My Outdoor Walk workout records 30 flights of stairs on my daily walk despite the fact that there are no stairs in the route. However, the Stair Stepper records only 13 flights when I climb the 16 floors (each 18 steps—I counted them!) of my building 4 times (64 floors total). I’m on iOS 26.3. Any ideas?
Apple Watch Series 10, watchOS 26
Erasmix wrote:
My Outdoor Walk workout records 30 flights of stairs on my daily walk despite the fact that there are no stairs in the route. However, the Stair Stepper records only 13 flights when I climb the 16 floors (each 18 steps—I counted them!) of my building 4 times (64 floors total). I’m on iOS 26.3. Any ideas?
You can select "Show All Data" in the Health app for the flights of stairs, and if you drill down it shows the exact time recorded for each individual flight of stairs. You can compare to what you were doing and figure out what it thinks is a flight of stairs. The Health app does say that a flight of stairs is "approximately 10 feet of elevation gain." The count of stair flights is one of those indirectly inferred things that can have levels of inaccuracy depending on how it is being inferred (like calories). Calories are not measured directly but rather inferred from things like speed, distance, height, weight, age, gender, etc. I have noticed that my bicycling computer seems to be more careful about calories, for instance the bike computer incorporates elevation gain in energy expended while the watch doesn't seem to do this, or at least underestimates energy required to change elevation in a bike ride. As for flights of stairs, that is not measured directly, but it is inferred from elevation changes and some indicator that leads the watch to sense that one is walking up stairs (something in the gait or arm swing). Because there is a lot of variation in the way arms or wrists move or swing in different individuals and their walking, one might expect such an inferred quantity to have a fair amount of variation in precision.
Erasmix wrote:
My Outdoor Walk workout records 30 flights of stairs on my daily walk despite the fact that there are no stairs in the route. However, the Stair Stepper records only 13 flights when I climb the 16 floors (each 18 steps—I counted them!) of my building 4 times (64 floors total). I’m on iOS 26.3. Any ideas?
You can select "Show All Data" in the Health app for the flights of stairs, and if you drill down it shows the exact time recorded for each individual flight of stairs. You can compare to what you were doing and figure out what it thinks is a flight of stairs. The Health app does say that a flight of stairs is "approximately 10 feet of elevation gain." The count of stair flights is one of those indirectly inferred things that can have levels of inaccuracy depending on how it is being inferred (like calories). Calories are not measured directly but rather inferred from things like speed, distance, height, weight, age, gender, etc. I have noticed that my bicycling computer seems to be more careful about calories, for instance the bike computer incorporates elevation gain in energy expended while the watch doesn't seem to do this, or at least underestimates energy required to change elevation in a bike ride. As for flights of stairs, that is not measured directly, but it is inferred from elevation changes and some indicator that leads the watch to sense that one is walking up stairs (something in the gait or arm swing). Because there is a lot of variation in the way arms or wrists move or swing in different individuals and their walking, one might expect such an inferred quantity to have a fair amount of variation in precision.
Did you try to clean the openings of your Series 10?
If there is water or debris inside of those, the built in barometer might not work correctly anymore.
Also take off the wrist band and clean the slots.
How to clean your Apple Watch - Apple Support
Apparently the Apple Watch uses its barometric altimeter to gauge the number of flights of stairs you walk - about 10-12 ft = 1 flight of stairs. Depending on the actual height of the floors of your building your watch could be off a floor or 2 during the day. Similarly, a walk that involves hills could add a couple flights of stairs to the count.
Sorry that counting flight of stairs still does not work as expected.
We are all users here, just like you, trying to help each other. Apple provides only the platform for these forums.
Did you already contact the official Apple Support and ask them to diagnose your watch online?
Contact Apple Support - Apple Support
Does your watch show the correct elevation at known places?
Thank you for sharing the instructions. I followed them, it was a bit dirty. I brushed the speaker too. The result was the same: 13 flights.
BTW, I’d highly recommend you (I assume you’re with Apple?) include a High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) workout. It’s a very popular trend that has amazing health benefits ✌🏾
That’s fine but what about it not counting the 64 flights of stairs iog
my building? Each floor has 18 steps.
Watch is really bad at counting stairs. Always has been, I ignore the count.
If it uses the barometer why doesn't it count steps in the elevator?
I guess, there need to be steps involved, or at least the movement of the watch on your wrist to simulate steps, to count a flight of stairs in the elevator.
I'll try walking on the spot next time I am in a long elevator 😎
Reminds me of the Ministry of Silly Walks sketch 😀
Apple Watch not properly counting flights of stairs
