Apple Watch Exercise Not Syncing with Myfitnesspal [Let’s Fix it]

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With more than 200 million active users, MyFitnessPal is one of the most popular apps for tracking food intake, counting calories, and checking your exercise levels. Healthline.com recently ranked MyFitnessPal as the #1 app for calorie tracking. I agree with them, even though the idea of a monthly subscription is always hard to swallow.

One of the key features of MyFitnessPal is that the number of calories left to consume during the day will adapt depending on the intensity of the daily activities. In my opinion, this feature changes everything as it adds a real motivating factor. Do you want to indulge yourself with this delicious looking 130 kcal chocolate chip and pecan cookie? You have to walk for 30 minutes or the equivalent of 4,000 steps. What is better than using the Apple Watch to synchronize the number of daily steps or exercise levels with MyFitnessPal?

The issue is that, as simple as it seems, it does not work as smoothly as expected. This article will guide you through the tips and tricks to try in case the Apple Watch exercises are not syncing with MyFitnessPal.

Is MyFitnessPal installed on the Apple Watch?

Assuming that the MyFitnessPal app is correctly installed on your iPhone, open the Apple Watch app on your phone and scroll down. You should find MyFitnessPal in the list of “available apps’ menu. This is where the Apple Watch compatible apps already on your phone but not yet on your watch are waiting to be installed. Tap on “Install” to find MFP on your Apple Watch. Keep in mind that MFP on the Apple Watch will also provide the possibility to add food and water consumption to keep an eye on your progress.

MyFitnessPal Apple Watch Install

Once the apps are installed on the phone and Apple Watch, it is time to let MyFitnessPal make the most of the Apple Watch. As the device of choice for tracking steps and activities. It can be done simply by opening MFP on the iPhone, tapping on “more,” then on “steps.”

Like me, you may have several smartwatches or fitness trackers. MFP will need to be assigned a device of choice. Select “Apple Watch,” and all should be fine. MyFitnessPal will understand that the Apple Watch will be the device to track activities and exercises.

You may think that it should be enough. But, no, there is one more process to do. MFP will not detect step counting right from your Apple Watch. Instead, as with many health applications, Apple Health will act as an exchange buffer to synchronize the data. So, after installing MFP on your iPhone and Apple Watch, the next step is to allow the MFP app to read fitness tracking data from the Apple Health app.

How do you link MyFitnessPal with Apple Health?

MyFitnessPal Apple Health Privacy Settings

In a nutshell, the goal is to update health app permissions. The permissions settings can be found in the settings of the iPhone. Open Settings, tap “privacy,” and scroll down to find the Health App tab. The next step is to find the MyFitnessPal app tab, tap on it and toggle “steps” as well as walking + Running Distance.

Now, you would be all set and the data collected by the Apple Watch will be transferred to MFP through the Health app.

It is always a good idea to restart your Apple Watch and iPhone at this stage. It will help free some memory and will remove potential clutters. To do so on the Apple Watch, long press the side button, toggle “Power off” and restart the Apple Watch by either long pressing the side button again or connecting the watch to the charging cable.

Is the Apple Watch step count still not syncing with MyFitnessPal all?

MyFitnessPal Force Sync

If you did everything the right way and your workouts are still not synced with MFP, there is one more thing you can try to fix the issue. Usually, just opening the app on your iPhone will be enough to synchronize the missing data, but in some rare cases, it may be a good idea to boost the app.

Open MyFitnessPal on your iPhone, tap on “more” in the bottom right corner, and scroll down to find the “Sync” option. Tap on Sync, and all the missing workout data should update.

To wrap up

As a third-party app, MyFitnessPal is great for tracking your calorie consumption and losing weight if this is one of your goals. When used in conjunction with the Apple Watch, the MyFitnessPal iPhone app has the potential to become instrumental in your health, fitness, and food tracking journey.

MyFitnessPal not syncing the Apple Watch data properly is somehow a real bummer. However, the issue is often resolved by setting up privacy permissions and allowing the data to flow through the Apple Health app.

If nothing of the above works, do not forget that MFP support is available for you, and check the forum where users share their best tips and tricks to make the most of MFP and the Apple Watch.