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Why are my steps lower than my watch or fitness app?
Which phone do you use?
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Steps for your iPhone Steps for your Android phone Which phone do you use?
Set by your Steps Club app Set by the link you opened Detected your iPhone Detected your Android phone Remembered from your last visit Saved for your next visit Showing iPhone · Showing Android ·
- iPhone
- Android 14+
- Android 9–13
- Apple Watch
- Galaxy Watch
- Fitbit / Pixel Watch
- Garmin
- Oura
- WHOOP
Quick answer
Usually your watch's app hasn't sent today's steps yet. Most send when the watch syncs or when you open the app. Open it, let your watch sync, and your steps catch up.
When each app sends its steps
Your watch counts steps all day, but it keeps them on the watch. Its app collects them when the two sync, then passes them to Apple Health or Health Connect. Every app that shows your steps, Steps Club included, sees only what has arrived.
| Your app or device | iPhone (Apple Health) | Android (Health Connect) |
|---|---|---|
| Your phone | As you walk | As you walk (Android 14+) |
| Apple Watch | On its own, when it’s near your iPhone | — |
| Samsung Health (Galaxy Watch) | — | When you open Samsung Health ¹ |
| Google Health (Fitbit, Pixel Watch) | When your tracker syncs | When your tracker syncs |
| Garmin Connect | When your watch syncs, only while Garmin Connect is open | When your watch syncs |
| Oura | When you open Oura | When you open Oura |
| WHOOP | Often not until the next day | Often not until the next day |
¹ Samsung says its app sends new data to Health Connect right away. On the phones we see, steps usually land when Samsung Health is opened, so opening it is the quickest nudge.
Your phone is first in the list
When your phone and your watch both counted the same walk, Apple Health and Health Connect don’t add them. They keep the count from whichever is higher on your list. If your phone is first and counted fewer, the difference is gone.
- On iPhone, your iPhone and Apple Watch start in the same group, and a new app you connect goes to the top. Check the order after any change.
- On Android, your phone’s own counter starts last, so this is rarer. Your watch’s app must be listed under App sources, though, or its steps don’t count.
How the list works: How Apple Health and Health Connect decide your step count.
Off by a few hundred
That’s normal. Each device counts with its own rules: Garmin counts arm swings, Oura looks for step patterns from your finger, your phone counts while it’s in your pocket. A gap of 10% or more usually means one of the reasons above.
What to do
- Open your watch's app and let your watch sync. Garmin Connect? Keep it open for a few seconds.
- Check it's sharing: in the Health app, tap your profile picture, then Apps (under Privacy), then your watch's app. Steps should be on.
- Put your watch first: tap Search (Browse on iOS 18 and older), then Activity, then Steps. Scroll to the bottom and tap Data Sources & Access, then Edit. Touch and hold the three lines (≡) next to your watch or its app, drag it to the top, then tap Done.
- Open your watch's app and let your watch sync.
- Check it's sharing: in Health Connect, tap App permissions (on Samsung phones, Your health apps), then your watch's app. Steps should be allowed. Not sure? See Let your step app save steps.
- Put your watch's app first: in Health Connect, tap Manage data, then Data sources and priority. If the menu at the top doesn't say Activity, choose Activity. Tap the three dots (⋮) next to your app, then Move up, until it's at the top. No dots? Drag it there. Android 13 and older: don't see Manage data? Tap Data and access, then Activity, then App priority.
WHOOP? Today’s steps often don’t arrive until tomorrow. Nothing to fix.
Why this happens
Three counts are in play: what your watch counted, what its app has sent, and what Apple Health or Health Connect keeps from everything that arrived. Your watch’s app shows the first. Apple Health, Health Connect and every app that reads them show the last.
Watches save battery by syncing in bursts, and some apps send only while they’re open. So during the day the shared count runs behind your watch, then catches up. If it never catches up, the problem is sharing or the order of your list, and the steps above fix both.
