David Goucher

Q: Health App Steps/Distance proving inconsistent

Greetings,

 

As the owner of an iPhone 6, I have recently taken it with me early in the morning when I walk my dog.  I walk the same path every day and have measured the distance with a GPS device on my bicycle and path measurement in Google Earth.  It is .60 miles (.01 either way).  Over the past 6 days the distance walked has been .25, .24, .45, .61, .43, .56.  The steps counts seen consistent with mileage recorded - I assume mileage is calculated from a pace length estimated from height.  But in most instances the step counts were far to low. Some of my steps were not being counted.

 

The .61 and .56 distances were recorded on a mid morning walk when the temperature was about 80°.  My earlier morning walks have been with temps of about 67°.  Could temperature have any bearing on the motion sensors accuracy?  Inside my home temperature is typically about 78°.  Might the drop in temp of about 10° on the early morning walks affect the recording.

 

The walks were done at an even walking pace (no running) with perhaps 4-6 brief stops for my dog to sniff stuff and/or do her duty.

 

I wouldn't mind recordings of plus/minus .03 miles (5%) but the distances being recorded seem to show I am doing something wrong or there are hardware/software issues.

 

Any ideas?  Thanks

 

Dave Goucher

iPhone 6, iOS 8

Posted on Oct 15, 2014 11:48 AM

Close

Q: Health App Steps/Distance proving inconsistent

  • All replies
  • Helpful answers

  • by shelliefromohio,

    shelliefromohio shelliefromohio Oct 15, 2014 12:43 PM in response to David Goucher
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 15, 2014 12:43 PM in response to David Goucher

    I've been posting about this myself on other questions.  My health app steps do not match my Up band steps (and i've had no issues with it).  It also does not measure my sleep at all, while my Up band does.  Not really sure what it is, hopefully Apple will do an update to correct this.

  • by Karell,

    Karell Karell Oct 31, 2014 11:06 AM in response to shelliefromohio
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Oct 31, 2014 11:06 AM in response to shelliefromohio

    I've also noticed this issue with both iPhone 5s and 6. They've both typically reported only 10-25% of my total steps, compared to what my Fitbit reports. I've tested the Fitbit accuracy many times (yes, I really am that anal & nitpicky) and it's never been off by more than a few steps per hundred … ~95% accuracy. This wasn't an issue before, but now that Fitbit has chosen not to support HealthKit I'd like to use the M8 to track my steps (as opposed to buying a new tracker). And yes, my iPhone is with me at all times.

     

    Has anyone found a way to calibrate the motion chip? Having seen this issue on two different pieces of hardware and many iOS version, please understand I've restarted & restored many times.

     

    Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

     

    Karell

  • by hansolo415,

    hansolo415 hansolo415 Nov 3, 2014 9:04 PM in response to David Goucher
    Level 1 (2 points)
    Nov 3, 2014 9:04 PM in response to David Goucher

    David,  I've also seen the issue and note about a 10-30% underreporting of steps.  However, your issue is an inconsistency while walking which sounds more like a software failure.  I am finding that the Health App crashes repeatedly and that if it is accessed by a number of different applications it crashes more often.  This shouldn't affect the motion detection, but it might.  Some things that might help with software failures are:

     

    1. Turn off other programs when you go for the walk

    2. Reset the phone (settings, general, reset network settings)

    3. Back up the phone, restore it as new, then restore it from the backup (presumably cleans up may problems)

    4. Check and remove other sources from Apple Health access that you don't need

     

    Even if you get the software to work right there appears to be a high likelihood that the iPhone motion detector will under report compared to a FitBit, JawBone etc.  My best guess is that this has to do with the software in the iPhone that determines what is and is not a step (ie the threshold is higher on the iPhone).  There are things that do seem to help.

     

    1. If the iPhone is on your hip it seems to be more accurate

    2. It could be that it will read better on your arm, but that's just a guess

     

    When distance is calculated from steps the steps have to be accurate for that to work.  However, since the iPhone has GPS it should measure distance accurately regardless of steps.  You might find the GPS to be more accurate if instead of Apple Health you use one of the other programs like Runtastic, Runkeeper, Wahoo Fitness or even now the FitBit.  These programs access the same data from the GPS and motion, but seem less apt to failure and to crash. If this still doesn't work it could be a bad GPS antennae (check to see if the iPhone locates your properly and if it tracks you in the native maps program).  GPS may not work as well if you are covered by trees and if the phone is hidden under your clothing.  The tracking appears to use GPS antennas which require line of site, but also to a lesser degree information from cell towers (less accurate).  So if you are walking between buildings or beneath trees you might have a problem.  Now if you have zero reception or poor reception then even the GPS calculation may be off significantly. 

  • by JonnyKuang,

    JonnyKuang JonnyKuang Apr 13, 2015 8:30 AM in response to David Goucher
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mac OS X
    Apr 13, 2015 8:30 AM in response to David Goucher

    I found a workaround!

    Launch Health, open Walking+Running Distance, tap Share Data, and check all apps in here, find them, (BACKUP if you like, ) delete them, and done!

  • by fastprof,

    fastprof fastprof Aug 10, 2015 8:20 PM in response to David Goucher
    Level 1 (10 points)
    Aug 10, 2015 8:20 PM in response to David Goucher

    I am now having the opposite problem  I had an iPhone6 that was lost in Italy in July.  When I returned home, I replaced the phone, and the IOS was updated when I got the new phone.  I use the Heatlh app to track my running mileage.  I don't care about pace...just the distance.  Suddenly the length of all my runs seems to have increased by about 10-15%.  I'd love to believe that the previous iPhone was measuring short....but I have a feeling it wasn't, and that there is a systematic reason why the Health app is now overestimating.

     

    I'm curious if others have experienced this.

  • by Itinfoguy,

    Itinfoguy Itinfoguy Sep 8, 2015 4:15 PM in response to David Goucher
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 8, 2015 4:15 PM in response to David Goucher

    I've found that there is a different measurement for steps and distance depending on if the phone is in my pocket vs in my hands. I've walked the same route multiple times with the phone in hand or in my pocket. I also use the mapmyrun app. In my hand the phone registers more distance but less steps.  In my pocket I get less distance but more steps. Which measurement is correct?

  • by Muzamil Chaudhary,

    Muzamil Chaudhary Muzamil Chaudhary Feb 24, 2016 3:48 AM in response to David Goucher
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 24, 2016 3:48 AM in response to David Goucher

    I have the same issue, step counts and distance is up to 30% incorrect and ratio between step counts and distance covered is mismatched on almost each walk. I have compared the results with other app i.e. Nike. I think health app takes your current location (L1) and then after some time takes your updated location (L2) and calculates the distance in between two locations. But if you have come back to L2 after taking a short round back from another location (L3) exactly when app is taking your location again it will ignore that distance which you have covered between L2 to L3 and from L3 to L2. i.e. you started from L1 and then reached to L2 on both location app has taken your locations and calculated the distance. Now you moved to L3 but at that point app didn't take any reading and you came back to L2 then distance from L2 to L3 and from L3 back to L2 is missed. I am not sure but I feel so.

  • by VM_India,

    VM_India VM_India May 20, 2016 9:00 PM in response to David Goucher
    Level 1 (4 points)
    May 20, 2016 9:00 PM in response to David Goucher

    I have compared two iPhone 6s Plus models. One is consistently reporting 25% more distance and steps than the other.  

  • by Nashvillecat@123,

    Nashvillecat@123 Nashvillecat@123 Sep 3, 2016 8:06 AM in response to VM_India
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Sep 3, 2016 8:06 AM in response to VM_India

    Both distance and steps vary wildly between my iPhone 6 and and my wife's. For example, other than puttering around the house before she got up, we set out on a walk around the neighborhood. Obviously we travel the same route together. Her steps for this AM are 5,280, mine is 6,386. Her distance is 1.94 miles, mine is 2.94. While i suppose it is possible that I traveled that before she began moving this morning, I am highly suspicious! I consistently obtain higher calculations with both, but this seems excessive. Discussion around  Location Services and setting strides have ben unproductive ...i.e. not found. Any insights would be helpful.

  • by James Borzak,

    James Borzak James Borzak Sep 20, 2016 6:59 AM in response to David Goucher
    Level 2 (459 points)
    Sep 20, 2016 6:59 AM in response to David Goucher

    The iOS 9 health app was close. iOS 10 health app is as much as 25% different from old app and different then the iPod app.

  • by SpotsUnknown,

    SpotsUnknown SpotsUnknown Sep 25, 2016 1:50 PM in response to David Goucher
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Sep 25, 2016 1:50 PM in response to David Goucher

    i find it profoundly dumbfounding that this problem exists and no one even has a solid GUESS as to why. the discrepancies reported (and i'll add there is a huge one between my iphone and my wife's even when we're side by side all day) mean this data is fraudulent.

  • by nerdybird,

    nerdybird nerdybird Oct 5, 2016 9:17 AM in response to James Borzak
    Level 1 (5 points)
    Oct 5, 2016 9:17 AM in response to James Borzak

    me too. mine was inconsistent at first (a couple of years ago), then for the past year it was very reliable. I actually considered not using my fitbit anymore. after the ios 10 update, it has been thrown way off again. it's reporting about 10-25% less than my fitbit.

     

    it was working just fine before ios 10!

  • by SWarner01,

    SWarner01 SWarner01 Oct 5, 2016 12:03 PM in response to nerdybird
    Level 1 (16 points)
    iPad
    Oct 5, 2016 12:03 PM in response to nerdybird

    I Use Pedometer ++ from th app store.  It seems to be pretty accurate.

     

    IMG_0193.PNG

  • by alfromestero,

    alfromestero alfromestero Oct 10, 2016 6:40 AM in response to David Goucher
    Level 1 (4 points)
    iPhone
    Oct 10, 2016 6:40 AM in response to David Goucher

    My Iphone6 can see into the future!!!  I walk most mornings from my home to a park at the end of the road.  I've clocked it with my car odometer as well as GPS.  It's .8 miles.    When walking, the iphone6 is in my front left pocket.   Sometimes it records .8, sometimes it records as low as .57 but this morning was the best.    As I left the house the health app report no data yet for today.  Good, a fresh start.   When I arrived at the park, it said I walked 1.6 miles.   That's the distance ROUND TRIP - I hadn't gone back yet.  Also said I walked 3,500+ steps when normally it says about 1400 to 1700.   But the best part is, on the return trip home, I only walked and addition .1 miles for a total round trip of 1.7 miles.   It knew I was going to return home before I did it.   What a smart phone...