Fitbit and Vivofit Accuracy

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threnjen
threnjen Posts: 687 Member
edited March 2015 in Health and Weight Loss
I have a Garmin Vivofit. My research indicated that this is a very accurate step tracker with great reviews. My mom has a FitBit Flex (also great of course and the most popular option out there)

Today she came over and we went for a walk. Overall the walk was just over two miles. When we returned home, I had logged 9k steps on the walk, while her FitBit was not even to 6k (and not flashing) so she was somewhere 4-5k. She is 5'6"; I am 5'1" and my legs are short. But still this is a huge discrepancy....

I have done a lot of "calibration walks" with my Vivofit and generally find that it syncs up exactly with my walking. Usually when I do a "calibration walk" it is within 1% margin of error for the steps I counted. I've done sync checks while walking and elliptical and it is just spot on for me.

How can our steps be so darn different? It definitely makes me question the accuracy of the Vivofit, especially when I so easily make it my 10k steps a day (and I don't feel like I'm THAT active). Could it be wrong, or do I trust my calibration checks? How can I be logging 5-6k steps more than my mom for the same walk?? Should I be questioning her FitBit instead?

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  • threnjen
    threnjen Posts: 687 Member
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    .... Anyone?

    Let's pretend I asked about starting a detox, or using ItWorks! wraps, or complaining that I work out for 3 hrs a day and eat 1200 calories and don't lose.
  • kikichewie
    kikichewie Posts: 276 Member
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    Yes question her Fitbit or watch her pace compared to yours. Simple.
  • kaitlinrt
    kaitlinrt Posts: 28 Member
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    There's a way to change the fitbit step length that counts your steps. It's somewhere in the app if she uses that to sync. I have the Charge HR and find it very accurate; even when my arms aren't moving. I definitely don't take what my fitbit says as gospel, more of a healthy estimate. Typically around 10,000-11,000 steps is 5 miles for me and I'm 5'7'' with longish legs. So really her fitbit sounds pretty close to what mine would get. Maybe it is just a big different because of height/stride length.
  • mrsvinisky
    mrsvinisky Posts: 16 Member
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    kaitlinrt wrote: »
    There's a way to change the fitbit step length that counts your steps. It's somewhere in the app if she uses that to sync. I have the Charge HR and find it very accurate; even when my arms aren't moving. I definitely don't take what my fitbit says as gospel, more of a healthy estimate. Typically around 10,000-11,000 steps is 5 miles for me and I'm 5'7'' with longish legs. So really her fitbit sounds pretty close to what mine would get. Maybe it is just a big different because of height/stride length.

    I also have the Charge HR and I agree with this post. 10-11k is about 5 miles. I am also 5'7". I walk a 2.42 mile circle and it's no where near 9k steps.
  • changing4life
    changing4life Posts: 193 Member
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    There is a way to calibrate your stride length on the FitBit website. I find my Fitbit (One) to be extremely accurate. I have measured my route with my FitBit and the spedometer of my car and they are identical. So, am not sure this solves your problem but i don't question the accuracy of my FitBit...
  • CSARdiver
    CSARdiver Posts: 6,252 Member
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    I adjusted my fitbit stride based upon a calculation and synched it with my GPS data. It's about as accurate as it can be. Like all fitness calculation it's not an exact science and more of a SWAG.
  • antoinetteg1957
    antoinetteg1957 Posts: 67 Member
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    I am 4'11" and the first thing I did when I got my Garmin Vivofit was see how many steps it took me to walk a mile. I average 2666 per mile. Two miles would be in the 5300 range. Unless you are taking very short strides, it looks like your Garmin is off.
  • jkoch6599
    jkoch6599 Posts: 30 Member
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    If your calibration walks are within 1%, then I wouldn't worry about it if I were you. If you're concerned about the difference between the two trackers, why don't you borrow your mom's, wear both, then do a calibration walk and compare them? I bet a lot of the difference between you two is stride length.
  • threnjen
    threnjen Posts: 687 Member
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    Thank you everyone for your input!! It has been helpful.

    a) I'll ask her if she calibrated her FitBit. She's not the most tech savvy so she may not have customized her step length at all
    b) I will run a longer calibration of my steps like antonettegriseta
    c) I will swap trackers with her (or my hubby who has the fitbit) and see what that one says

    It could be due to height difference but really I suspect mine is overestimating (the Garmin also has nowhere to specify stride length, that I know of)

    Thanks everyone for the ideas. I am determined to figure it out :)
  • threnjen
    threnjen Posts: 687 Member
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    all right, well, tonight I went for a walk and performed two separate "calibration checks" of 500 steps.
    First one recorded 504 steps. Second one recorded 512 steps. So, my Vivofit seems to be spot on for me. Apparently I just have a very short stride.
    My husband, who is 6'1" and has a FitBit Flex, recorded (and counted in his own calibration) only 200 steps for my 500. He said his was only 2 steps off of his actual 200 steps.

    Case closed, I guess, for my tracker. (although my mom might still need to calibrate hers)
  • Dreamyriver
    Dreamyriver Posts: 91 Member
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    threnjen wrote: »

    It could be due to height difference but really I suspect mine is overestimating (the Garmin also has nowhere to specify stride length, that I know of)

    Thanks everyone for the ideas. I am determined to figure it out :)

    You can alter the stride length on your Garmin - go to the Connect dashboard, click on your device widget > device settings > user settings and you can alter it there.

    That wouldn't make any difference to how many steps it registered though, just how much distance it would show as you having achieved.
  • threnjen
    threnjen Posts: 687 Member
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    Dreamyriver wrote: »

    You can alter the stride length on your Garmin - go to the Connect dashboard, click on your device widget > device settings > user settings and you can alter it there.

    That wouldn't make any difference to how many steps it registered though, just how much distance it would show as you having achieved.

    Ah thank you! I did not even know I could enter this information!

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