GRV Fitness Tracker Non Bluetooth Fitness Watch No App No Phone Required Waterproof Pedometer Watch with Steps Calories Counter Sleep Tracker for Men Women Parents (Gray)

R. Frazier

Works for specific use cases. No EMF’s, smartphone, privacy issues.

Reviewed in the United States on December 26, 2021

Color: BlueVerified Purchase

I’ve been trying this device for a few days. It works for some very specific use cases. It does not produce substantial EMF’s as it has no BlueTooth or wifi. It requires no smartphone or app and does not present privacy concerns with an app provider monitoring everything you do. It provides clock, steps, distance, calories, and a manual sleep timer. Note that any device that’s measuring calories without an accurate heart rate count is only giving a gross approximation for an “average” person of the gender and weight you enter and “average” walking. Even with heart rate, it’s an approximation. This device does not measure heart rate. High accuracy calorie counting requires treadmill / oxygen use testing. As such, I don’t care about the calorie counter.

I was mainly interested in step counting. If you input your accurate stride length, your distance numbers should be good IF the step count is accurate. Note that this is NOT a GPS device. The problem is that the step count is frequently NOT accurate. According to my testing with a manual tally counter (clicker), the device records steps while walking for exercise pretty well. It was accurate to within just a few steps out of 100.

But, the problem is that it’s not accurate when not exercising. WHAT? you say. It records phantom steps when it shouldn’t, and this falsely inflates the step count. For example, if get out of a chair and go to the bathroom, do my business, wipe my nose, wash my hands, dry my hands, and return to my chair, the unit will record about twice as many “steps” as it should. All that hand movement messes it up. Also, it recorded several hundred bogus “steps” while driving in my car for about 7 miles on common paved roads.

The cumulative effect is that the step count, distance count, and calorie count are way too high at the end of the day, assuming I go to the bathroom a few times and drive a few times.

So, here’s the only way I can see using this device. Say you are actually going to walk for exercise. You note the step count before starting. Go do your walking. Note the step count at the end. Then subtract the two numbers to get the net, which should be pretty accurate. Otherwise, ignore the step count during the day. The unit has no reset button, but the count resets every night. It does not keep any long term records. I’m probably going to return this and try a belt / lanyard / pocket pedometer from RealAlt.

This unit also has a feature where it turns on the display light when you rotate your wrist. That’s OK if you want to read the unit. But, my wife said it turned on during the night while I wasn’t trying to access it. Apparently, this also happens with the sleep timer on. So, this might bother you or your mate while you’re sleeping.

If the RealAlt pedometer is not as subject to false readings and / or if I can reset it on demand, I’ll probably use that instead. Based on my reading, many pedometers and fitness trackers, even expensive ones, are subject to these false measurements. If the other one also accumulates false steps, I’ll have to reset it each time I exercise, and the daily and 30 day accumulated numbers will be wrong.

Note that comparing one pedometer to another isn’t very useful. The only way to know if one is accurate is to compare it to a manual tally counter where you click it on every step. Or, you can click it on every other step and multiply by two. This tells you if it’s properly counting steps when it should. Then, you can check the pedometer to see if it gives false readings when it should not be counting steps.

If you think you can live with these limitations for this unit, it might be useful to you. Otherwise, you may wish to look elsewhere. Note that it is VERY hard to find fitness trackers that don’t produce EMF’s. The Bluetooth and / or WiFi can be turned off on some of them, but not all. Almost by definition, the smart bands and smart watches are going to be pretty dependent on their wireless functions and connection to a smartphone or tablet.

Ron

325 people found this helpful

PAllen

Pedometer and Time

Reviewed in the United States on November 15, 2023

Color: GrayVerified Purchase

I wanted a simple pedometer and watch. No blue tooth. No phone. No messages. This works so far. Not big and bulky either with pages of instructions. No thanks to all that.

Llou

Update to review: Great Customer Service

Reviewed in the United States on August 7, 2023

Color: PinkVerified Purchase

I’m updating my review… (original review below)

After my initial watch had issues past the return period, customer service reached out to me to exchange the watch with a replacement. Bravo for that. Works great, no issues. I like the simple functions, but know there are some quirks on usage to realize aren’t a failing watch:
1. If it’s not charging: Wipe off the contacts and make sure you insert them where the metal is facing the plastic tongue inside the USB plug that houses the metal connection. The watch will display a green charging indicator on its face. (It’s easy to insert it upside down where it can’t charge.
2. There’s some combination of holding and pressing that displays the computer code (for me, accidentally) used for diagnosing issues (see picture). It’s nothing. Just hold and press the select circle on the watch until it goes away.

Original review:
I like everything about how this looks and its functions. I’m just really sad that it quit working after a month. It won’t charge any more.

5 people found this helpful

Patricia Moyer

It was the wrong watch for me. I foud out that I move too much for the battery to stay strong

Reviewed in the United States on November 17, 2023

Color: GreenVerified Purchase

Battery life is not long fasting

Customer

30 steps minimum to pick up

Reviewed in the United States on October 29, 2023

Color: BlackVerified Purchase

No matter what you set your measurement as one step when programming the device, it seems that 30 steps minimum to pick up ANYTHING!

One person found this helpful

m12345

easy to use

Reviewed in the United States on November 6, 2023

Color: BlackVerified Purchase

love how easy it is to use,worksgreat

David

Its fine for a cheap watch

Reviewed in the United States on October 9, 2023

Color: BlackVerified Purchase

Its great that it doesn’t need to sync with a phone app, as I don’t really trust a lot of phone apps. Its fairly easy to set up and use. The battery life is just ok, about a week for me. East to charge however.

3 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

伊勢崎　慎一

万歩計

Reviewed in Japan on October 5, 2023

Color: BlueVerified Purchase

万歩計の機能がシンプルでいいですね

カヌチャ

お値段通り

Reviewed in Japan on November 4, 2023

Color: PinkVerified Purchase

bluetoothは要らなくて、歩数と消費カロリーと時計でじゅうぶんだったので、こちらを注文しました。ピンクを選んだせいもあり、流石にベルト部分はチープ感否めないのですが、機能的に満足しています。
ポケットに入れて使用しています。

2 people found this helpful

Natalie

Gutes Gerät für den Preis

Reviewed in Germany on October 19, 2023

Color: BlackVerified Purchase

Die Uhr macht, wofür sie da ist: sie zählt die Schritte. Für mehr, hab ich sie nicht gekauft. Sie zeigt noch Uhrzeit und Datum an. Man kann die Schrittlänge angeben und hat somit auch die km Anzahl pro Tag am Display. Speichern kann das Gerät nicht, nach jedem Tag beginnt der Zähler von Null.
Einziges Manko: manchmal hängt sich die Uhr auf, dann muss man länger auf dem “Knopf” bleiben und sie geht wieder, allerdings sind dann die Schritte für diesen Tag weg. Passiert unregelmäßig und eher, wenn der Akku schon am Ausgehen ist. Akku ansich hält für mich lange – so 3-4 Tage.
Alles in allem ein gutes Gerät für den Preis!

2 people found this helpful

C.Lillo

Funzionale

Reviewed in Italy on November 9, 2023

Color: BlackVerified Purchase

Molto leggero , ti dimentichi di indossarlo . Purtroppo manca il controllo dei battiti cardiaci , del resto non e’ nemmeno promesso . Non e’ chiara la funzione Sonno , istruzioni incomplete , anche se x il resto e’ di facile impostazione . Ottimo che non necessiti di app . Ordinato alle 23 ricevuto il giorno seguente alle 15 circa , incredibile .Ottimo servizio .

One person found this helpful

Dolorès

A quoi correspond l’ icône du lit ?

Reviewed in France on November 2, 2023

Color: BlackVerified Purchase

Bonjour. Je ne comprends pas la fonction sommeil ( icône du lit) . Quelle est sa signification ainsi que son utilité?
Sur ma montre il est inscrit 07:46 ….et cela ne change pas.
Votre aide me serait TRES utile. D’avance MERCI.

One person found this helpful