I have had the Bodymedia Fit (big and ugly and required paid subscription but pretty accurate as to steps, sleep, calorie burn), Fitbit One (inaccurate step and stair counting and kept losing it out of the wrist band during sleep) and the Vivosmart (again inaccurate in step counting). I am very impressed with the reviews for the MS Band. There doesn't seem to be as many negative posts on this forum compared to the forum for the Fitbit Surge. On the other devices that I had "phantom" steps drove me crazy. How do you feel regarding the MS Band in this respect? Do you get up from sleep and find you unknowingly walked in your sleep? What about car rides--do you accumulate steps as passenger or driver? Conversely, pushing a shopping cart or stroller, does it fail to register your steps? As to HR tracking--this seems to be a new innovation on fitness trackers. I understand accuracy still has a ways to go. But do you feel it is giving a more accurate estimate of overall daily calorie burn?
MS Band: ?s re: steps and HR accuracy
- Thread starter MIM49
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NBrookus
New member
IMO, the Band has a very conservative algorithm. I haven't caught it counting any false steps. That said, the important issue with fitness trackers is consistency. If day after day it's recording the same real activity as the same number of "steps," then you have the baseline you need to make improvements. The precise number of steps is somewhat irrelevant except as a metric. (I never had the shopping cart problem with my FitBit either. Not sure why some people do... death grip?)
One caveat: I did have issues with the Band significantly undercounting steps when I had a Band the wrong size. Switching to one correctly sized has solved that.
Regarding caloric burn, it seems about right for my height/weight/gender/age/body fat percentage/activity. That's a very difficult thing for a end user to know for sure. I do think it's better than generic calculations, but that's just a gut feeling for now.
Titaniumgiant
New member
I am noticing random spikes in the number of steps walked...I am suspecting sometimes if it is confusing car with walking and counting steps...sometimes I end up with over 2000 steps walked without me doing realistically even a quarter of that lol
I find the step and heart rate accuracy to be quite good. It does, however, register phantom steps while driving but I have a simple solution (at least for me). I take it off while driving if going any considerable distance. Unless I want to know what other drivers are doing to my heart rate, there are no metrics to justify having it on at such times anyway.
When I use my phone as a pedometer I can pause the step counting. It would be nice if you could pause the step counting on the Band for situations you know will give a false count.
Titaniumgiant
New member
ok so i can confirm..today I tested by turning off gps, finished my workout mode, back to normal mode, sync the band, doublecheck and make sure all readings are there. Drove home, 15 minutes away. Halftway though, stopped at light, checked numbers. Numbers still holding static. I am happy. I get home. I pull in the driveway, did not get out of the car, check and lo and behold, I have somehow managed to rack up 32 steps...
Regarding the heart rate accuracy:
I've only had my Band about 10 days. When I first got it, I thought it was tracking fairly accurately. My resting heart rate is usually around 60 when I manually count for 10, 15, 30 seconds, or even a full minute. When I first put my Band on, it read at 65 bpm. My first night of sleep tracking, my Band recorded a resting HR of 45, which sounds about right from what I've read.
The second night of sleep tracking, my Band recorded a resting HR of 59. When I check throughout the day, while at rest, my heart rate is recorded anywhere from 70 to 115. I've adjusted the fit and even tried turning the Band around to the other side of my wrist with no improvement in the reading. Since that second night of sleep tracking, I haven't seen any reading under 70. In fact, my resting HR during sleep has averaged 73, which doesn't sound very accurate to me.
I've only had my Band about 10 days. When I first got it, I thought it was tracking fairly accurately. My resting heart rate is usually around 60 when I manually count for 10, 15, 30 seconds, or even a full minute. When I first put my Band on, it read at 65 bpm. My first night of sleep tracking, my Band recorded a resting HR of 45, which sounds about right from what I've read.
The second night of sleep tracking, my Band recorded a resting HR of 59. When I check throughout the day, while at rest, my heart rate is recorded anywhere from 70 to 115. I've adjusted the fit and even tried turning the Band around to the other side of my wrist with no improvement in the reading. Since that second night of sleep tracking, I haven't seen any reading under 70. In fact, my resting HR during sleep has averaged 73, which doesn't sound very accurate to me.
kenjancef
New member
I posted in another discussion my rather basic experiment with phantom counting. Short of it is, what I found is that the steps count up with my left hand, the hand wearing the band, is holding the steering wheel. When I drive with just my right hand, it seems ok. Now I don't have the smoothest car in the world (2005 Ford Escape), but it's not bad. So I'm still thinking the road/bumps makes it count up. So unfortunately I have to remember to drive with mostly my right hand... YMMV...
Titaniumgiant
New member
Damn it. I guess I will have to put it on d*** to get the most accurate reading possible now LMAO
kingbobyjr
New member
How exactly does one turn off GPS? For some reason I'm not seeing an option for that???
GPS is off by default. It is something turned on by activating a function that uses it (running, hiking, etc.)....
NBrookus
New member
GPS isn't on unless you are in "Run" mode.
I drive an old Corolla on bumpy roads. I don't get steps when I drive. Assuming ya'll who do are not driving like maniacs... do you think the Band may try to learn what's normal arm movement for you? And if you normally have little arm movement (like an office job), it may be more sensitive to it?
This occurred to me when I was playing with the Band Sensor Monitor app. It has a section called "Movement Counter." No matter how hard I waved my arms I couldn't get a step registered, but the Band definitely knew I was waving my arms around.
I drive an old Corolla on bumpy roads. I don't get steps when I drive. Assuming ya'll who do are not driving like maniacs... do you think the Band may try to learn what's normal arm movement for you? And if you normally have little arm movement (like an office job), it may be more sensitive to it?
This occurred to me when I was playing with the Band Sensor Monitor app. It has a section called "Movement Counter." No matter how hard I waved my arms I couldn't get a step registered, but the Band definitely knew I was waving my arms around.
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