# Steppa Sync Not Working? How to Fix Missing Steps > Steps missing in Steppa? Check the Apple Health permission, your watch's place in the source list, a late tracker sync and app warnings, easiest first. Source: https://playsteppa.com/blog/steppa-steps-not-syncing/ Published: 2026-10-21 Author: The Steppa Team, Steppa (https://playsteppa.com) ## Key Takeaways - A day ends at midnight in your own time zone, so a low count in the morning is not a missed day. - Most missing steps come back after a pull to refresh or after turning Steps on for Steppa in the iPhone's Health settings. - A watch only counts when it ranks above the iPhone in Apple Health's Data Sources & Access list. - If the app says your steps aren't syncing, turning the phone off and on again fixes it, and the steps stay in Apple Health meanwhile. - Steps that reach Steppa after a challenge settles, at 12:00 UTC two days after its last day, don't change the result. --- Missing steps in Steppa almost always come down to one of a handful of causes, and most fixes take under a minute. Work down this list in order and stop when your steps show up. One thing to know first: Steppa never counts steps itself. It reads them from Apple Health on your iPhone. So if a step isn't in Apple Health, Steppa can't see it, and most fixes below happen on the Apple Health side. ## First, check whether the day is over A challenge day runs from midnight to midnight in your own time zone. Until midnight, the day hasn't passed or failed. It just isn't finished. If you're looking at 2,400 steps at 9am, nothing is broken: it's 9am. ## 1. Refresh the app Open Steppa and pull down on the home screen. The app also syncs in the background, but a refresh brings in a walk you just finished right away. ## 2. Check that Steppa can read your steps If Apple Health shows steps that Steppa doesn't, the most likely cause is a permission that got switched off. 1. Open the iPhone Settings app. 2. Go to Privacy & Security, then Health, then Steppa. 3. Turn on Steps. The "Apple Health access is off" warning only appears when Steppa has seen no step data at all for 30 days, because Apple never tells an app whether reading is allowed. Older app versions could show it by mistake right after you unlocked the phone. If your steps appear after a pull to refresh, access is fine, and updating the app stops the false warning. ## 3. "Your steps aren't syncing" This warning means access is on, but the phone keeps failing to hand Steppa its steps. Turn the phone off and on again. Your steps are still safe in Apple Health and sync once Steppa can read them, as long as that happens before the challenge settles. ## 4. Your watch or tracker isn't counting If you wear an Apple Watch, Garmin, Fitbit, Oura or Whoop, two settings in Apple Health decide whether its steps count: - **Write permission.** The tracker's app has to be allowed to write steps to Apple Health. You turn this on in the tracker's own app. If the tracker isn't listed as a source in Apple Health, this is the problem. - **Source order.** Open the Health app, tap Steps, scroll to Data Sources & Access, tap Edit, and drag the tracker above the iPhone. For each stretch of time, Apple Health keeps only the top source that recorded steps. The source order is the fix most people miss. An Apple Watch ranked below the iPhone loses its steps whenever the phone also counted. Garmin's app may be listed as just "Connect". If your phone is your only device, skip this: there's nothing to reorder. Steppa's guided wearable setup walks through both settings and then shows your last seven days of steps. The challenge screen also warns you when Apple Health is dropping a tracker's steps and says how many are missing. ## 5. Your tracker hasn't synced yet Oura, Whoop and Garmin can send steps to Apple Health hours late, or in one batch. Until then, Steppa counts the steps your phone recorded. Open the tracker's app to make it sync, then open Steppa. On a short day, the Sync from wearable button tells you what it found. "No new steps found" means Apple Health had nothing Steppa didn't already have, so the tracker's own app has to sync into Apple Health first. ## 6. Your watch app shows more than Steppa Apple Health counts each step once, even when your phone and your watch both recorded it. A Whoop or Garmin app shows its own count, which can be higher. Steppa reads the Apple Health total, so the two won't always match, and that's expected. Steps typed into Apple Health by hand never count either. ## 7. You're offline, or the phone is full If a "You're offline" bar sits at the bottom of the screen, your connection dropped. Walking still counts, because Apple Health records on the phone, and Steppa syncs once you're back online. If you see "Your phone is out of storage", steps can stop syncing. Free up space in Settings, General, iPhone Storage, then close Steppa and open it again. ## 8. The app won't open Try these in order: 1. Update Steppa from the App Store. 2. Update your iPhone in Settings, General, Software Update. 3. Close Steppa fully and open it again. 4. Delete and reinstall it, then sign in with the same method you used before. Reinstalling is safe: your account, balance and challenges live on Steppa's servers. Signing in a different way, though, can open a second, empty account. Apple Health keeps recording the whole time, so a day isn't lost as long as the app opens before the challenge settles. ## 9. You switched phones Sign in with the same method as before, then allow Steppa to read Steps on the new phone. Until your watch is paired with the new phone and writing to its Apple Health, only the phone's own steps arrive. ## What can't be fixed Some steps never reach Apple Health: a watch that died, a phone left at home, entries deleted from the Health app. Steppa can't add those, and hand-typed steps never count. Steps that reach Steppa after a challenge settles, at 12:00 UTC two days after its last day, don't change the result. Steppa doesn't change a day's steps from a screenshot, and the same rules apply to everyone. ## Still stuck? Email support@playsteppa.com, or tap Email, the last row under Help & Support on the Profile tab. The team reads it Monday to Friday. Include your phone model and iOS version. For the full setup, from the first permission to your watch's source order, see [how to sync steps to Steppa](/blog/steppa-how-to-sync-steps/). If your steps are fine but your money isn't moving, see [Steppa payout not working](/blog/steppa-payout-not-working/). Steppa is iPhone only, and paid challenges are for adults 18 and over where Steppa's [Terms](https://legal.playsteppa.com/terms) allow. ## Frequently Asked Questions **Why are my steps not showing in Steppa?** Usually the app hasn't refreshed yet, Steppa isn't allowed to read Steps, or a tracker hasn't synced to Apple Health. Pull down on the home screen first. Then check Settings, Privacy & Security, Health, Steppa, and make sure Steps is on. If you wear a tracker, open its app so it syncs to Apple Health. **Why does Steppa show fewer steps than my Apple Watch?** Your Apple Watch probably sits below the iPhone in Apple Health's source list, so it loses its steps whenever the phone also counted. Open the Health app, tap Steps, then Data Sources & Access, tap Edit and drag Apple Watch above the iPhone. That is also why the Fitness app can show more than Steppa. **Will steps that sync late still count?** Yes, as long as they reach Steppa before the challenge settles, at 12:00 UTC two days after its last day. That leaves every player at least one full day after their last day. Steps that arrive after settlement don't change a settled result. **Can Steppa support add my missing steps?** No. Steppa counts only what reached Apple Health, never changes a day's steps from a screenshot, and applies that rule the same way to everyone. Support can help you find the cause, such as a source list or a tracker that isn't syncing, so it doesn't happen again. **Is it safe to delete and reinstall Steppa?** Yes. Your account, balance and challenges are kept on Steppa's servers. Sign in again with the same method you used before, because signing in another way can open a second, empty account. Then allow Steppa to read Steps again. ## Sources - [Steppa on the App Store, read October 2026](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/steppa-step-challenges/id6755126064) - [Steppa Terms and Conditions](https://legal.playsteppa.com/terms)