Having trouble tracking exercise on your Apple Watch? Here's how to fix it!

I'm loving my Apple Watch Sport so far, but I've had some minor problems getting it to properly track my daily movement and exercise goals. If you're having this problem too, you're in luck: Thanks to a helpful Twitter commenter, I found this great document from Apple Support on calibrating your Watch to more accurately track your Workouts and Activity.

How to calibrate your Watch for better Workout and Activity tracking

  1. Find a place that's (relatively) flat and offers decent GPS reception. (I just walked a long loop around my neighborhood.)
  2. Make sure you have your iPhone on you, preferably in your hand, pocket, or attached via armband.
  3. On your Apple Watch, open the Workout app, then choose Outdoor Walk (or, if you're feeling particularly masochistic, Outdoor Run).
  4. Set the timer for 20+ minutes.
  5. Walk (or run) at a consistent pace for 20 minutes so that the Watch can learn your pace and stride.

And, of course, my favorite step: rewarding yourself with a little incentive after calibrating.

For even more accuracy, you can repeat this process multiple times for different speeds, so that the Watch can learn your strides at different intervals. Once you've performed this calibration, the Watch has enough data to process how you walk or run, and that can help it recognize your movements elsewhere during the day. (And help you hit your movement goals!)

Hope this helps! If you're having any other trouble with activity tracking on your Apple Watch, feel free to leave a message in the comments and I'll try my best to answer it for you.

Serenity Caldwell

Serenity was formerly the Managing Editor at iMore, and now works for Apple. She's been talking, writing about, and tinkering with Apple products since she was old enough to double-click. In her spare time, she sketches, sings, and in her secret superhero life, plays roller derby. Follow her on Twitter @settern.