Step (Steps) Counter way off / inaccurate

By any chance, are you wearing the f5 at the same time as the va-hr and are they both on the same account?

"TrueUp"would then come into play. I have a va-hr and f5 on the same account, but only wear one at a time, and have seen no problem.

Don't compare short bursts e.g. 25 steps, you'll always find discrepancies. What you need is the day to be correct really IMO. When you do a comparison do it over a long period with another device wearing both devices on the same wrist. If you don't wear them on the same wrist then all bets are off, even if they are different how do you know which one is correct (unless you count all your steps throughout the day)

CW

Also ensure you check settings, as it needs to know if you which arm you are wearing it on.

By any chance, are you wearing the f5 at the same time as the va-hr and are they both on the same account?

"TrueUp"would then come into play. I have a va-hr and f5 on the same account, but only wear one at a time, and have seen no problem.

even then it shouldn't be an issue, Garmin has a master list hierarchy of devices that essentially prioritizes one type of watch over another when both record data during the same time period. So in theory the Fenix 5 data should be kept when the VA-HR data gets dropped for the same minute if they both recorded data during that minute when the data is merged.

"shouldn't" and "isn't" are a bit different. Even if it shouldn't, it still might be, and going one device at a time, I don't see it. If I walk a mile, I know about how many steps that is for me, and one at a time, they both show within the range I'd expect.

Also, Garmin uses a "10 more more" process to try and eliminate false steps (sitting at a desk and just moving your arms for example) Until the watch thinks you've done 10 steps, none are counted, but once you pass 10, you get credit for those that hadn't been counted.

As CW mentioned, the arm where you wear the watch could be a factor, and maybe a bit more when looking at 25 steps at a time, as it really matters when the first ten are seen by the watch.

"shouldn't" and "isn't" are a bit different. Even if it shouldn't, it still might be, and going one device at a time, I don't see it. If I walk a mile, I know about how many steps that is for me, and one at a time, they both show within the range I'd expect.

Also, Garmin uses a "10 more more" process to try and eliminate false steps (sitting at a desk and just moving your arms for example) Until the watch thinks you've done 10 steps, none are counted, but once you pass 10, you get credit for those that hadn't been counted.

As CW mentioned, the arm where you wear the watch could be a factor, and maybe a bit more when looking at 25 steps at a time, as it really matters when the first ten are seen by the watch.

I agree with everything you just wrote, I'm just pointing out that wearing two devices at the same time shouldn't be an issue which you said might be a concern. I agree that in short bursts steps may not be the most accurate on any wrist worn device.

Again, for me, if it shouldn't but does, trying a couple things may not only help when reporting the problem to Garmin, but also, you may find a way to get around it, meaning you may have a work-around until there is a fix issued.

When I'm switching watches, I'll often have the new one on a different Garmin account for a bit (a week maybe), so I can wear them both, but the data is completely independent, in every way. You can record the same activity on both, and your real account doesn't show two runs, at about the same time, by default, when they both sysc.

Received my F5 and seems this one has a steps-issue as well, seems to miss a ton of steps.

I'll be wearing the F5 and 735xt at the same time today to see how severe it is and if it might be a refresh issue maybe. If not I'll try a reset, otherwise I have to return it I guess. Meh...

Update to Step Steps Counter way off / inaccurate

The step counter is way off on my new Garmin Fenix 5 by so much it's hard to even put a percentage on it...20%, 40% at times. A 25 step count from the driveway to the front door this morning accumulated 40 steps on the device. Today has been a ho-hum day. I walked 1 1/2 miles with the dog, did some weight lifting and indoor cycling. My step counter shows 8,691 at 5:00 this evening...way too high!

I've been an avid and active Vivoactive HR user until I got the Fenix 5 this week. Comparing history between the two devices shows about a 20% increase in steps but I know I haven't increased my activity correspondingly.

Is the Fenix 5 going to be inherently inaccurate when it comes to steps, maybe I should see if a software update fixes it, or maybe I have a defective device.

Any thoughts or other observations?

Update - 3/26/17 - Did a dedicated walk Activity this morning counting steps in my head for comparison with the watch later. The watch was spot on!! 1352 on the watch and 1350 counted manually. So those who have said comparing steps on a short walk from the driveway to the door would be a bad test seem to be correct. Thank you!

That takes me back to my original concern but now maybe being able to rule out the Walking Activity as a problem. At the end of the day I'm still coming up with a huge number (over 14,000 steps yesterday) with not that much activity. So that leaves me with the possibility that the watch is counting a ton of steps when I'm not actually walking (e.g. driving, eating, typing, playing basketball, wrestling with the kids, swinging my arms on an indoor bike) that my Vivoactive HR did not count. I'll try to focus on that for a few days and keep you posted...and yes I was doing an Bike Indoor activity while swinging arms so I wouldn't expect it to count those.

By the way...I'm not trying to slam the watch here. I want to love it!!! I need it to be accurate and I need to determine whether, if there is a problem, it is something wrong with just my watch while everyone else's is working great. I'm kind of living in that 30 day Amazon window so to speak.