Couple Issues with Band

[ALpHa.Q.RoUgH]

Morning,

1) Does anyone else band count steps even though they're driving? I witnessed my band going up in steps even though I'm sitting driving in my vehicle?

2) Phone stays in driving mode on my phone even after getting out of the car. I'm guessing the phone is confusing the band Bluetooth with the car Bluetooth and not disconnecting from Drive Mode even after shutting off car and leaving. I have to usually disconnect and reconnect Bluetooth.

Everything else I love about the Band especially the Sleep tracking data, that's interesting stuff and to be able to send a text by voice great!

P.S. How do you reset counter to 0 for steps? Is it by MS Health app or on the band itself?

Thank you.

 

[jayblazer]

I cant help you with any of your questions because I'm still waiting on my band to ship out but I wanted to say how awesome your avatar is..

 

[Derausgewanderte]

I just used the Band Monitor app to check my steps. It doesn't seem to count steps unless I am actually walking. However, the movement counter registers movements, whenever I move the steering wheel or take my hand off of it.
The step counter seems to poll data only after a while and only when I am actually walking.

Maybe I didn't try this over a long enough distance...
next drive....
Also possible that you need to calibrate your steps with GPS on some more.

I am not using BT in my car.

 

[WhiteNiteLite]

2) Phone stays in driving mode on my phone even after getting out of the car. I'm guessing the phone is confusing the band Bluetooth with the car Bluetooth and not disconnecting from Drive Mode even after shutting off car and leaving. I have to usually disconnect and reconnect Bluetooth.

Everything else I love about the Band especially the Sleep tracking data, that's interesting stuff and to be able to send a text by voice great!

P.S. How do you reset counter to 0 for steps? Is it by MS Health app or on the band itself?

Thank you.

For the driving mode issue, that's a bug in WP itself that's been there since last summer yet MS still hasn't fixed it yet for some reason. It happens with any always-connected Bluetooth device, not just the Band. If you manually open the driving mode settings, the phone will realize that you're not driving anymore and disengage driving mode. I keep the driving mode tile pinned to my start screen just for quick access to it.

Also, there is no way to reset the counter to zero right now. So the false steps are kind of stuck...

 

[DroidUser42]

Does anyone else band count steps even though they're driving?

Just how stiff IS your car's suspension? :wink:

The only way I can think of that happening is if you're bouncing around at about the right pace for running or walking.

 

[ALpHa.Q.RoUgH]

Just how stiff IS your car's suspension? :wink:

The only way I can think of that happening is if you're bouncing around at about the right pace for running or walking.

Well I drive a sedan that is lowered on springs so I guess I could feel the majority of the imperfections of the road. But I wouldn't think that would set off my pedometer and say that's a step. So I'm guessing I need a SUV to avoid the issue lol. Or maybe they should add a pause button for when driving or doing something other than walking like a roller coster or if I'm on the bus.

 

[DroidUser42]

Well, I have a deluxe trim on a economy car. I haven't noticed this problem. I'd think the issue is more about any kind of regular motion that might be considered a step - be it up/down, left/right, forward/back. (Since I'm not sure as the Band knows "up" for sure. It seems capable of tracking, but I don't know how it would figure that out. Unless it's sensing "g" force in the absence of any other movement.)

This motion could be caused by any number of things - weak shocks leading to excessive bouncing after a pothole, or a bent rim causing left/right movement. Or maybe the roadway just has a bit of "roller coaster" effect to it. As safely as you can, you might want to watch the steps and see when it increments. The one caution is that I have taken steps and not see it count, only to add those numbers later when it seems to decide that motion was a step. But maybe you can identify what's confusing it.

But I have seen things confuse it - like washing my hands.

 

[ALpHa.Q.RoUgH]

So I think I found out the culprit. So I believe the Band is detecting motion from when I turn the steering wheel. My commute to work involves a lot of turns so I noticed that when I turn the wheel it is counting the turn/s as steps. When I drive straight, it is not counting but when I make a turn it counts the steps depending on how long I hold the turn. I wear the band on my left wrist and predominately drive with my left hand so I think that's the issue.

 

[locokip]

I've never used Driving Mode. What the heck does that do? I've never had any issue with the BT in my car with Band or my 920.

 

[DroidUser42]

So I think I found out the culprit. So I believe the Band is detecting motion from when I turn the steering wheel. My commute to work involves a lot of turns so I noticed that when I turn the wheel it is counting the turn/s as steps.

Interesting. I can see it counting some steps, but as a percentage of your daily total, it should be quite low unless you have a really twisty route or change lanes like a madman.

 

[wprocks]

Never had issues with Band and my Prius.

 

[ALpHa.Q.RoUgH]

Interesting. I can see it counting some steps, but as a percentage of your daily total, it should be quite low unless you have a really twisty route or change lanes like a madman.

Yes, it counts some steps. I would say like for example if I have done 100 steps before getting into my car, by the time I get out of my car when I arrive to work it's probably at around 130-140 steps.

 

[DroidUser42]

If you're like me and have a 5000 step/day goal, than 80 driving "steps" is only a 1.6% error. And it seems like there's a fair push for 10,000 steps. In which case it's now <1% error.

Another thought - and I say this as a guy who used to drive a 10+ year-old car, if the bushings get worn, then the steering will get sloppy and you'll be doing a number of small corrections that might be mistaken for steps. I never notice this until I drive a rental car and then get back into my own. Could something like that be going on?

 

[Nate Silver]

I've noticed a few 'phantom' steps being picked up with the band, but nothing I'd consider consequential. Have had other trackers that would pick up many, many more.

 

[dmahoney1170]

I had4 hour drive to the mountains of VT from Boston last Friday and noticed that the band had counted hundreds (over 500) of steps during my drive. Most of this was highway driving and in a car with a smooth ride. There is definitely an issue.

 

[dmahoney1170]

Actually- it looks like it counted thousands of steps during my drive. I left Boston at 11:45am and arrived at my destination at approx. 3:45pm with a couple of short stops between. I looked at my MS health dashboard summary from that day and it actually shows you steps per hour- in those 4 hours, my band counted over 6000 steps. Looks like it's a major problem. I have been shutting the band off while driving since then.

 

[gyhor]

It is the same with my fitbit. It counts also some steps if i am on the car.
I think every gadget will have same problem. It is very complicated for the algorithm to differ between foot movement and a bumper on the street.
Just remember that the gadget is not on your feet

 

[jfa1]

Hmm that's interesting. I'll check that out next time I'm on a trip.

 

[NBrookus]

My FitBit Flex and ChargeHR both counted phantom steps sometimes. For example when gardening, each reach & pull would tend to count as a step. As a proxy for activity, it seemed reasonable most of the time, but long drives in the car would add up to a significant amount.

 

[DroidUser42]

Just remember that the gadget is not on your feet

Or your belt (Like most pedometers.)