Question about devices that ‘count steps’… - YouLookFab Forum

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Question about devices that ‘count steps’…

Runcarla

Veteran

DH has a Bushnell watch thingy that is a range finder for golf. Whilst playing around with it, he discovered that it has a program for counting steps. He set it up for our walk today, but we learned it stoped counting steps when his hands were in his pockets! In other words, it counted arm swings, not steps!

I have a Garmin I use for swimming, biking, and running/walking, but I track laps or distance covered - not actual number of ‘steps’ taken.

Do Fit-bits, or other pedometer type devices actually have a program that counts steps, or is it all based on arm swings?

Just curious!

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23 replies

Latest reply was from annagybe

L'Abeille

Veteran

My smartwatch (it says Nokia on it, used to be Garmin, now the company is called Withings) seems to track steps with reasonable accuracy. It was a gift.

I was skeptical because my original step counter did not register if I didn't swing my arms. It also didn't register steps walked on sand because I guess there wasn't enough of a jolt. I was very annoyed, because once it is too cold to walk on the beach, my hands are going to be in my pockets!

Windchime

Veteran

Good question. A friend’s Fit-Bit alerts her when she hasn’t taken enough steps in an hour. If she doesn’t feel like getting up, she just moves her arm back and forth, and the device counts the movements as steps.

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

iPhones count steps, and generally are not on the user’s arm.

I have (somewhere) a Fitbit that can count steps or keep track of swimming, as well as other things, so it somehow recognizes the difference in different types of movement.

Windchime, that’s hilarious! I recall that when I bought my Fitbit, there was a very specific model that I wanted, because of its capabilities for swimming. There must be real differences between the models.

JAileen

Veteran

Does anyone use this app on their phone? I don’t know about arm movements. It generally doesn’t count my steps because I forget to take it with me.

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Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

JAileen, yes, I connected it to the My Fitness Pal app when we were in Florida; my daily calorie allotment changed with how many steps I took. I also have some other info entered in it.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

I have an Apple watch that counts steps with fair accuracy. I used to use a Fitbit for the same purpose. Some people say you can "cheat" as Windchime says her friend did, but I wore my Fitbit clipped to my bra, not on my wrist -- so it couldn't have been counting arm swings -- and my Apple watch seems to count more or less the same number of steps over the same distance as the Fitbit did. So I think it is fairly accurate, or accurate enough for my purposes. After all, there's no magic number of steps that one actually needs to get in for good health. You just need to be moving.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

My Apple watch counts steps very accurately. I LOVE my apple watch and highly recommend it if you have an iPhone.

Anonymous

I use StepsApp.

JAileen, I think you have some e-mail messages

JAileen

Veteran

Nikki, thank you. I delete so many every single day. I could make it a full time job.

Echo

Veteran

Because I prefer analogue watches, I do not wear a "smart" watch, but I do use a traditional pedometer. I clip it to my waistband, or the waist of my undergarments if I'm wearing a dress, and it is very accurate. The only time I have found it to be inaccurate was sometimes on a bike ride when my hips would move enough that it counted it as steps. Otherwise, no arm swinging or car riding or anything else that isn't actual body movement counts.

I used to wear a fitbit that I clipped to my bra, but I accidentally sent it through the washer and killed it. I liked that it would relay the information to my phone, but I cannot find another small fitbit with a clip like that - all the new ones seem to be so much larger and fit into wristbands.

Anonymous

Another Apple Watch /iPhone fan for tracking . Although I don’t really care about steps anymore - once I figured out how long/far I had to walk to reach the “ goal “ , I was less interested in it . Not that that was your concern …..lol.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

I used to wear a fitbit that I clipped to my bra, but I accidentally sent it through the washer and killed it. I liked that it would relay the information to my phone, but I cannot find another small fitbit with a clip like that - all the new ones seem to be so much larger and fit into wristbands.

Sorry to derail, Carla -- but Echo, this was my irritation, too. I did find (on Amazon) clips I could use even for the Fitbits that weren't designed to be worn as clips -- but then Fitbit would consistently stop supporting whichever version I had, and eventually the thing would conk out, and I went through 3 of them like that before I got fed up and went for the Apple watch.

I much preferred the look and feel of my analog watch to the Apple, but I can't deny the Apple's usefulness. I'm hoping they come out with a prettier version eventually.

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

I sent a couple of those fitbits on clips through the wash too. Sometimes they survived their first laundering or two, but I never checked for how many spins they’d recorded. Eventually I started putting them in my hair instead of my clothes. But when I wanted one to put workout info from swimming into MFP, I went for the one that was designed for use in water. Side note: I don’t recommend MFP for tracking workouts.

Suz, what can the Apple Watch do alone? The phone counts steps without a watch; can the watch count without the phone?

kkards

Veteran

So, like JAileen i use the tracker built into my iPhone. I’m more interested in tracing distance vs steps…anyway the iPhone tracks both, and supposedly it tracks distance thru the GPS. I say supposedly because often when i walk with others we’ll compare the results and while they are usually close, they almost alway different, (on the same walk at the same time, together)…but again, its directional

Janet

(website)

Veteran

I’m on my second version of Fitbit device. I bought my first one in 2013. That one was always clipped to a waistband or pocket, or even on the ankle of my bicycling pants. It was pretty reliable in terms of reading actual walking/running activity, but couldn’t be worn in the water. Fitbit actually replaced the unit once or twice when it bricked and wouldn’t power on anymore.

The last time that happened, my model was no longer supported so I got a new version, and this one I wear on my wrist. It does seem to rely a little bit more on arm movement but still seems pretty accurate nonetheless. Bonus is, I can put it in water lock mode and track swimming. The hilarious thing is that when I do laundry and have a folding session, the Fitbit reads that activity as swimming, LOL!

I am disappointed that it no longer tracks “stairs” and climbing — my hikes vary and some of them are very hilly, and I like seeing how much climbing I’ve done.

I find it useful to see how much activity I’m getting in any given day, even those in which I don’t get in a “real” workout. Activity around the house can rack up 10,000 steps when I’m cleaning or doing other projects. The Fitbit also tells me how many minutes I’ve spent in various heart rate zones, and it tracks my sleep if I wear it at night, which can be enlightening too!

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Janet and Kkards, if you want to track altitude, you can use the “Map my Ride” “Map my Run”, “Map my….” series of apps on an iphone. I can’t remember if it counts steps, but the phone’s native app that JAieen pointed out does that anyway. The “Map My” apps map it out, show altitude shifts and will give your splits at various points on the route. Here’s one I did to see how far the loop to CVS & my kid’s school was. But there is no device to wear on your arm for that—unless you get a phone strap.

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Anonymous

Yes, Janet, you might want to address your email situation . LOL.

rachylou

Veteran

Ok. I looked it up: they use accelerometers

JAileen

Veteran

I’ve deleted 800 emails. It’s taken several hours.

Anonymous

JAileen, when my e-mails start piling up from activism organizations; I unsubscribe and do a big purge. Good luck with the project. Happy deleting.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

SF, the watch tracks on its own, yes. I sometimes have only the watch with me. It tracks all kinds of activity -- biking, cross training, swimming, etc. https://www.imore.com/heres-wh.....out-iphone

It syncs with your phone when back in range. So far, this has worked pretty seamlessly for me. I have the SE version of the watch, the cheapest version.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

JAileen, that Health app is useful, yes! It works seamlessly with the watch and shows me all kinds of interesting data.

annagybe

(website)

Veteran

FYI any of the watch trackers are not accurate if you use hiking poles
I use an older Fitbit with an Amazon cheapo bra clip. Plus when I go into a COVID patient’s room, I have to remove my watch
Funny thing that the day I spent in an all wheel drive vehicle in eastern Mongolia., supposedly I did 26k steps
I washed mine once about a year ago

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