Polar M430 inflated step count

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vesta1986
vesta1986 Posts: 14 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hello!
I bought Polar M430 4 days ago and it is showing some incredible step count: by 11 am I have filled my daily activity requirement, by the end of the day I am at 200%. I bicycled to work and it claimed I got 2000 steps in, even a toilet break was 30 steps. Is this normal for a Polar device or do i have a faulty gadget?
I like the watch otherwise but it loses a lot of it's value if I cannot use it to track my daily activity.
Replies would be greatly appreciated :) Thank you!

Replies

  • Duck_Puddle
    Duck_Puddle Posts: 3,224 Member
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    I have a polar m400 (amongst a pile of other trackers). The step count on my Polar is by far the highest of them all, but the calorie burn and overall tally of times of types of activity are correct. I think they have something in their algorithm that adjusts for a whole lot of false step counts. I don't really care what the actual step count is for any of my trackers though. I care about overall level of activity and TDEE. Also-mine is the older model without the HR, but it does give a very high step count.
  • vesta1986
    vesta1986 Posts: 14 Member
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    As excessive steps add to my TDEE on here, I do care about them. And I also just like to see actual step numbers/distance.
    It is rather annoying to get the message "you have reached your goal" at as early as 10am.
    Today I checked my steps with my trusty Omron pedometer: at around 1pm Omron had counted 11400 while Polar had 24900. Seems like too big of a difference to call it an all day activity tracker.
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
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    what did you have your daily requirement as for steps?

    if you are moving your arm while cycling (then it could have easily picked up steps for cycling)

    you'd be surprised how little steps add up - I get 250 per hour (I have a FITBIT now) with just walking around my limited office space
  • CatchMom11
    CatchMom11 Posts: 462 Member
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    I switched back to Fitbit after having been a long-time Polar user. Their chest strap is the best, but their activity trackers are horrible. jmo. I'm actually very interested in the Garmin Vivo - I want something that's waterproof for my next one.
  • vesta1986
    vesta1986 Posts: 14 Member
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    Daily is 10000, which I easily do during work, but 30 000 is a huge exaggeration by Polar. I am definitely not moving my hands during cycling but it seems to count all the bumps on the road, as well as any gestures I make with my hand. Right now I have filled my goal 219% and received 700 extra calories for steps.
    But M430 IS waterproof, wrist HRM work great, even while swimming. My only complaint is for the pedometer/daily activity tracker side.
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
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    sounds like a defective - I'd contact polar and see if they will replace
  • KettleTO
    KettleTO Posts: 144 Member
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    I have the older Polar M400. What Polar does is convert your activity to "equivalent" steps. On the older, non-heart rate model, it does it for any workout.

    Can you change your settings so that only daily calories (TDEE) get transferred to MFP? Otherwise, you will be double counting.

    PS I'm jealous, I've been eyeing wrist-based HRM watches and read very positive reviews for this watch. I would love to ditch my chest strap or arm band HRM.

    Question, how does fit your wrist? These watches seem to have a complete disregard for the smaller female wrists. I guess women aren't into wearables beyond Fitbit enough.
  • vesta1986
    vesta1986 Posts: 14 Member
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    Oh :smiley: i had no idea there was a reply from ages ago. And i had no idea about their conversion. Hmmm i have kind of decided that it was only usable for actual exercise. I do like an accurate step count though not something the watch makes up.

    It is rather bulky yes. Difficult to get under any sleeve, completely unsuitable to wear with dresses. But i got quite used to it. I have given it a holiday for now and use a tiny Xiaomi Mi Band 2 now for daily activity - much more realistic step counts, perhaps even too low.

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