Apple Watch Calibration issue

Question

Level 1

0 points

Apple Watch Calibration issue

Hi...so I've had the Watch since it came out. for the first month or so, the distance was fairly consistent to the treadmill i was using as well as the Nike app. However, for the past couple of months, the distance indicated in the Activity app is usually about 20% more than what i'm actually running. I just did a weekend with a 5K, a 10K, and a half marathon, and all three registered similar incorrect distances. My iPhone was with me stationary on the treadmill, but was on an armband during this past weekend's runs. Anything to help me get this working better would be appreciated...its VERY off. thanks

MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Late 2013), OS X Yosemite (10.10.5)

Posted on Sep 7, 2015 5:50 PM

Reply

Answer 1

mario49

Community Specialist

Sep 9, 2015 8:36 AM in response to egiventer

Hello egiventer,

After reviewing your post, it sounds like the Apple Watch is not showing correct distances. I would recommend that you read this article, it may be able to help the issue.

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

Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.
Have a nice day

Reply

Answer 2

egiventer Author

Level 1

0 points

Sep 9, 2015 9:25 AM in response to mario49

Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately, I have already reviewed that article and confirmed I have already done everything the article suggests. I have probably 400 miles worth of running and walking, using the workout app in the 'outdoor walk', 'outdoor run', 'indoor run', and 'other' capacities...as well as not using the workout app. My iPhone 6 is with me 90% of the time...in my shorts pocket or armband, or stationary on the tray of the treadmill. Location Services is always on. The treadmill results are always the worse...it will show at least 20% more in distance traveled, but easily 20-30% less in calorie burn compared to the treadmill's results(there are 24 treadmills at my 24hr fitness...fairly well managed, treadmills are maintained). Another example is this past weekend, I participated in a 10K on saturday and a half marathon on sunday. The 10K distance shows 6.69mi instead of 6.2mi. The half marathon distance shows 13.8mi instead of 13.1mi. These numbers were closer to the correct distances, but only because I utilized the NIKE app during my run from what i can tell. Thanks.

Reply

Answer 3

Conard10

Level 1

10 points

Sep 10, 2015 6:32 AM in response to egiventer

Do a search for some other posts about running distance and GPS. There are several of us having issues with the distance tracking using the Apple Watch. For me, I've had the watch since May and it has NEVER recorded the correct distance. Working with Apple, at one point I was even given a new watch. I sent it multiple screenshots of the apple watch vs. RunKeeper, Nike, Strava, etc.

For me, the tracking on the treadmill is actually more accurate than when running outside. The apple watch is recording 20-30% less distance when I run outside compared to my other apps and on courses where I know the exact distance.

I'm not sure about your treadmill runs, but a few of us seem to think that for outside runs, when you use the "outdoor run" feature, it's not using the GPS. I don't know how it could be with the distance being so off.

After several phone calls with Apply they pretty much blew me off and said they hope a future software update will help.

I bought this thing for running so I'm NOT happy!! 🙂

Reply