Pixel Watch bug is wiping out exercise steps after March update

Google’s latest March 2026 update for Pixel Watches appears to have introduced a frustrating new bug. Multiple users are reporting that their devices are no longer counting steps during certain exercises.

Complaints have been showing up on Reddit over the past few days, with users experiencing the issue across different Pixel Watch models, including the Pixel Watch 2 and Pixel Watch 3.

One user described how their daily routine has been thrown off because of the bug, saying, “I use my PW3 daily to track steps while running or doing aerobic activity. Ever since the March 2026 update… it shows no additional steps. The heart rate tracking data is there, but no steps.”

Other Pixel Watch users also echoed the issue, with one saying, “Ever since the update, I’m missing all my workout steps, it’s driving me nuts.”

Interestingly, the bug doesn’t seem to impact every activity type. Some users say step tracking still works fine during walking workouts, but breaks during others.

“It did count steps if I had it track a walking workout. So it looks like aerobics and elliptical do not work, but walking does,” noted a user.

This suggests the issue could be tied to how specific workout modes handle step data rather than a complete step-tracking failure.

The good news is that Google has acknowledged the issue and is working on fixing it. A Pixel Community account responding to users on Reddit said:

We are aware of this issue and are working on a fix.

Calorie tracking may also be broken

The problem doesn’t stop at steps. Some users are also reporting wildly inaccurate calorie estimates, possibly tied to the same bug.

“When logging an exercise, it will stop tracking steps, and the caloric burn is way off… Seems like it’s counting my steps as burned calories.”

They added that their watch reported burning 6,000 to 7,000 calories in a day, which is obviously not realistic.

A Fitbit community moderator acknowledged the related bug and suggested the following temporary workaround:

Thanks for the feedback. We are aware of a bug with changing the calorie target goal from the Today tab and are investigating it. As a workaround, we recommend updating your target calorie goal from the ‘You tab’: You > Goals > Nutrition > Calorie Target, since this path successfully saves the new value.