RoseMJ

Q: Swimming workout miscounts laps and distance

HI there ...

 

I have the new Apple Watch Series 2. I swim laps in our indoor community pool twice a week, and I've used the new Watch while swimming twice now. Both times the Watch gets the laps and distance wrong. Here is some more detail:

 

Our community pool is 25 yards long - we double-checked this by measuring it ourselves. I use the Pool Swim workout.

 

The first time I used the Watch, I swam 44 laps, which is 1100 yards. The workout app reported that I had done 62 laps, and 1550 yards.

 

The second time (today), I swam 50 laps, which is 1250 yards. The workout app reported that I had done 80 laps and 2000 yards.

 

I always swim the same way - 1 lap breast stroke, 2 laps side stroke, 1 lap back stroke. Then I repeat. I do not flip turn.

 

Any ideas or help greatly appreciated.

Posted on Sep 26, 2016 5:37 AM

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Q: Swimming workout miscounts laps and distance

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Jonathan UK,

    Jonathan UK Jonathan UK Sep 26, 2016 5:40 AM in response to RoseMJ
    Level 8 (37,908 points)
    Apple Watch
    Sep 26, 2016 5:40 AM in response to RoseMJ

    Hi

     

    I suggest that you raise this question with Apple Support, taking advantage of your initial 90 days of complimentary telephone-based technical support cover:

     

  • by RoseMJ,

    RoseMJ RoseMJ Sep 26, 2016 11:19 AM in response to Jonathan UK
    Level 1 (14 points)
    Apple Watch
    Sep 26, 2016 11:19 AM in response to Jonathan UK

    Thank you, I will. Thanks for the links. I was hoping that other people may have had the problem, and had a quick fix. Will contact support.

  • by Jonathan UK,

    Jonathan UK Jonathan UK Sep 26, 2016 11:26 AM in response to RoseMJ
    Level 8 (37,908 points)
    Apple Watch
    Sep 26, 2016 11:26 AM in response to RoseMJ

    You're welcome!

     

    Another user has reported experiencing similar issues, but - in the absence of a known solution - the same suggestion applied:

     

    Discrepancies/Inaccurate Swimming Workout Lenght

  • by Michelinas,

    Michelinas Michelinas Sep 27, 2016 11:02 AM in response to RoseMJ
    Level 1 (18 points)
    Apple Watch
    Sep 27, 2016 11:02 AM in response to RoseMJ

    My understanding is that if you are doing any other stroke beside freestyle, you will get an inaccurate reading.  Just like if you did a kick set, it won't even pick up the yardage as you are not moving your arm. 

     

    If you found any additional information when talking to support, please let the community know! I am sure a lot of swimmers (like me) would love to know.

     

    Happy Swimming!

  • by RoseMJ,

    RoseMJ RoseMJ Sep 27, 2016 2:53 PM in response to Michelinas
    Level 1 (14 points)
    Apple Watch
    Sep 27, 2016 2:53 PM in response to Michelinas

    I think the swim app is supposed to deal with any strokes, plus my problem is that it's counting too many laps. Maybe it is somewhat related to strokes, who knows.

     

    But I did get with Apple Support, and they took the problem seriously. They took a lot of diagnostic information from my phone/watch, and they are going to analyze it and get back to me. I'll definitely add anything I find out here. Especially if it's something that can help other swimmers!

  • by deggie,

    deggie deggie Sep 27, 2016 7:16 PM in response to RoseMJ
    Level 9 (54,744 points)
    iPhone
    Sep 27, 2016 7:16 PM in response to RoseMJ

    You might be interested in this review and the section where he discusses accuracy, strokes and intervals.

    http://www.macrumors.com/2016/09/23/apple-watch-swimming/

  • by RoseMJ,

    RoseMJ RoseMJ Sep 28, 2016 3:25 AM in response to deggie
    Level 1 (14 points)
    Apple Watch
    Sep 28, 2016 3:25 AM in response to deggie

    Thank you, that was interesting. I'd hate to think that the problem is caused by my stroke types.

  • by rjdude,

    rjdude rjdude Sep 29, 2016 12:42 AM in response to Michelinas
    Level 1 (34 points)
    Sep 29, 2016 12:42 AM in response to Michelinas

    I Just used my new AW today and swam freestyle and got the same result: innacurate laps and distance.  It starting getting off the mark after the 12th complete lap. 

  • by RoseMJ,

    RoseMJ RoseMJ Sep 29, 2016 6:20 AM in response to rjdude
    Level 1 (14 points)
    Apple Watch
    Sep 29, 2016 6:20 AM in response to rjdude

    Thanks! So glad to hear I'm not the only one. Also glad to hear that you had the problem while swimming freestyle only. Still waiting on support to get back to me.

  • by Michelinas,

    Michelinas Michelinas Sep 29, 2016 9:33 AM in response to RoseMJ
    Level 1 (18 points)
    Apple Watch
    Sep 29, 2016 9:33 AM in response to RoseMJ

    I just did my first pool swim yesterday and I too was having missed laps.  I was doing freestyle only and know exactly how many yards / laps I had done. 

  • by rjdude,

    rjdude rjdude Oct 3, 2016 9:14 AM in response to Michelinas
    Level 1 (34 points)
    Oct 3, 2016 9:14 AM in response to Michelinas

    Update:  With more swimming, the lap count seems to get more accurate but still off.  I kept reading online that the new watch had been tested by many swimmers, and they say that the lap count has been very accurate.  When I look at my daily swim results, something was not adding up.  The calorie count seemed good and comparable to the Speedo Fit app (which I used before the new watch).  It was the lap count and the total yards for each swim session that was always wrong.  So yesterday, I changed the pool length to be equal to a full lap length of a pool swim (the sum of the two lengths) -- finally, the lap count and total yards was correct by the end of my swim session.  The lap count was off a little in between my short resting periods, but correct at the end.  The total calories was roughly the same as before, which implies that the watch does not rely on either the lap count or yards for that calculation.  Hope this helps!

  • by RoseMJ,

    RoseMJ RoseMJ Oct 3, 2016 1:42 PM in response to rjdude
    Level 1 (14 points)
    Apple Watch
    Oct 3, 2016 1:42 PM in response to rjdude

    Hi rjdude, and thanks for your update. I will have to try that after a couple of other tests I'm doing. Like you, I think my calorie count is correct, if not the laps and the distance. I have a question for you. Apparently the touch screen is locked as soon as the Pool Swim workout is started. But I'm able to touch it and bring up the display. Can you? I realized today that maybe I shouldn't be able to get a reaction when touching it, and it could very well be the problem.

     

    I have a little update too. I had a follow up call from Apple Support today, who had some further questions for me. One question was about the different stroke types I do, and they asked if I would try 10 laps of one stroke type to see if that made a difference. The other question was about the type of turns I do, which are stop and turn. I asked him to find out about the touch screen thing. That was it, and he's going to get back to me on Wednesday or Thursday.  I'll update when they do. They are pretty interested in this case.

  • by RoseMJ,

    RoseMJ RoseMJ Oct 3, 2016 1:44 PM in response to Michelinas
    Level 1 (14 points)
    Apple Watch
    Oct 3, 2016 1:44 PM in response to Michelinas

    You should contact support too. My problem isn't missed laps, but way too many laps. For most people, the Watch seems to be very accurate, which is somewhat encouraging.  

  • by rjdude,

    rjdude rjdude Oct 3, 2016 2:06 PM in response to RoseMJ
    Level 1 (34 points)
    Oct 3, 2016 2:06 PM in response to RoseMJ

    When in Pool Swim, my screen is locked with the blue water symbol at top.  So the only way I can access the screen is pushing the button or turning the crown.  I don't have that problem you describe.  If you don't activate the swim activity, the screen is NOT technically locked but the general advice is that the screen may not be as responsive to touch senses/gestures when it gets wet.  If you want to jump into the pool to relax and not do laps, you can water lock the screen by swiping up from the bottom of the screen and clicking on the water symbol.

     

    I typically swim just freestyle, although yesterday, I added two additional laps to my workout using a different stroke at the very end, and they were properly recognized/counted.  At the end of each leg, may turns vary so there was no impact there on the lap count.

     

    I also didn't have the issue of missed laps, it was always too many laps.  The Apple Watch algorithm must have an issue depending on the pool length you specify versus what it tracks.  Like Siri, maybe the watch improves the accuracy as you use it more.  The first time I used it, it counted 15 more laps than what I actually did, but then again, was it really full laps when I only entered one pool length for the pool length (especially when the total yards was about half of what it should have been).