Q: The app doesn’t record my walking!
A: 1) This app reads walking/running distance from the health app. So open the Health app and check to see if you have walking/running distance recorded. (to find “walking/running distance” on iOS 13 go to “browse” then “activity”).
2) If you DO NOT have distance recorded, you probably need to give the health app permission to record your activity. Go to settings then privacy then Motion & Fitness and turn on the Health app.
3) Verify that the WalkTheDistance app has permission to read from the health app. First “activate” your walk if you have not done so, then open the health app, and…
iOS 13 and above: “browse” ->”activity”->”walking + Running Distance”->”Data Sources & Access” then enable “WalkTheDistance” iOS 12 and below: Click “Sources” then “WalkTheDistance” and click “Turn All Categories On”.
Q: The app doesn’t match my distance recorded in my Garmin/Strava/Other App!
A: This app reads walking/running distance from the health app. For Garmin/Strava/[insert your app here], the trick is to get the data for these apps into the Health App.
1) Enable your 3rd party app to write walking data to the Health App. This is different for each app, but you can probably find how to enable it in the settings for the app you want to use.
2) (optional) Prioritize walking data from the 3rd party app. By default, the Health App prioritizes the built-in pedometer in the iPhone over any 3rd party apps. For example, if you went walking with your iPhone while recording a walk using your 3rd party app, the iPhone is recording distance using the pedometer AT THE SAME TIME. When it goes to resolve duplicates, it prioritizes the iPhone pedometer.
Instructions to change data source priority for the health app is here: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204351. Regardless of data sources and priority, you know WalkTheDistance is working as intended if you leave the walk activated all day and it matches the “Walking/Running” distance displayed in the Health App.
Q: But I have a Fitbit…
A: The Fitbit app doesn’t integrate with the Health App directly, but you can try https://apps.apple.com/us/app/power-sync-for-fitbit/id1071544839 to sync your data.
Q: Can I manually add my steps/walking distance?
A: Sure you can! Since my app reads from the Health app, just manually add the walking/running data that you want into the Health app and it should get picked up by my app.
For any other problems please email walkthedistanceapp@gmail.com.
