Wooky

Q: Steps counted from Health app vs. Activity app on watch

Understand, if I carry only the phone not the watch then Health app should be counting more steps than activity count on watch... however, even though I wear watch all the time, still shows almost 800 step more on Health app than Activity app on watch.

 

Is this normal? Should I just trust activity app count?

 

How exactly health app and activity app communicate each other? my watch was added as a source to health app and I can see when I am only wearing watch first change it gets, phone reflects the steps from watch... so the counts most cases close each other but sometimes is just wacky off! Can someone explain what behavior I should expect from health app and activity app?

 

Thanks a lot

iMac (27-inch, Late 2012), OS X Yosemite (10.10.3)

Posted on Nov 17, 2015 9:52 AM

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Q: Steps counted from Health app vs. Activity app on watch

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  • by Jonathan UK,

    Jonathan UK Jonathan UK Nov 17, 2015 10:01 AM in response to Wooky
    Level 8 (39,243 points)
    Apple Watch
    Nov 17, 2015 10:01 AM in response to Wooky

    Hi

     

    The Health app on your iPhone will show your total / overall steps, whereas the Activity app will show only those steps that were counted via your watch. Data is not double counted. When multiple sources are available during the course of any particular activity, the Health app uses only a single data source to update your steps data. That source is selected based on the priority order that you have set (or that has been created automatically - eg by default, Apple devices rank above third party sources).

     

    To check your data source priorities, on your iPhone, go to: Health app > tap on the Steps chart in the Dashboard (or select via Health Data > Fitness) > Share Data. You can edit the order via Edit (top right).

  • by Wooky,

    Wooky Wooky Nov 17, 2015 10:10 AM in response to Jonathan UK
    Level 1 (1 points)
    Nov 17, 2015 10:10 AM in response to Jonathan UK

    Thanks much for your reply. A few more questions :

     

    Does it matter which apple device put first between phone and watch?

    Can I turn off phone as a data source at all knowing wearing watch all the time?

     

    I fee like health app showing too many steps ever since I started wearing watch... i never even added any 3rd party data source yet.

     

    Thanks again.

  • by Wooky,

    Wooky Wooky Nov 17, 2015 10:33 AM in response to Jonathan UK
    Level 1 (1 points)
    Nov 17, 2015 10:33 AM in response to Jonathan UK

    Also, another one I noticed... understand health app is not to double count for each hardware but looks like it's avoiding double counting based on the time it receives the data... so if you carry phone and watch, then for some reason watch's step data is arriving delayed... then health app ended up recording steps from both devices... unintentionally double counting... does that make sense?

     

    Thanks

    Yoon

  • by Jonathan UK,

    Jonathan UK Jonathan UK Nov 17, 2015 10:58 AM in response to Wooky
    Level 8 (39,243 points)
    Apple Watch
    Nov 17, 2015 10:58 AM in response to Wooky

    Hi Yoon

     

    You may prefer to leave the priority order unchanged (ie Apple's default order).

     

    Data points are associated with the time at which data is recorded, not when it is synced (there may be delays in syncing if, for example, your iPhone and Apple Watch have been temporarily disconnected). As the time is the same on both devices, there should be no discrepancies in data points and no double counting.

     

    When you are wearing Apple Watch, it relies on your arm motion (as measured by the accelerometer) to track movement. There may be times when, even though you are wearing your watch, the watch's accelerometer may not register your steps (for example: you may be pushing a stroller or a shopping cart / trolley). If you also have your iPhone with you at that time, your steps may still be registered and recorded. To record a complete summary of your activity, it may therefore be prudent to keep both devices as data sources.

     

    If you do still wish to remove your iPhone as a source for the Health app:

    - On your iPhone, go to: Settings > Privacy > Motion & Fitness > deselect the Health app.

     

    More information: Use the Activity app on your Apple Watch - Apple Support

  • by Wooky,

    Wooky Wooky Nov 17, 2015 11:29 AM in response to Jonathan UK
    Level 1 (1 points)
    Nov 17, 2015 11:29 AM in response to Jonathan UK

    Ah, by the time it recorded... that make sense.

     

    By the arm movement... I can see why there might be a discrepancy now... All this is very helpful. Thanks much, Jon

  • by Jonathan UK,

    Jonathan UK Jonathan UK Nov 17, 2015 12:07 PM in response to Wooky
    Level 8 (39,243 points)
    Apple Watch
    Nov 17, 2015 12:07 PM in response to Wooky

    You're welcome! Glad to have helped.