Step Count During Activity Vastly Inaccurate

I know the Garmin software has always had a huge issue getting the Step Count correct when you are doing an activity on a treadmill but since the last update, I have noticed that it now massively undercounts steps when doing an outdoor walking / running activity.

This morning I did 3-miles and it counted less than 1500 steps. I know Garmin support will say the same old thing (don’t have anything in your hands, blah blah blah) but I know how the watch should work and my arms were moving freely, with nothing in my hand.

The one thing I have noticed is that it seems to be pace dependent - the faster the walking pace, the less steps it counts, almost like it cannot keep up with a fast walking pace.

Is anyone else experiencing a very low step count during activities? Would be great to hear of issues and / or fixes.

0 NowOrNeverNow over 4 years ago

PS - I have had this issue for awhile but the latest update seems to have made it worse. This may just be a coincidence but felt it worth mentioning.

0 mcalista over 4 years ago

All I can say is that my step count is normally pretty consistent with distance.

0 9398068 over 4 years ago

I just experienced this today. Completed a hike that was 22kms. But it only registered 10088 steps. That’s only about 1/3 of my actual steps. Very disappointing, would love to know how to fix this.

0 9398068 over 4 years ago in reply to 9398068

However I was using hiking poles, would this have caused the discrepancy?

0 Arturogomezgras over 4 years ago in reply to 9398068

When using trekking poles the internal accelerometer seems disturbed and count only 1/3 of steps. Is normal

0 Sc008 over 3 years ago

I haven’t paid much attention to the step count over the years but have also just noticed the inaccuracies that just started a few days ago. The total step count seems accurate enough but the daily chart does not match. This is quite apparent after a ran 22kms using my Fenix 5. Daily total shows 23,203 steps which should be close however the daily chart is only showing 1780 steps. Tried refreshing step count, removing device and reconnecting but nothing helps. Started doing this about two days ago. Main issue is that Apple Health is only picking up the 1780 value.