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Level 1

36 points

Swimming workout miscounts laps and distance

HI there ...

I have the new Apple Watch Series 2. I swim laps in our indoor community pool twice a week, and I've used the new Watch while swimming twice now. Both times the Watch gets the laps and distance wrong. Here is some more detail:

Our community pool is 25 yards long - we double-checked this by measuring it ourselves. I use the Pool Swim workout.

The first time I used the Watch, I swam 44 laps, which is 1100 yards. The workout app reported that I had done 62 laps, and 1550 yards.

The second time (today), I swam 50 laps, which is 1250 yards. The workout app reported that I had done 80 laps and 2000 yards.

I always swim the same way - 1 lap breast stroke, 2 laps side stroke, 1 lap back stroke. Then I repeat. I do not flip turn.

Any ideas or help greatly appreciated.

Posted on Sep 26, 2016 5:37 AM

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rjdude

Level 1

36 points

Posted on Oct 3, 2016 9:14 AM

Update: With more swimming, the lap count seems to get more accurate but still off. I kept reading online that the new watch had been tested by many swimmers, and they say that the lap count has been very accurate. When I look at my daily swim results, something was not adding up. The calorie count seemed good and comparable to the Speedo Fit app (which I used before the new watch). It was the lap count and the total yards for each swim session that was always wrong. So yesterday, I changed the pool length to be equal to a full lap length of a pool swim (the sum of the two lengths) -- finally, the lap count and total yards was correct by the end of my swim session. The lap count was off a little in between my short resting periods, but correct at the end. The total calories was roughly the same as before, which implies that the watch does not rely on either the lap count or yards for that calculation. Hope this helps!

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28 replies

rjdude

Level 1

36 points

Sep 29, 2016 12:42 AM in response to Michelinas

I Just used my new AW today and swam freestyle and got the same result: innacurate laps and distance. It starting getting off the mark after the 12th complete lap.

RoseMJ Author

Level 1

36 points

Sep 29, 2016 6:20 AM in response to rjdude

Thanks! So glad to hear I'm not the only one. Also glad to hear that you had the problem while swimming freestyle only. Still waiting on support to get back to me.

Sep 29, 2016 9:33 AM in response to RoseMJ

I just did my first pool swim yesterday and I too was having missed laps. I was doing freestyle only and know exactly how many yards / laps I had done.

RoseMJ Author

Level 1

36 points

Oct 3, 2016 1:42 PM in response to rjdude

Hi rjdude, and thanks for your update. I will have to try that after a couple of other tests I'm doing. Like you, I think my calorie count is correct, if not the laps and the distance. I have a question for you. Apparently the touch screen is locked as soon as the Pool Swim workout is started. But I'm able to touch it and bring up the display. Can you? I realized today that maybe I shouldn't be able to get a reaction when touching it, and it could very well be the problem.

I have a little update too. I had a follow up call from Apple Support today, who had some further questions for me. One question was about the different stroke types I do, and they asked if I would try 10 laps of one stroke type to see if that made a difference. The other question was about the type of turns I do, which are stop and turn. I asked him to find out about the touch screen thing. That was it, and he's going to get back to me on Wednesday or Thursday. I'll update when they do. They are pretty interested in this case.

RoseMJ Author

Level 1

36 points

Oct 3, 2016 1:44 PM in response to Michelinas

You should contact support too. My problem isn't missed laps, but way too many laps. For most people, the Watch seems to be very accurate, which is somewhat encouraging.

Oct 28, 2016 5:52 AM in response to rjdude

I am having this same problem too. My watch does not count enough laps I did 10 laps using the kick board no arms and it read 0. Then I did 56 laps free style and it only read 51. When I checked the display during the swim it would be off by one or two. Sometimes it caught up and then the laps would be off again. Very frustratin.

Oct 28, 2016 7:36 AM in response to RoseMJ

Hi RoseMJ,

In my experience the key to getting the watch to correctly track length, lap and distance regardless of stroke type is to make a firm push off the wall when you turn. It doesn't matter whether you do open turns or flip turns, but it's important to make a distinct push and glide motion at the turn. It's usually a combination of the watch's gyroscope and accelerometer hardware that decides you've made a turn. If your turns don't register a distinct change of direction, the length, lap and distance numbers start to lose accuracy (for me anyway).

On a related note I've found the stroke detection of the swim workout to be pretty good. I swim all four major strokes; free, back, breast and fly. I just wish the app would show me the stroke type for a given length / lap instead of "mixed".

-Paul

RoseMJ Author

Level 1

36 points

Oct 28, 2016 1:36 PM in response to RoseMJ

I'm sorry I didn't get back to this sooner. My issue has been resolved, and now the Watch tracks my swims perfectly. I did several tests at Apple Support's suggestions, and it ended up being the way I was doing my backstrokes. For whatever reason, I was doing them by stroking both arms back at the same time, instead of one after the other. Now that I do the latter, I've had perfect counts every time.

Honestly, I really advise anyone with issues to get with Apple Support. They are patient and helpful, and very interested in getting swimming issues investigated. They want people to have successful experiences.