My Garmin Watch is Not Accurately Counting Steps

Many Garmin watches are designed to track repetitive walking motions as steps. Arm movement while walking will be captured by the internal 3-axis accelerometer in the watch which will record each complete swing of the arm as two steps.

I Am Getting Too Many Steps

Some activities may cause irregular arm movement, resulting in the watch recording too many steps. These may include, but are not limited to: 

• Driving a vehicle (usually due to vibrations caused by rough terrain)

• Taking a shower

• A restless night of sleep

• Brushing your teeth

I Am Not Getting Enough Step Credit

There are also instances where a lack of arm movement may result in a low step count or missing steps while you are walking. These may include, but are not limited to:

• Pushing a stroller or cart

• Mowing the lawn

• Carrying a bag of groceries or a child

• Holding the safety handles of a treadmill while walking

• Walking on an under desk treadmill

• Holding hiking poles or sticks

• Riding a bike

• Holding a leash while walking a pet

My Watch Is Not Counting Any Steps

If your watch is not counting any steps despite regular arm movement, try the following troubleshooting steps.

Verify Activity Tracking is Turned On

Devices without Real Time Settings must ensure that Activity Tracking is enabled. When turned off, steps will not be recorded by your watch. For more information, see - What is the Activity Tracking Feature on My Garmin Watch?.

Ensure Your Software Is up to Date

If Activity Tracking is on but the watch still is not counting any steps, you may need to update your watch software. For more information, see - Installing the Latest Software On Your Fitness Device.

Check Watch Fit

Wearing the watch correctly can help with step accuracy. The watch should be snug above your wrist bone, but not too tight. It is properly tight when you can move the watch and the skin underneath moves with it as shown below.

Ensure Your Watch Is Set To the Correct Wrist Orientation

Make sure that the setting on the watch is for the wrist that you normally wear it on. Wearing your watch on the opposite wrist of what is set can cause inaccurate step detection. To check your wrist orientation setting, see your owner's manual.

Restart the Watch

Restart the watch by turning it off and then turning it back on. For watches without an option to turn off, plug your watch into a USB port using the charging cable. This is the equivalent of restarting your watch.