Fitbit Zip Ionic Installation guide

FAQ
How accurate are Fitbit devices?
Fitbit is dedicated to developing the most accurate fitness devices on the market.
Why does my step count differ depending on
where I wear my Fitbit device?
If you wear a wrist-based Fitbit device and move your body while keeping your arms still (or
vice versa), you may see a slightly different step count than if you wear a device clipped to your
clothing.
If you wear your device in a loose-fitting accessory such as a bangle or pendant, you may see a
slightly different step count than if you wear a classic wristband. During workouts and sleep, we
recommend wearing the classic wristband. Make sure the wristband fits securely but isn't too
tight.
For more information, see How do I wear my Fitbit device? and How do I track my heart rate
with my Fitbit device?
Why does my Fitbit device count extra steps?
Fitbit devices have a finely-tuned algorithm for step counting. The algorithm is designed to look
for intensity and motion patterns that are most indicative of people walking and running. When
working at a desk, cooking, or performing other activities with arm movements, a device on your
wrist may add some steps. When you’re doing activities that involve arm movement—such as
working or cooking—you often walk a few steps in-between stationary periods as well, so the
device tries to give you credit for those steps. For most customers, the number of extra steps
added by arm-based movement isn’t significant when compared to your overall stats. For more
information, see How does my Fitbit device count steps?

Why does my Fitbit device count steps when
I’m riding a bike?
When you ride a bike on bumpy trails, your device may add some steps. For most customers, the
number of extra steps added when riding a bike isn’t significant when compared to your overall
stats. If your device has an Exercise app, make sure you choose the Bike exercise before starting
your workout. If you use automatic tracking to detect your bike ride, make sure the Outdoor Bike
exercise is set to be automatically recognized. For more information, see How do I track my
exercise and activities with Fitbit?
Why does my Fitbit device count extra
floors?
Fitbit devices detect floors with an altimeter, which is a sensor that calculates altitude based on
atmospheric pressure. Your device is designed to detect pressure changes based on elevation
gain, but other types of pressure changes—such as a gust of wind, a weather change, or opening
a door—can occasionally cause your device to register extra floors. Your device registers 1 floor
when you climb about 10 feet, which is the average between residential and commercial floor
heights. If you climb long staircases you may find that the floor count on your device doesn’t
match the number of floors you climbed when the staircase is taller than 10 feet.
Will my device count steps if my arms aren't
moving?
If you're doing something like pushing a stroller or shopping cart, your wrist-based device will
count your steps but the total may be slightly lower than usual.
If you're walking or running outside, use GPS to capture your route, pace, and distance. For more
information, see Does my Fitbit device have GPS?
Will my device pick up steps when I’m in the
car or riding in a vehicle?
Your device has been tested against driving and riding in buses, trains, and other public
transportation and shouldn’t add steps when you’re traveling under normal conditions. On
bumpy roads or in a car with a stiff transmission your device may add some steps. For most
customers, the number of extra steps added when driving isn’t significant when compared to

your overall stats. If you want to remove the steps from your daily total, manually log the driving
activity for the time you were in a vehicle. For more information see How do I edit or delete
Fitbit data and activities?
Does the wrist I wear my device on affect
accuracy?
For wrist-based devices, it's important to specify whether you wear the device on your dominant
or non-dominant wrist during setup:
The dominant wrist setting decreases the sensitivity of step counting and should reduce
any over counting of steps when your body is not moving. Your dominant hand is the one
you use for writing and eating.
The non-dominant wrist setting increases the sensitivity of step counting and should
reduce any under counting of steps.
To start, the Wrist setting is set to non-dominant. Change your wrist setting in the Fitbit app.
What can I do if my step count seems
inaccurate?
If you feel that your step count and distance are inaccurate, confirm the following are correct in
the Fitbit app:
Your wrist settings (For more information, see Does the wrist I wear my device on affect
accuracy?)
Your height (For more information, see How do I manage my Fitbit profile?)
Since we use height to estimate your walking and running stride lengths, you may want to
measure and manually adjust these values if your legs are longer or shorter than average. For
more information, see How do I measure and adjust stride length for my Fitbit device?
Sometimes, when you start walking, your steps may not update on your device right away. After
about 10-15 continuous steps, you'll notice the steps catch up and start updating in real time with
each step you take.
When you wear a Fitbit device in a clip, make sure you wear it properly. Make sure Inspire is set
to On Wrist when you wear it on your wrist and On Clip when you wear it in the clip accessory.
For more information, see How do I wear my Fitbit device?

How accurate is my heart-rate data on my
Fitbit device?
For more information, see How do I track my heart rate with my Fitbit device?
How accurate is my GPS data captured by
my Fitbit device?
All devices with GPS sensors require a direct path to GPS satellites to calculate location. A weak
GPS signal might affect the accuracy of your route and other activity data. Your device uses your
step count to calculate distance until it finds a signal, so the total distance calculated for a
workout may be slightly less accurate when GPS isn't available for the entire time.
To learn more, see GPS.gov.
How can I get the most accurate reading on
my Fitbit scale?
To improve the accuracy of your scale's readings, try the following:
If you pick up and move your scale between measurements, or store it sideways against a
wall when not in use, the scale will calibrate the next time it's used. You may need to
weigh yourself 2 or more consecutive times before the scale calibrates and shows
consistent measurements.
Place your scale on a hard surface during use. Carpet, linoleum, or any other flooring
with resilience may affect the accuracy of the scale's readings.
Your weight and body fat percentage naturally vary over the course of a day and can
change based on what you eat and drink as well as your body stance, age, height, level of
exercise, and perspiration. For consistency, weigh yourself first thing in the morning
before eating, drinking, or exercising. If you’re wearing clothes, dress lightly and remove
your shoes and socks.
Your body fat percentage may be affected if you weigh yourself while holding a heavy
object.
If you turn lean mode on or off, your body fat percentage reading can be affected. For
more information, see About Fitbit Aria 2.
For the most accurate BMI and body fat percentage result, your height, age, and sex must
be correct in your Fitbit profile. To update your profile, choose a section below:
oFitbit App

1. Tap the Today tab , and tap your profile picture.
2. Tap Personal Stats.
3. Tap a stat to update it.
ofitbit.com dashboard
1. From the fitbit.com dashboard, click the gear icon > Settings >
Personal Info.
2. Make your changes and click Submit.
Fitbit Aria and Fitbit Aria 2 estimate your body fat percentage using body impedance. Because
several different methods can determine body fat percentage and none are 100% accurate, the
scale's body fat reading may not perfectly match other scales or manual methods, such as
calipers.
Why does my weight differ between Fitbit
Aria and Aria 2?
Aria 2 has been redesigned to provide more accurate measurements than Aria. For this reason,
you may notice different readings between the scales.
How do I track my heart rate with my Fitbit
device?
Learn how Fitbit tracks your heart rate day and night, and see tips to get a more accurate reading.
Skip to:
How does my Fitbit device detect my heart rate?
How does I check my heart rate on my Fitbit device?
What are heart-rate zones?
What is my resting heart rate on my Fitbit device?
How do I improve the accuracy of my heart-rate reading on my Fitbit device?
What is my cardio fitness score?
Are the LEDs on my Fitbit device safe?
Why is my heart rate blank on my Fitbit device?
How does my Fitbit device detect my heart
rate?

When your heart beats, your capillaries expand and contract based on blood volume changes. To
determine your heart rate, the optical heart-rate sensor in your Fitbit device flashes its green
LEDs hundreds of times per second and uses light-sensitive photodiodes to detect these volume
changes in the capillaries above your wrist. Then your device calculates how many times your
heart beats per minute (BPM). The optical heart-rate sensor detects a range of 30-220 BPM.*
We use green LEDS because they maximize the signal detected from the capillaries near the
surface of the skin. The optical heart-rate sensor also uses infrared light to determine when the
device is on your wrist to improve the accuracy of your heart-rate data.
*This range applies during sleep; while you’re awake, the range is 40-220 BPM.
How do I check my heart-rate on my Fitbit
device?
On most devices, swipe up on your clock face to open Fitbit Today . See your current heart rate and
either your heart-rate zone or resting heart rate (if not in a zone). Swipe to see your time spent today in
each heart-rate zone and your cardio fitness score.

If your device has an Exercise app, you can check your real-time heart rate and heart-rate zone during a
workout. Note that heart-rate tracking is disabled while swimming.
On Fitbit Ionic and Fitbit Versa series, the heart-rate value appears gray if your watch is searching for a
stronger reading.
Keep in mind that several factors can affect your heart rate, including air temperature, stress level,
physical body position, and medication use (source).
What are heart-rate zones?
Heart-rate zones can help you optimize your workout by targeting different training intensities.
Fitbit estimates your maximum heart rate with the common formula of 220 minus your age, and
calculates 3 heart-rate zones based on that number. Occasionally during intense exercise, you

might notice your heart rate go above your Fitbit-calculated maximum heart rate.
For more information about zones, see the American Heart Association's Target Heart Rates
article.
Default Zones
Icon
Zone
Description
OUT OF ZONE
Below 50% of your
maximum heart
rate
Your heart rate may be elevated, but not enough
to be considered exercise.
FAT BURN ZONE
Between 50% and
69% of your
maximum heart
rate
This low-to-medium intensity exercise zone may
be a good place to start for those new to exercise.
It’s called the fat burn zone because a higher
percentage of calories are burned from fat, but
the total calorie burn rate is lower than more
intense exercise zones.
CARDIO ZONE
Between 70% and
84% of your
maximum heart
rate.
In this medium-to-high intensity exercise zone,
you're pushing yourself but not straining. Most
people should target this exercise zone.

PEAK ZONE
Greater than 85%
of your maximum
heart rate.
This high-intensity exercise zone is for short,
intense sessions that improve performance and
speed.
Custom Zones
Instead of using the 3 zones based on your maximum heart rate, you can create a custom zone to
target a specific heart rate:
1. Tap the Today tab and tap your profile picture > Heart Rate Zones.
2. Enter your custom zone.
On fitbit.com, log into your dashboard and click the gear icon in the top right. Click
Settings > Personal Info and enter your custom zone.
What is my resting heart rate on my Fitbit device?
Resting heart rate is the number of times your heart beats per minute when you are still and well
rested. This metric can be an important indicator of your fitness level and overall cardiovascular
health. The typical resting heart-rate range for adult Fitbit users is 50-90 beats per minute. Active
people often have a lower resting heart rate. For more information, see the Fitbit Blog.
Fitbit uses your heart-rate data from when you’re both awake and asleep to estimate your resting
heart rate. For best results, wear your device to sleep.
How do I improve the accuracy of my heart-rate reading on my Fitbit device?
As with all heart-rate tracking technology, accuracy is affected by personal physiology, device location
on your arm, and type of movement.
For a more accurate heart-rate reading:
Wear your Fitbit device on top of your wrist, and make sure the back of the device is in contact
with your skin.

When you’re not exercising, wear your device a finger’s width above your wrist bone.
During a workout, experiment with wearing the device higher on your wrist (2 finger widths) for
an improved fit. Many exercises such as bike riding or weight lifting cause you to bend your wrist
frequently, which could interfere with the heart-rate signal if the watch is lower on your wrist.
Consider tightening your wristband before a workout and loosening it when you’re done. The
wristband should be snug but not constricting (a tight wristband restricts blood flow, potentially
affecting the heart-rate signal).
What is my cardio fitness score?
Cardio fitness score, Fitbit's estimate of your VO2 Max, is an indicator of overall fitness that can help
predict performance for endurance-based activities including running, biking, and swimming (source).
For more information, see What is my cardio fitness score?
Are the LEDs on my Fitbit device safe?
The LEDs on your device have very low power so they won't burn your skin, and they're programmed to
shut down if your device freezes or can't find a signal.
Note that the LEDs continue to flash if you turn off heart-rate tracking.