How can I make my steps on my Apple Watch more accurate?

Answered by Douglas Hiatt

To make the steps on your Apple Watch more accurate, you can calibrate it using your iPhone. Calibration helps to improve the accuracy of both your workout and activity tracking. Here’s how you can do it:

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Scroll down and tap on “Privacy & Security.”
3. Tap on “Location Services” to ensure it is turned on.
4. Scroll further down and tap on “System Services.”
5. Make sure that “Motion Calibration & Distance” is turned on.

By enabling the Motion Calibration & Distance feature, your Apple Watch utilizes your iPhone’s GPS and other sensors to track your movement accurately. This calibration process helps to establish a baseline for your stride length and walking or running pace.

To further enhance the accuracy of your Apple Watch’s step tracking, you can also consider the following tips:

1. Ensure a proper fit: Make sure that your Apple Watch is snugly and comfortably strapped to your wrist. A loose or tight fit might impact the accuracy of step tracking.

2. Choose the right wrist: If you wear your Apple Watch on the non-dominant wrist, you can improve accuracy by changing the wrist setting in the Watch app on your iPhone. Open the Watch app, go to the My Watch tab, tap on “General,” and then select “Wrist.” From there, choose the wrist on which you wear the watch.

3. Update your personal information: Make sure that your height and weight details are correctly entered in the Health app on your iPhone. This information is used by your Apple Watch to calculate distance and calories burned.

4. Walk naturally: Try to walk naturally and swing your arms as you normally would during your daily activities. This will help your watch accurately detect your steps.

5. Give it time: After calibrating your Apple Watch, give it some time to learn and adapt to your stride length and walking patterns. Over time, the accuracy should improve as it learns more about your movements.

6. Use GPS during workouts: If you are engaging in outdoor activities like walking, running, or cycling, consider enabling the GPS feature on your Apple Watch. This will provide more accurate distance and pace measurements.

By following these steps and tips, you should be able to improve the accuracy of step tracking on your Apple Watch. Remember that no tracking system is perfect, but these adjustments can help optimize the accuracy for your specific use case.