on it and don’t have to wake anyone else bc the light vibration is plenty to wake me up. BUT The step counter is crap. I’ve been really working my ass off to get steps in and it takes almost total devotion to steps to hit 8k. I frequently go walking with various friends and they are getting double to triple the steps as me on the exact same walk! It’s super discouraging and at first I attributed it to having stubby legged walking partners, (I’m told I’m all long legs) but I’ve been walking slower due to painful heel spurs and while they have to work to keep up with me by the end of our walk, I’m not running ahead of them. We are hand in hand walking side by side at a mildly brisk pace. I expressed deep frustration that I can have 2 - 3 miles workouts, plus I don’t sit much, plus go to the zoo plus go grocery shopping at 3 different stores and not hit 4K but my friend can go to the same stores with me and she got 2k just shopping with me at Walmart. So my friend points out my blaze is drunk and there’s no way that’s accurate. I don’t know how to fix this or what I could get to replace it that still has all the other features. Does anyone have suggestions for me to fix this or what to affordable replace it with? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted February 2, 2019 Share Posted February 2, 2019 Grocery shopping is only counted if you put your Fitbit in your pocket. If it's on your wrist, it's stabilised by the shopping trolley and doesn't register. If you are not making a strong heel strike due to heel spurs, that might also not give a good reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murphy101 Posted February 2, 2019 Author Share Posted February 2, 2019 2 minutes ago, Laura Corin said: Grocery shopping is only counted if you put your Fitbit in your pocket. If it's on your wrist, it's stabilised by the shopping trolley and doesn't register. If you are not making a strong heel strike due to heel spurs, that might also not give a good reading. I’m not pushing the cart. I have minions for that. 😉 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlgaLA Posted February 2, 2019 Share Posted February 2, 2019 I have Fitbit Charge. It counts wrist swings really. I got about 1k recently folding laundry 🙂 If you carry something in that hand or hold someone's hand it will not register steps. Basically, make sure that your arm swings with every step. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz4me Posted February 2, 2019 Share Posted February 2, 2019 (edited) I had two Fitbit Charge HRs. I never had any trouble at all with them not counting steps while I was pushing a shopping cart or while not swinging my hand for any reason. Nor did they count hand movements like folding laundry. On the whole I found both of them to be very accurate at counting steps. Not durable at all, but accurate while they worked! Have you checked your settings to make sure you have your stride length entered correctly? I'm assuming the Blaze works the same and that you do still enter your own info as far as height, weight, stride length, etc. The only thing I ever did to my HRs to (I think) increase accuracy was to adjust the setting as if I was wearing it on my dominant wrist when in fact the device was worn on my non-dominant side. Edited February 2, 2019 by Pawz4me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted February 2, 2019 Share Posted February 2, 2019 I looked into buying the Blaze, and it seemed on the Fitbit community boards that there were more complaints about it than about other models. You might want to have a look. I've had a Charge, Charge 2 and Versa, and all have seemed pretty accurate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlgaLA Posted February 2, 2019 Share Posted February 2, 2019 24 minutes ago, Pawz4me said: I had two Fitbit Charge HRs. I never had any trouble at all with them not counting steps while I was pushing a shopping cart or while not swinging my hand for any reason. Nor did they count hand movements like folding laundry. On the whole I found both of them to be very accurate at counting steps. Not durable at all, but accurate while they worked! Have you checked your settings to make sure you have your stride length entered correctly? I'm assuming the Blaze works the same and that you do still enter your own info as far as height, weight, stride length, etc. The only thing I ever did to my HRs to (I think) increase accuracy was to adjust the setting as if I was wearing it on my dominant wrist when in fact the device was worn on my non-dominant side. It is raining, everybody is busy with their own stuff, and I have nothing better to do, so I just tested it. Standing still and swinging arm as if I am walking accurately added steps. It's trickier when walking without swinging arm. It did add steps, but only if I traveled more than a certain distance, and then less than the number of steps I actually took. So, walking around my small kitchen holding my arm stable in front of me did not add steps. Walking along my long hallway did, but in increments of 10, and after the same distance, not after the same number of steps. It also doesn't add stairs if I am carrying anything upstairs, but does it when my arm is swinging. My stride length is set to automatic, but the way it sets the stride depends on GPS-enabled (via my phone) walks/runs, and I have been running with mine, so the stride is likely different between running outside and walking inside. Oh, and I have Fitbit Charge 3, not Charge. Sorry, I missed the number. I do believe that the number of steps is about right for me, as I run around my kitchen more often than fold laundry 🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlgaLA Posted February 2, 2019 Share Posted February 2, 2019 @Murphy101Maybe next time you go for a walk, turn on the app on your phone and start recording exercise/walk. Let your tracker hand be free/swinging. It will track the distance through GPS and calculate the right stride length for you. It shouldn't be too long, just a few minutes of you normal walking. It might reset it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
athena1277 Posted February 2, 2019 Share Posted February 2, 2019 I have a Fitbit Alta. I don’t have a problem with the step counting, even when I’m pushing a cart or stroller. However, several times when I’ve taken a brisk walk pushing a stroller, when I looked at the app later, it thought I was riding a bike. 😂😂😂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murphy101 Posted February 2, 2019 Author Share Posted February 2, 2019 3 hours ago, Laura Corin said: I looked into buying the Blaze, and it seemed on the Fitbit community boards that there were more complaints about it than about other models. You might want to have a look. I've had a Charge, Charge 2 and Versa, and all have seemed pretty accurate. This was free or I wouldn’t own one at all. No way I’d pay this much just to know how many steps I’m taking. It’s motivating to know and have a goal but it’s not $100+ motivation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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