Big issue in explore function when using walking sticks

[Roland Stoll]

Found a big issue in the explore function:
If you go walking / hiking with walking sticks and e.g. use your sticks every 2nd step (which is a very normal and common usage of walking sticks...)... well, that means that your arm movement is for sure also only half the steps (without sticks you move your arms with every step - right leg/left arm forward and vise versa).
Guess what how the Band 2 resolves this... exactly! As the distance is obviously based on your steps / arm movements (and not on GPS) Band 2 only counts half the distance you really walked... :shocked:
If I analyse the track later on, I can see that there are many, many, MANY auto-pause in the track...

Epic fail! Distance in Explore mode should be based on GPS (as running and biking).
Hope that MS will fix this asap...

 

[Nate Silver]

Yes, I can see where this would be problematic. Not sure that basing distance in Explore mode on GPS will be anywhere near accurate either though, since in explore mode the GPS battery saving function results in a lot of inaccuracy in the track. With the current Band 2 hardware, I'm not really seeing a way to resolve this issue for long duration hikes. It would be interesting to see a side-by-side comparison of a reasonably short duration hike (short enough not to lose the battery), first using explore tile, then the identical hike using the run tile.

On a side note, I wasn't aware that the explore tile contained an auto-pause function. Interesting. Being primarily a cyclist and runner, I haven't really delved into the explore tile much.

 

[Techno-Freak]

Found a big issue in the explore function:
If you go walking / hiking with walking sticks and e.g. use your sticks every 2nd step (which is a very normal and common usage of walking sticks...)... well, that means that your arm movement is for sure also only half the steps (without sticks you move your arms with every step - right leg/left arm forward and vise versa).
Guess what how the Band 2 resolves this... exactly! As the distance is obviously based on your steps / arm movements (and not on GPS) Band 2 only counts half the distance you really walked... :shocked:
If I analyse the track later on, I can see that there are many, many, MANY auto-pause in the track...

Epic fail! Distance in Explore mode should be based on GPS (as running and biking).
Hope that MS will fix this asap...

I'm not sure it works like the way you explained. I tried to test it, so I went grocery shopping yesterday. I started up the Explore mode on Band 2 with GPS locked in, and started walking with heavy bags in my hands. Did this purposely so that there is minimal or no hand/arm movement while walking.
I walked around 300 meters in around 4 minutes. When I checked the details on my Health app and dashboard, there were no auto pauses on the way, and it calculated the distance pretty well, which means it must have been using GPS to calculate it, as I had barely any arm movement while walking.

 

[lstar337]

I'm not sure it works like the way you explained. I tried to test it, so I went grocery shopping yesterday. I started up the Explore mode on Band 2 with GPS locked in, and started walking with heavy bags in my hands. Did this purposely so that there is minimal or no hand/arm movement while walking.
I walked around 300 meters in around 4 minutes. When I checked the details on my Health app and dashboard, there were no auto pauses on the way, and it calculated the distance pretty well, which means it must have been using GPS to calculate it, as I had barely any arm movement while walking.

How did it do counting steps when carrying a heavy bag?

Ever since I got the band I am very conscious of holding heavy bags in my left hand (the hand I would usually use), and switch to my right. But I don't really know if it affects the band that much. I also have my iPhone counting any steps missed by the band, I do like the way the health app aggregates the readings without double counting.

 

[Techno-Freak]

How did it do counting steps when carrying a heavy bag?

Ever since I got the band I am very conscious of holding heavy bags in my left hand (the hand I would usually use), and switch to my right. But I don't really know if it affects the band that much. I also have my iPhone counting any steps missed by the band, I do like the way the health app aggregates the readings without double counting.

I checked the steps over the dashboard, and it shows good count around the hour I went shopping. So must have been counting fine.
However, sometimes I have seen it miss a few step counts while not moving my arm, that happens mostly when I start walking just after getting up from my desk, or climb stairs while looking at my band to see if it is counting the steps. Other times, it counts them just fine under same circumstances.

It has its own moments, I guess. But has been quite accurate for me so far (confirmed by the SensorCore in my Lumia 1520, which reports around the same steps generally).

 

[Mattman86]

How did it do counting steps when carrying a heavy bag?

Could it possibly be doing it the way the old pedometers did it? With the vibrations that go through our bodies each time our foot hits the ground? Just a thought.

 

[DroidUser42]

Could it possibly be doing it the way the old pedometers did it? With the vibrations that go through our bodies each time our foot hits the ground? Just a thought.

I'm not sure, but I've found it does fine with counting steps while carrying heavy bags on my Band 1. MS seems to have figured that one out early on. But that walking stick could be a bigger issue. Perhaps they could do a even bigger battery save on the GPS for calibration. When you're walking, you don't need updates as often as when you're running.

 

[marchius]

From my experience the band calculates the steps not only by hand movement. I had been walking with my hands in the trousers and different coat pockets, with bags in hands, hands on handlebar of a trolley. It was always counting pretty accurately. And I never been able to make it count steps just moving the hands and not walking. So I guess it senses the impact of your feet to pavement.

 

[lstar337]

Could it possibly be doing it the way the old pedometers did it? With the vibrations that go through our bodies each time our foot hits the ground? Just a thought.

I never been able to make it count steps just moving the hands and not walking. So I guess it senses the impact of your feet to pavement.

Yeah, could well be the impact that registers the steps. As above, I have (when comparing to friends cheaper trackers) swung my arm back and forth to try and register 'fake' steps, but the Band never falls for it. My friends cheaper bands are very easily fooled!