Step Count Wrong? Set Your Step Source Order on iPhone and Android

Why Your Step Counts Differ

Your phone and your watch can both count the same walk. If both totals were added, that walk would count twice. So Apple Health and Health Connect merge the data with a priority order: when two sources count the same steps, the source higher on the list wins.

A wrong order can show your phone's steps when your watch counted more. Steps that you type in by hand are a different case. They never count in Upkeep.

iPhone: Set the Source Order in the Health App

1. Open the Health app and tap Browse.
2. Tap Activity, then tap Steps.
3. Scroll down and tap Data Sources & Access.
4. Tap Edit.
5. Touch and hold the handle next to a source, then drag it up or down. The source at the top wins when two sources count the same steps.
6. Tap Done.

By default, Apple lists data you entered by hand first, then your iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch, then other apps and Bluetooth devices. Apple says that a new app or device you add goes to the top of the list, above your iPhone. Check the order after you connect a new tracker.

What Upkeep does on iPhone

By default, Upkeep uses All sources: the combined total from Apple Health. That total follows the order you set, so a walk that your phone and your watch both counted counts once. Upkeep leaves out steps typed in by hand, even when they are at the top of the list. For this reason, Upkeep's total can differ a little from the Health app.

On the Step Data Source screen in Upkeep, you can pick one device instead. Then only the steps of that device count. In both cases, put the device you wear most at the top of the Health app list.

Android: What Health Connect Priority Does

1. Open Health Connect.
2. Tap Manage data, then tap Data sources and priority.
3. In the dropdown, tap Activity.
4. Under App sources, touch and hold the handle of an app and drag it up or down. When two apps disagree, Health Connect uses the data of the app higher on the list.
5. Your phone's own steps are in the list too, at the lowest priority by default. Tap More next to your phone to move it up or down, or to remove it from the step total.

What Upkeep does on Android

Upkeep reads your steps from one app that you pick on the Step Data Source screen. If you never pick one, Upkeep picks the app with the most steps over the last 14 days. For this reason, the priority order in Health Connect does not change your count in Upkeep.

If you wear a tracker, pick the app of the tracker. Upkeep shows names such as Google Health (Fitbit) for a Fitbit, Garmin Connect for a Garmin, and Samsung Health for a Galaxy Watch.

When a Change Starts to Count

A step source change in Upkeep applies from your next day. Today's count stays as it was. The Step Data Source screen shows the day when the new source starts to count.

Watches and Other Step Apps

To get a Fitbit, Google Health, Garmin, Samsung or other tracker into Apple Health or Health Connect, follow our guide How to Connect Your Step Tracker to Upkeep.

Still Wrong?

Email support@upkeep.social, or tap the “Can't find your device?” link at the bottom of the Step Data Source screen. Tell us your phone, your watch and the two step counts you see.