I have been looking for an activity tracking app that will automatically track my steps throughout the day - like a pedometer.
I’ve tried a few in the past few weeks and am not having any luck finding one that seems to actually work - none that claim to count steps seem to manage to do so. (I’ve listed the ones I’ve tried below)
Does anyone out there have the same problem? If so, were you able to find a solution or an app that works on the Fairphone?
I’d appreciate any suggestions or tips.
Many thanks!
These are the apps I have tried so far and some notes on performance:
Moves : Accurately counts steps only when the phone is ‘awake’ (screen is on). This is not at all helpful for me. The app’s page explains that it has a known incompatibility with the Samsung Note II due to the accelerometer not running in the background. Perhaps the Fairphone has the same issue???
Noom Walk : This app seems to have the same issue as Moves does, but I have found no notes on their site to indicate there is a compatibility issue with some phones. I can watch it counting the steps as I walk around my apartment, but it counts nothing if the app isn’t active on the screen.
Fit (google) : I am not convinced this app works at all on my Fairphone. Even with the app open, it does not seem to track any steps although it says it is able to. It does a marginal job of tracking my location throughout the day though.
Movn : This app seems to work as far as it claims to - It tracks the amount of time you are active in minutes. Unfortunately, this seems to be the only app that actually works for me, even though it doesn’t really do what I was hoping!!!
Are there any apps out there that can track steps or distance walked accurately when the screen is off?
I only know Pedometer on F-Droid and it also only works when the screen is on. But in the settings you can force the screen to be on always. Still won’t help you, I guess…
@paulakreuzer@Stefan
Thanks for the replies. I guess I’ll have to be happy with the Movn app that at least is able to track active time…
Is there any chance there are any mobile programming experts out there that could explain whether there is any possible fix or if this is an unfortunate reality of Fairphones?
I think the problem is the Android version… all new activety trackers like fitbit charge need Android 4.3 or 4.4 and bluetooth 4…
I am very sad about this, cant use my phone for that…
I have an update::
I found an app called Walk Logger that works marginally well. It is able to detect movement when the phone screen is off or locked, but it only estimates distances and steps at about 1/2 the actual amount. I’ve already tried tweaking the settings (step length and sensitivity) with only minor improvement.
If anyone else finds a better solution, I’m still looking for better options.
I’d like to re-awaken this issue and report some of my experiences. I used various pedometer apps with my Samsung S5 mini and they worked well then I lost that phone and downgraded to a much cheaper THL T6 which has an accelerometer but the previous apps stopped working. I investigated using an app called Accelerometer Meter and found that the X and Y axes were producing signals but the Z axis was not implemented. I tried two identical phones with the same result. This appears to be a specification issue which is too subtle to be listed making it impossible to select a phone which provides the necessary signals. Like another contributor, I have found that Walk Logger does work reasonably with this phone and I can only assume that it collects it’s data from X & Y and doesn’t need Z. I’d welcome some authoritative information about this issue.