Last month I climbed Mt. Elmore which is a 1430 ft. elevation gain, plus the fire tower. The watch recorded only 14 flights. That is very poor accuracy. The steps and miles, on the other hand, looked about right.
I have the recommended settings. Then the advice says start a workout in a flat area. How can such a workout calibrate the number of flights? The recorded miles and steps are reasonably accurate; it is the number of flights that is wildly off.
I have the recommended settings. Then the advice says start a workout in a flat area. How can such a workout calibrate the number of flights? The recorded miles and steps are reasonably accurate; it is the number of flights that is wildly off.
If you have the series 2, it will not count flights or elevation gain by itself at all. It doesn't have the barometric sensor. You will need to use the iPhone.
You might want to look at some of the hiking apps. You can also submit your feedback to Apple here:
I wouldn't expect the watch to register climbing a mountain as flights of stairs, at least not all of the time. It's not just the change in elevation that determines a flight of stairs. I believe it's a combination of the elevation and the steps. If it took you 500 steps, for example, to climb ten feet, it wouldn't register as a flight of stairs. If you did those ten feet in the approximate number of steps that it would take to go up a flight of stairs, it probably would.
The average flight of stairs is 13 steps. If it took you 50 steps to gain 10 feet, I wouldn't be surprised that it didn't' registers as a flight. The algorithm isn't designed to do what it seems you want it to do which is to convert any elevation gain into flights climbed.
RichardABCD wrote:
But I estimate I averaged less than 50 steps to gain 10 feet of elevation. Why doesn’t that register?
Because climbing steps does not use the same muscles as walking up a slope. That's why gyms have both stair climbers and treadmills with varying slopes. And your watch can easily tell the difference.
You mentioned 13 steps per flight. That reminds me that the other day I was working on the house and was up and down the first floor steps at least 20 times and the watch recorded just two flights. There are 14 steps between my first and second floor.
This leads to two questions: is my watch working as designed and what was the flights feature of the watch designed to do?
I have the series 2. I meant to say I went up the steps about 20 times. I like the watch generally for what it can do, I just want it to be better. If this feature is only useful for climbing the Washington Monument then Apple needs to add an elevation gain feature that would actually be useful to hikers.
having. it calibrated means you start from a known good starting point
I cannot find it right now, but a flight of stairs for the Apple Watch to count is a specific number of stairs or a certain rise in altitude. I'm still looking and if I find it I'll add it here.
A flight is supposed to be three meters or approximately ten feet.
My computer needed to restart but ChrisJ4203 and IdrisSeabright brilliantly worded what I was going to say next.
But I estimate I averaged less than 50 steps to gain 10 feet of elevation. Why doesn’t that register?
The flights feature is designed to count the number of times you go up (not down) a flight of stairs. Which Apple watch do you have?
Why does the watch count flights so poorly?
