amethystkae

Q: My apple watch tracker gets confused on long car rides.

My apple watch tracker gets confused on long car rides, does this happen to anyone else?  Is there a way to reset the data if I drive in the morning and still want to track during the rest of the day?  I went on a 2 hour drive this weekend and my watch kept counting calories, exercise and standing - all of which I was not doing. I am pretty sure it was because my stering wheel shakes a bit but even when I stopped using that arm to steer it still thought I was exercising.

Shouldn't the watch be able to tell I was in motion (going about 70mph)?  I was clearly not running that fast...

Apple Watch

Posted on May 11, 2015 8:31 AM

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Q: My apple watch tracker gets confused on long car rides.

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  • by SuperMarina,

    SuperMarina SuperMarina May 11, 2015 11:15 AM in response to amethystkae
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 11, 2015 11:15 AM in response to amethystkae

    Did you have the Workout app on?  I turned that on this morning before riding my bike to work, then turned it off when I got to work but it didn't turn off and counted a lot of exercise while I was sitting still at my desk!  After I turned it off a second time it did turn off and stopped adding to calories burned.

    Just to test it I then turned it on again (outdoor cycle), and it measured a lot of additional calories burned while I was sitting at my desk, and 207 feet of movement (back and forth to the bathroom!).  I think the watch just takes your word for that you are indeed exercising when you tell the workout app that you are.  Still, that doesn't explain why your watch registered that you were standing up while you were sitting in the car.

    I don't think it can measure speed, so it wouldn't notice you were moving at 70mph.

     

    Yesterday the Activity app added to the 'activity' ring, but not the 'exercise' or 'stand-up'  rings while I was riding my motorcycle.  Might be realistic as riding a sport bike can be quite physical, but doesn't generally raise my heart rate.

  • by Hampton,

    Hampton Hampton Jun 11, 2015 10:21 AM in response to SuperMarina
    Level 2 (454 points)
    Jun 11, 2015 10:21 AM in response to SuperMarina

    I'm having the same problem amethystkae is having.  You don't need to turn on exercising for the watch to track your activity.  It does it automatically.   You use the activity app and turn workouts on and off when you are specifically working out.  I drive a lot, and each time I drive, the watch records every hour I sit in the car as standing time.  I thought it was because of the steering wheel vibration, but like you, I tried to drive with the other hand to no avail.  Annoying.  Perhaps it will be fixed in an update to make the sensor less sensitive (and I know that's a lousy answer).  Until enough people report this, it won't get fixed.  I'll try to put it in a bug update on the Beta feedback forum, but so far there is not a watch-specific comment section.  As far as reseting the data back to zero after a drive, I'm not sure how to do that.

  • by jenme,

    jenme jenme Jun 20, 2015 6:04 PM in response to amethystkae
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 20, 2015 6:04 PM in response to amethystkae

    I am getting the same activity report when I recently rode to the beach in a car for 7 hours. I even got an alert that I had completed my activity for the day, but I had been sitting for 6.5 hours of 7! Maybe it will be in an update soon.

  • by pmm1221,

    pmm1221 pmm1221 Aug 9, 2015 2:34 PM in response to amethystkae
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 9, 2015 2:34 PM in response to amethystkae

    This happens to me too. I just was on a 2 hour drive and while I didn't get any standing credit, I did get about 200 calories burned.

     

    I also "burned" several hundred calories by sitting/standing on a boat.

  • by deggie,

    deggie deggie Aug 9, 2015 3:27 PM in response to pmm1221
    Level 9 (54,563 points)
    iPhone
    Aug 9, 2015 3:27 PM in response to pmm1221

    You burn calories just be being alive. When you drive you are using your muscles so your "resting" calories will be a bit higher.

  • by pmm1221,

    pmm1221 pmm1221 Aug 9, 2015 6:06 PM in response to deggie
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 9, 2015 6:06 PM in response to deggie

    I understand resting calories. It actually counted active calories, those that show up as pink bars under MOVE.

  • by deggie,

    deggie deggie Aug 9, 2015 6:57 PM in response to pmm1221
    Level 9 (54,563 points)
    iPhone
    Aug 9, 2015 6:57 PM in response to pmm1221

    And you actually have move calories while you are driving, you are actually using your muscles plus your heart rate changes in accordance with the traffic. When you were spouting profanity at the drive who cut into your lane you expend active calories and your heart speeds up.

  • by bmrg,

    bmrg bmrg Aug 24, 2015 4:27 AM in response to amethystkae
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 24, 2015 4:27 AM in response to amethystkae

    i'm having the same issue, i usually make 2 bus trips on weekends, about 3 hour long each and my active calories double during the trip... very disappointing... i also have different results on walking, my girlfriend watch (38mm) usually counts 600 meters more than mine (42mm) on the same walk (-/+ 8kms).

  • by Jonathan UK,

    Jonathan UK Jonathan UK Aug 24, 2015 4:31 AM in response to amethystkae
    Level 7 (33,905 points)
    Apple Watch
    Aug 24, 2015 4:31 AM in response to amethystkae

    Try calibrating your Apple Watch.

     

    This should improve the accuracy of both Activity and Workout estimations including for distance, calories, Move and Exercise.

     

    When you are not doing a workout (using the Workout app), Apple Watch relies on interpreting arm motion, using data from its accelerometer.

    Calibrating (swinging your arm naturally when doing so) should enable it to deliver more accurate results. The process can also be repeated over time to further improve accuracy.

     

    Full details here:

    Calibrating your Apple Watch for improved Workout and Activity accuracy - Apple Support

    Use the Activity app on your Apple Watch - Apple Support

  • by jay11ice,

    jay11ice jay11ice Dec 23, 2015 8:18 AM in response to amethystkae
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 23, 2015 8:18 AM in response to amethystkae

    Hello - did you ever get a resolution to this?  Mine just started acting up this week on my commute into work (usually about 1 hour each way).  I've tried recalibrating and a reset/restore of the watch.  The only other thing would be a clean reset?

  • by emcurtis,

    emcurtis emcurtis Jun 10, 2016 7:04 PM in response to amethystkae
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Apple Watch
    Jun 10, 2016 7:04 PM in response to amethystkae

    I am having the same issue. Yesterday I spent all day in the car (as the passenger, so this doesn't seem to be related to doing the driving). I was simply not active all day, and barely stood except every 3-4 hours at rest stops. However, both my move and stand goals were exceeded for the day. Today I worked in the yard for 4 hours then cleaned all afternoon and still did not meet my move or stand goal, so there certainly seems to be some issue with sensing standing and moving related to driving. Of note, my activity goal did not seem to be affected in any way. I hope this issue can be resolved!

  • by kimkathleenn,

    kimkathleenn kimkathleenn Jun 18, 2016 1:04 PM in response to amethystkae
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Jun 18, 2016 1:04 PM in response to amethystkae

    I've been sitting in the car all day just as a passenger and my Apple Watch says I've almost met my activity goal and I'm at over 2,000 steps.The only walking I've done is to the restroom at the highway rest areas.