Garmin Preferred, Faq

FAQ 

My Fitness Device is not Accurately Counting Steps  

Garmin fitness activity trackers are designed to track repetitive walking motions as steps. Arm 
movement while walking will be captured by the internal 3-axis accelerometer of the device, and 
will record each complete swing of the arm as two steps. Some activities may cause irregular 
arm movement resulting in the device recording too many steps.   

Examples 



Driving a vehicle (usually due to rough terrain) 



Taking a shower 



A restless night of sleep 



Brushing your teeth 

There are also instances where a lack of arm movement may result in a loss of steps while you 
are walking.   

Examples 



Pushing a stroller or shopping cart 



Mowing the lawn 



Carrying a bag of groceries or child  

The overall accuracy of daily step trends and goals should not be significantly affected by the 
above scenarios.   

Setting a Garmin Device as a Preferred Activity Tracker in Garmin 
Connect  

Many Garmin fitness devices can be used to track daily activity and steps. If you have more than 
one device with this capability, you must designate one as your Preferred Activity Tracker within 
Garmin Connect. Typically, the designated Preferred Activity Tracker will be the device worn 
most often.