Apple watch exercise not counting

I go to the gym for an hour in the mornings. Spend half my time on the treadmill and the other half on the strength and stretching machines. I noticed it hadn't been counting towards exercise. It was saying that I took so many steps and such speed for such distance, but still not exercise. I tried the workout ap which counted as a work out and did what it was supposed to but still did not count anything towards my exercise goal. This is very frustrating as I switched from the Fitbit to the Apple Watch hoping for more accuracy. Apple needs to find a real fix for this.

I know that the Watch uses the prior week's (or weeks') activity to fine tune recommendations to increase your Move goal and possibly change how you earn your Exercise minutes (the latter being my concern).

But I have to think that the Watch would make different recommendations for two people, side by side, with the same basic personal data with the exception of initial Activity Level.

If not, what is the point of telling them your current Activity level in the first place? And yes, something could happen to impair your ability to perform on that level, just as a touch of arthritis might cause you to dial back spinning significantly and permanently. (Note my optimism on achieving all the Power Ups and advancing to the next level of difficulty!) 😀

So I'd really appreciate Apple telling us exactly how they calculate Exercise minutes in a best case scenario (i.e. a perfectly functional Apple Watch and software). They don't have to explain the secret algorithm used, just the metrics involved and how they're used, assuming that's not the secret algorithm. 🙂

Hi

To credit progress towards the daily Exercise goal, the Activity app aims to identify activity that equals or exceeds the intensity of a brisk walk. This requirement applies both during general daily wear and when recording workouts via the Workout app.

The definition of a brisk walk depends on your personal information. To check that this is accurate (and to update it over time):

On your iPhone, in the Watch app, go to: My Watch (tab) > Health > Edit - tap and adjust items, then tap on Done.

If you have not yet done so, it may also help to update your iPhone and Apple Watch to the latest software (starting with your iPhone). After updating from earlier software versions, some users reported seeing increases in the proportion of their activity that was credited as Exercise.

• Update the iOS software on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support
• Update the software on your Apple Watch - Apple Support

During general daily wear and when using the Workout app to record Indoor Walk, Indoor Run and certain outdoor workouts when the iPhone is not taken along, the Activity app and Workout app rely on arm motion (measured by the accelerometer) to track movement for the purpose of estimating results including Exercise credit, distance and pace.

For the best results, allow the arm on which you are wearing your watch to swing naturally as you move around and, where relevant, during workouts. If the iPhone is also taken along during outdoor workouts (with Location Services and Bluetooth enabled), the watch can also access GPS data to help inform estimations.

Calibrating your watch can improve the accuracy of estimations made by the apps by teaching your watch how your arm movements relate to your stride lengths at different speeds when walking and/or running. It does this by comparing data from the accelerometer with GPS (Location Services) data from your iPhone. Instructions for calibrating your watch are available via the link below. The article also includes instructions for resetting any existing calibration data and starting the process afresh. For the best results, calibrate for at least 20 minutes at each of the speeds at which you typically run and/or walk.

Also ensure that you wear your watch snugly on the top of your wrist during workouts. Apple suggests that you consider tightening your watch band before workouts and loosening it again afterwards.

If you would prefer to receive Exercise credit for workouts regardless of their intensity levels, track them via the Workout app using Other as the activity type. This will credit one minute of Exercise for each full minute of the workout. Active calories will be estimated at a rate equivalent to a brisk walk or based on data recorded by the heart rate sensor, whichever is higher.

More information:

Use the Activity app on your Apple Watch - Apple Support

Use the Workout app on your Apple Watch - Apple Support

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

Your heart rate. What it means, and where on Apple Watch you’ll find it. - Apple Support

Hi TahoeC,

I'm sorry to see that your Workout activity was not tracked with your Apple Watch. In order to help resolve this issue, I'd like you to please check the settings outlined in the steps below, and also calibrate your Apple Watch for better tracking results.

1. Bring your iPhone and your Apple Watch.
2. Find an open, flat area outside that offers good GPS reception and clear skies.
3. Make sure that Location Services is on. To check the setting on your iPhone, tap Settings > Privacy > Location Services.
4. Make sure that Motion Calibration & Distance is on. To check the setting on your iPhone, tap Settings > Privacy > Location Services > System Services.
5. Hold your iPhone in your hand, or attach it to your body with an armband (preferably) or waistband.
6. Open the Workout app on your Apple Watch, and choose Outdoor Walk or Outdoor Run.
7. Choose your goal, or select Open, and tap Start.
8. Walk or run at your normal pace for about 20 minutes.

If you can't accumulate 20 minutes of outdoor walking or running during one Workout session, you can accumulate 20 minutes over multiple outdoor walking or running Workout sessions with your iPhone. If you frequently walk or run at a variety of different speeds, it's best to accumulate 20 minutes of outdoor walking or running in the Workout app with your iPhone at each of the speeds you frequently walk or run at.

You don't need to do anything specific to start this calibration process. It can be done during a regular outdoor walking or running workout in the Workout app when you have your iPhone with you. And, whenever you use Apple Watch and iPhone to walk or run outside in the Workout app, it will continue to calibrate the accelerometer by learning your unique stride length at different speeds, and get more accurate over time.

This calibration process can also help improve the accuracy of your overall calorie estimations in many of the other workout categories in the Workout app, and the calorie, distance, Move, and Exercise estimations in the Activity app. However, it's not necessary to do this calibration process before using either the Activity or Workout apps.

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

Cheers,

Alex H.

I have done all the reset un-pair what not for the watch and I still find that I don't understand the metric being recorded here. On my watch whenever I am done with a 2 to 2.5 mile walk and I end and save, the exercise ring will go all the way around and then some. When I check it later it will have backed off and credited me with half the exercise goal for the day. I hope that the Nike+ version works a bit better than the Apple watch does. I loved my Nike GPS watch and only came to the Apple watch for the heart rate function. I have been pretty disappointed so far.

I Am in a similar situation, but think I can add some additional details that may be helpful. For the first month of use with my Apple Watch Sport, my exercise was relatively predictable: a few brisk walks between my home/car/office during the day and a long dog walk at around 6pm to meet my exercise goal. For the most part this remained unchanged other than some yard work. I hit my exercise goals doing this level of activity without issue.

however, this past weekend on Sunday I went on a long hike with my wife and daughter. I used the workout app for an outdoor walk and since I was carrying my daughter in a frame on my back, my heart rate was much higher than usual for an extended period of time.

Since that walk, I have found it very difficult to get the watch to recognize any exercise at all. It's almoat as if I confused it, and it thinks my heart rate needs to hit a higher base level for it to start counting towards my goals. My same daily routine above barely registers towards my daily exercise goals.

Alex, this stock Apple answer is not helpful.

I've counted at least 40 people on the forums with this issue.

The Apple Watch is not registering any distance or speed in any workout despite following your instructions.

We need some response from Apple as to whether this is hardware or software before the refund period has expired.

I would like to add this:

I just called Apple support and they think they will have to replace my watch but before that, the person I talked to will ask the engineers if there is something I can do. I also asked the following question: On what criteria is based an intense activity (the activity app will register the 30 minutes of the green circle for each minute of activity intense enough like a brisk walk or something more intense). Is it the speed of the walk or run or the heart frequency that matters? If it's the speed of the walk or run, I can't grow longer legs to walk faster. If it's the heart frequency, that's different.

Anyway, if I walk slower one day and my heart doesn't go as fast, but I walk 90 minutes, that should count. That's what I did the other day and it registered as 10 minutes in the green circle of the activity app. That is frustrating!

I also said to apple support that I'm not the only one with the problem, there are at least 40 other people having the same problem.

I'll keep you posted when I will get a call from Apple.

I'm having an interesting problem myself. The first few weeks, I had success with using the exercise app for running and walking. Having my phone in my at all workouts. I always used the "no goal" since I just wanted it to record my stats as I run a fixed loop in the neighborhood and walk a fixed loop at lunch around the buildings. Then 2 days ago something strange started happening. I'd exit the building at lunch, choose outdoor walk - no goal, and hit start. As I began to walk I checked my watch and noticed that after about 6 minutes, I had hit 22.78 miles! I had to cut my walk short of course, I was getting tired after such a long distance in such a short time.

I thought this a little odd. So I took these pictures.

Yesterday, I went out and did the same thing. This time I started walking and kept looking at my watch. 10ft, 20 ft, 50ft, 6.5 miles, 6.6 miles. this was after about a minute of walking. All the other stats seemed reasonable, but the mileage varies.

I stopped the tracking. I deleted it. I went to fixed program of 1.1 miles (which evidently was my longest walk it remembered). I turned that on and walked the mile or so, and it was fine.

This morning I went out for a run (first time in a week) and I started w/no goal. I ran to the end of my street and my watch buzzed and I looked down and I was at 55miles. Call me Flash. I stopped the watch, went to the fixed distance (that I know it is) and hit 2.8 miles as my goal. I ran the rest of my loop. I know the various points along the way that it used to say "buzz...1 mile...buzz 2 miles." and it did neither. I had run almost the 3/4 of my loop and it said I now was only at .48 miles and when I was done I had only done "50%" of my workout. So I ended up saving that. Mind you the activity app knows that I did something from about 6:30 to about 7:05 at a decent intensity, but the green ring only showed that I did a bit of my workout. sigh.

When I got back home I figured that something was amiss, so I reset erased and re-paired the watch to my iPhone. I restored from backup. Today about 2 I went to do my 1 mile lunch loop and the watched warned me that it needed 20 minutes of activity to calibrate. ok. I set it to the no-goal setting was still a mess after about 50 feet. 11 miles or something like that. I stopped and discarded it, and then I set it to a 1 mile fixed target. it seemed to work ok. unfortunately it hasn't synced that activity back to the iPhone yet (ya'd think it would be almost immediate). So I looked on my watch and it also says that I only did 3 minutes of exercise (although it does say that I walked 1.09 miles).

I like a lot of the other features of the watch...but I'm starting to miss my fitbit.

Having the same problem with the Exercise ring not recording the correct minutes of exercise. Went for a walk using the workout app "outdoor walk" - walked for 40 minutes at a brisk pace - got my heart rate up - and the exercise ring minutes only recorded 23 minutes. Sort of discouraging when you are trying to meet that goal - have met it - and the watch won't record it. I can use Runkeeper as well - it records the proper minutes, distance, etc, but the apple Excercise app just won't do it. Had my watch for a couple weeks and have only 'ringed out' a couple times - even when I know I have exceeded the 30 minutes. Bummer!

I'm very disappointed that my activity rings aren't accurately tracking my workouts. I have walked 5.2 miles for almost 2 hours. I unpaired my Apple Watch as suggested, but it didn't fix my problem. The last few days worked perfectly. Today, I met all my goals twice over. Please help fix this glitch.

I see you joined today - welcome!

Please note that this is a user-based support community.

If you would also like to submit feedback directly to Apple, you can do so here:

https://www.apple.com/feedback/watch.html

You may find it helpful to review my previous reply in this thread, which also explains (at the end) how workouts can be recorded via the built-in Workout app whilst receiving Exercise credit for every minute of the workout:

Re: Re: Apple watch exercise not counting

As I hoped to explain, the built-in Workout app can be used to earn Exercise credit for every minute of a workout, even when the intensity level does not meet the normal requirement for earning Exercise credit.

To do so, record your activity via the Workout app under "Other".

My previous post refers: Re: Re: Apple watch exercise not counting