Helena Motta

Q: My Apple Watch doesn't work on a treadmill. I started the app Exercise/walk indoor. I walked 5 km my HR at 114 bpm and the app shows only 31' of exercise and also shows the distance wrong. Please, I hope you fix it soon. Helena Motta

My Apple Watch doesn't work on a treadmill. I started the app Exercise/walk indoor. I walked 5 km my HR at 114 bpm and the app shows only 31' of exercise and also shows the distance wrong. Please, I hope you fix it soon. Helena Motta

Apple Watch, watchOS 1.0.1

Posted on Aug 14, 2015 5:58 AM

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Q: My Apple Watch doesn't work on a treadmill. I started the app Exercise/walk indoor. I walked 5 km my HR at 114 bpm and the app sho ... more

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Jonathan UK,Helpful

    Jonathan UK Jonathan UK Aug 14, 2015 6:03 AM in response to Helena Motta
    Level 8 (38,282 points)
    Apple Watch
    Aug 14, 2015 6:03 AM in response to Helena Motta

    Hi Helena

     

    Welcome to the Apple Support Communities (this is a community of users, so you are not talking directly with Apple).

     

    Have you calibrated your Apple Watch? This will help it to record exercise more accurately when you are not using it outdoors, together with your iPhone.

     

    You can follow the instructions here:

     

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

  • by nick101,

    nick101 nick101 Aug 14, 2015 6:54 AM in response to Helena Motta
    Level 5 (5,113 points)
    Aug 14, 2015 6:54 AM in response to Helena Motta

    As Jonathan says, you need to calibrate the watch to get it to measure more accurately.

     

    On a treadmill, the watch only has the number of steps to work with. If you calibrate, the watch gets a good view of how long your stride is, so it will be able to calculate the distance more accurately

  • by Helena Motta,

    Helena Motta Helena Motta Aug 14, 2015 7:09 AM in response to Jonathan UK
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 14, 2015 7:09 AM in response to Jonathan UK

    The Location Services was ON and so the Movement and Distance, and I already had walked 50' more than one time with the iPhone on my waist....

    thanks for for your answer.

     

    HElena

  • by nick101,Helpful

    nick101 nick101 Aug 14, 2015 7:15 AM in response to Helena Motta
    Level 5 (5,113 points)
    Aug 14, 2015 7:15 AM in response to Helena Motta

    Location services doesn't help on a treadmill, because it's driven by the GPS in the phone. Even if you have the phone with you on the treadmill, because you're not actually going anywhere, the GPS has nothing to work with.

     

    The walking wth the phone should have calibrated your watch, so it should have a good view of your stride length and therefore should calculate the distance quite well. My experience is that the watch can be inconsistent when monitoring walking exercise, and it's *very* sensitive to heart rate. If the heart rate drops, it doesn't record the exercise. I don't know what the "magic number" for heart rate.

     

    Recently, I did a 4-mile hilly walk (about 1.25 hours) and the watch record 35 minutes. A few days later, I did a 1.5 mile flat walk (about 25 minutes) and the watch record the full duration.

     

    Apple is aware that there are issues here and is, I believe, working on fixes

  • by Helena Motta,

    Helena Motta Helena Motta Aug 14, 2015 7:17 AM in response to nick101
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 14, 2015 7:17 AM in response to nick101

    I was frustrated because I spent more than 50' on the treadmill with HR above 100 and it showed only 31' of exercise.

    The distance was 450 Mts less, but ok. Ok with steps, more 6550 steps.

    THank you so much!

  • by Helena Motta,

    Helena Motta Helena Motta Aug 14, 2015 7:21 AM in response to nick101
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 14, 2015 7:21 AM in response to nick101

    It is funny because yesterday I went to the gym to lift weights and I chose Exercise/Other and it registered 48' of exercise and my HR was lower than today...

  • by Jonathan UK,

    Jonathan UK Jonathan UK Aug 14, 2015 7:28 AM in response to Helena Motta
    Level 8 (38,282 points)
    Apple Watch
    Aug 14, 2015 7:28 AM in response to Helena Motta

    Hi Helena

     

    Some other users have noted that they get accurate exercise time results by using "Other" instead of "Indoor Walk".

     

    One user has reported that Apple is aware of an issue with Indoor Walk data recording and is working on it.

    BUG: Indoor Walk does not record exercise properly

     

    You may also get better accuracy from your calibration activities by holding your iPhone in your hand or attaching it to your arm with an armband. These are the first two ways in which Apple recommends carrying the iPhone for this purposes, with a waistband mentioned third.

     

    "Hold your iPhone in your hand, or attach it to your body with an armband (preferably) or waistband." - Calibrating your Apple Watch for improved Workout and Activity accuracy - Apple Support