Fitbit Alta to Apple Watch

Fitnessgirl0913

Hi all,
I have been wearing a fitbit for years and recently bought an apple watch. I love the apple watch except I find the step counter to be grossly inaccurate. For going on a walk through my neighborhood, the same route, the apple watch gives me around 2,000 more steps then my fitbit ever did, nothing else about the walk has changed. The apple watch also gives me quite a few more steps just for my day to day activity.
Is there an adjustment period with the apple watch where it gets used to you and eventually will be more accurate? I have only had it 5 days so I am hoping it will adjust accordingly. If it does adjust, can anyone provide a ballpark estimate of how long takes?

Thanks!

PAWOPNET

AW says that the first few times you go for a walk/run with your new AW, you should have your iPhone with you as well. The reason is that it will use the GPS from the phone to calculate exact distance. Combined with the height information you entered into the health app and the accelerometer, it can very accurately determine a person's gait/stride for future walks. Obviously if you have GPS in your AW or the LTE version, it will be even more accurate.

I don't know what model fitbit you were using, but it's possible the fitbit was the device that was inaccurate (especially if it did not have a GPS in it).

jeromeloresco05

Do you walk with phone on the pocket?

Fitnessgirl0913

Thanks guys! I do not walk with my phone which is part of the reason I got the watch. The watch does have GPS and I have been wearing it for about 10 days now and the steps seem to be making more sense. I definitely think there was an adjustment period.

nowine4me

It DOES learn over time.

dhiammarath

I used all kinds of Fitbits over the years. Then I got an Apple Watch, and by the time I really started comparing steps, I did not notice any kind of distinct difference between the two metrics. Any shift became my new norm, but in general, my watch and my Fitbit were pretty close.