Pixel Watch Miscounting Your Steps? A Simple Explanation Might Surprise You!

Many Pixel Watch owners rely on their device to track physical activity data. However, some have noticed that their smartwatch does not accurately measure their walking distances. Here’s a possible explanation.

You’ve just received your brand-new smartwatch: the latest Pixel Watch 4. Eager to try it out, you decide to go for a walk. You’re familiar with this route from cycling and know it to be about 4 km, as recorded by your previous watch. However, when you check the data after your walk, you find there’s a problem: the recorded distance is completely wrong.

This puzzling observation was made by the user Almosttan, who shared his findings on the Pixel Watch Reddit thread. He compared the distances measured by his watch over the same route taken several times, with the only difference being his mode of transportation: walking, running, and cycling. The distance, however, should not vary with the mode of transportation. Here’s the explanation he suggests.

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Pixel Watch: Here’s Why the Distance Measured During Walks May Be Incorrect

Since the Pixel Watch includes a GPS receiver, it would seem logical for it to record distances as accurately as any navigational data used. However, Almosttan encountered an anomaly with walking, confirmed by our colleagues at Android Authority who measured his route (both walking and cycling) using Google Maps. They concluded that the measurements for cycling were nearly perfect. However, for walking, the watch indicated a distance that was four times less than the actual distance covered.

The issue with distance calculation, according to Almosttan, is that his Pixel Watch 4 does not calculate the walking distance using GPS data but instead multiplies the number of steps by the stride length (the distance covered in one step) provided. Our colleagues note that Fitbit uses GPS to automatically adjust stride length and step count, but this feature is typically for running. What about walking?

To avoid this issue, you can check that the stride length in Fitbit is not too far off from reality, or try recording your walk as a slow run to ensure that GPS is used to calculate the distance. And if you use Strava – like Almosttan –, you can always use the Correct Distance tool on the web version to adjust the distance.