How do we get the Activity app on the watch to record activity. I walk two miles at a good pace and get no credit. I wave my watch arm back and forth for a minute and get full credit.
Apple Watch, iOS 8.3, Activity
Do you have your phone with you when your a walking?
Yes, I have my watch with me.
If GPS is on it should have recorded the distance and the pace that you were walking at, check them. When they say a brisk walk they truly mean brisk.
To correct my last reply, I had my phone with me while I walked. Indeed it did record my walks. All of them were at 19 minutes per mile. That would not have been a brisk pace when I was 60, but it is now that I am 80. It would be for almost anyone my age. My profile in the watch has the age info and it should take it into account. On today's walks I made a point of swinging my arm. I got credit for some of my time walking -- about half. Bemused by this, I waved my watch arm back and forth for a minute while standing still. I was given credit for one minute of exercise. I can only conclude that the activity and workout apps are not very well thought out.
Use the exercise app on the watch (running man icon). Then choose your exercise.
People are having inconsistent experiences with these apps. I suppose that's partly down to their being version 1.0.
Having said that, there are some things that people have tried that work some of the time, so here goes.
Background
1. The watch uses the phone GPS to measure distance. If you walk or run withe the phone and watch, the watch will capture distance from the phone, and use it to estimate your stride length (factoring your height and age, I suppose). If you later go without the phone, the watch will attempt to estimates distance from your stride length multiplied by the number of steps.
2. It seems that the watch gets its step count from your arm swing via it internal accelerometer - for example, someone pushing a baby stroller, or holding the bars on a treadmill doesn't seem to record many of the steps.
3. The watch estimates your calorie burn from the above plus heart rate, age, weight etc
What's worked
- Doing several calibration walks/runs outdoors with both watch and phone and a very defined arm swing
- Unpairing and re-pairing the watch and phone
- Resetting the watch to factory and starting again
Having said all that, the mechanisms (hardware and software) do not yet seem to be 100% reliable and consistent, so you might find that none of this helps. If that's the case, a call to Apple support might help, but at least it'll help to register the extent of the issue
The reply from nick101 seems to me to be right on target. I will continue to try different remedies. this orning i pwered my watch on and off. Let's see if that makes a difference.
Hi jcpolk,
To expand on previous replies, I do recommend going through the calibration process for your Apple Watch to improve the measurements during activity and workouts. The directions to do so are listed in the article linked to below.
Calibrating your Apple Watch for improved Workout and Activity accuracy - Apple Support
Apple Watch uses different kinds of information to calculate your overall activity and caloric burn. The more your Apple Watch learns about you, the more customized its calculations become.
For example, enter some data about yourself when you open Activity for the first time, like your age and weight. This will help Apple Watch make calculations just for you. Then wear your Apple Watch regularly so that the accuracy of your data continues to improve over time. Get the most customized caloric burn and overall activity readings by using your Workout app with your iPhone when you walk or run outside.
Use Activity on Apple Watch - Apple Support
Have a great weekend,
Alex H.
How do we get the watch to record exercise? I walk three miles at a good pace and get no credit.
