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Step Counter, during activities, Totally Inaccurate! Help PLEASE

NowOrNeverNow
over 5 years ago

Some background:

I have three current Garmin devices:

Fenix 5 Plus Sapphire

Vivosport HR

Vivomove HR

The F5+ is the second I have had of this model.

I do the same activity routes, time and time again; therefore, I know (roughly) what the steps and distance (miles) should be.

What I have noticed with the new Fenix 5 Plus Sapphire is that it under-counts steps massively.

Example One: a regular outdoor (gps on) walk I do of 3.2 miles, only shows as circa 1,000 steps (normally this would register as 5,400 - 6,000 on my old F5+ or Vivosport HR)

Example Two: 2 miles on the treadmill, inside, no gps, only registers circa 1,000 steps when it should be 3600 - 4000.

Garmin online chat weren't very helpful and kept coming back to GPS questions and stride distance (neither of which are an issue!), hence coming to ask on here.

I'd really appreciate any insight people may have. After a 3.2 mile quick paced walk (12-min miles), it is frustrating to add less than 1,000 steps to your count.

  • 0 over 5 years ago

    I don't notice a huge difference but sometimes it gets confused with hand movement and steps.  Extra hand movement yields extra steps.  Less hand movement...say pushing a cart, yields less.  If absolute accuracy is what you are the footpod is a good idea.  It has an inertial gauge that can understand stride length so it is even more accurate for distance.  https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/15516

  • 0 over 5 years ago in reply to ImDisaster

    As per my original post, I am basing the accuracy (or lack of it) on four Garmin devices.

    My VivoMove HR, Vivosport and previous Fenix 5+ Sapphire all read very close to one another for the same activity. The new Fenix 5+ is the odd one out and under-counts massively. (as I said, almost a 1:4 ratio)

  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 5 years ago in reply to NowOrNeverNow

    Because this is happening on only one device, it's clear the problem isn't with you. You've already checked all the troubleshooting boxes including a factory reset, so it seems the problem is hardware related. I'd call Garmin and have the watch replaced since it's only a couple of weeks old. Emailing support is time consuming and I find you get nothing but "flow chart" answers. Every time I've tried chat, it says it's unavailable. Talking with a live person is not only faster, but you'll also be able to clarify any confusion on what exactly the problem is that you're experiencing. 

  • 0 over 5 years ago in reply to Former Member

    I'm now at the point TMK.

    Garmin customer services asked me to email them, answering an extensive amount of questions; which I did.

    48-hours later, I still haven't recieved a response.

    I know how to use the watch, I have done all their trouble shooting steps (as well as my own common sense ones) and have three other devices to test it against. It is a dud.

    If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck... it's probably a duck! ;)

    I had hoped I was missing something, hence asking the question on here, but it looks like I was right that it is a hardware fault.

    Thanks for the advice chaps.