This article assumes you’re participating in a Pacer for Teams (workplace/corporate) challenge and one of the following is happening:

• Your Home step total increases, but your Corporate Challenge progress/leaderboard does not. 
• Your challenge score updates hours later than expected. 
• Your challenge shows 0 even though you walked today. 

Below is the fastest way to diagnose and fix it.

1) Confirm the Challenge Is Active (and You’re Looking at the Right Metric)

1. Open the Corporate Challenge details page. 
2. Confirm the start/end date and that the challenge is Active. Challenges end at 11:59:59 PM on the end date.
3. Check the Rules/Details section to confirm what the challenge counts: 
   • Steps vs Distance vs Daily Goal / Points 
   • Any daily cap (common in step challenges) 
   • Whether it’s GPS-only (if enabled, normal daily steps may not count)

Common “it’s broken but it’s not” cases

• Daily Step Goal: once you hit the goal, extra steps may not increase today’s score.
• Distance / GPS-only: you must record a GPS activity; regular steps won’t add progress. 

2) Check Whether Steps Are Updating on Pacer’s Home Screen

Challenge progress can’t update if Pacer isn’t receiving steps from your selected data source. 

• If Home steps are NOT increasing → go to Section 5 (Phone Sensor Mode Fixes). 
• If Home steps ARE increasing → continue to Section 3.

3) Allow Time + Force a Refresh (Corporate challenges may not update instantly)

Even when everything is working, leaderboards update when Pacer receives and processes your latest activity data. Updates may be delayed, especially when steps come from Apple Health / Google Fit / wearables, or when background refresh is restricted. 

What to do

1. Open the challenge leaderboard and pull to refresh (if available).
2. Fully close Pacer, reopen it, then re-check the challenge page. 

4) Verify Your Step Data Source (Most common root cause)

Your corporate challenge progress follows the steps Pacer receives from your selected step source.

iOS step sources (per your setup)

• Phone, Apple Health, Apple Watch, Fitbit, Garmin

Android step sources (per your setup)

• Phone, Google Fit, Fitbit, Garmin, Samsung Health

What to do in Pacer

• Go to Settings → Step Data Source (or Data Source). 
• Confirm the source you expect is marked In Use / Primary. 
• If you recently switched sources, allow time for sync and refresh the challenge again. 

5) Fix by Source Type

A) If your source is Phone (sensor mode)

iOS quick checks

• Ensure Motion/Fitness permissions and background refresh aren’t blocking updates (these can cause delays and “only updates when open” behavior). 

Android quick checks (most important)

Android devices commonly stop background apps to save battery, which prevents steps from updating. 

Do these:

1. Turn off battery optimization for Pacer (set to Unrestricted / Don’t optimize).
2. Allow notifications for Pacer (helps keep the foreground service alive).
3. Restart your phone if steps still won’t update.
4. Open Pacer at least once a day to refresh background services. 

B) If your source is Apple Health (iOS)

If Apple Health permissions or access are incomplete, syncing can fail.

Fix

1. Open the Health app → Profile → Apps → Pacer 
2. Tap Turn On All permissions (or at minimum, Steps/Activity permissions).
3. In Pacer, reconnect Apple Health and tap Sync Now (and don’t close the app during syncing). 

C) If your source is Apple Watch (iOS)

Apple Watch writes steps into Apple Health; if Apple Health is prioritizing another source, you can see mismatches.

Fix

1. Health app → Browse → Activity → Steps → Data Sources & Access 
2. Ensure Apple Watch is listed and move it to the top (highest priority).
3. Then refresh Pacer and the challenge leaderboard.

D) If your source is Google Fit (Android)

Google Fit often syncs in batches, and background restrictions can make it look “stuck.” 

Fix

1. Ensure Google account sync is enabled and Pacer is connected inside Google Fit.
2. Grant Physical Activity permission to Pacer.
3. Disable battery optimization / allow background activity for Pacer.
4. Note: Google Fit may take up to an hour to provide fresh data after sync. 

E) If your source is Fitbit

For Fitbit, the correct order is usually: sync Fitbit → then open Pacer.

Fix

1. Open the Fitbit app and let it sync with your wearable. 
2. Then open Pacer and pull to refresh / check last sync time. 
3. If needed, disconnect and reconnect Fitbit in Pacer, and confirm the Fitbit account matches. 

Also note: some manually logged Fitbit activities may be excluded from challenge/social rankings. 

F) If your source is Garmin

Garmin sync is “Garmin Connect → Pacer,” and only data from the day you link may be counted going forward.

Fix

1. Sync your Garmin device with Garmin Connect. 
2. Open Pacer to pull in the latest data. 
3. If stuck, reconnect Garmin in Pacer and refresh the sync status. 

Also note: manually logged activities may not count toward challenges/group rankings. 

G) If your source is Samsung Health (Android)

Samsung Health syncing typically starts from the day you link it, and some charts/data aren’t provided.

Fix

• Reconnect Samsung Health in Pacer and confirm it is In Use, then return to the home screen and refresh. 

6) Check Time Zone + End-of-Challenge Sync Buffer (Corporate challenges)

For Pacer for Teams workplace challenges, activity is measured midnight-to-midnight in each participant’s local day, and there may be a ~12-hour sync buffer after the end date for final syncing. 

If you finished walking near the end date/time:

• Wait for the buffer window to complete 
• Refresh the challenge page again

7) If It Still Won’t Update: Collect Info for Support

Before contacting support, collect:

• Challenge name + challenge type (Steps / Distance / Daily Goal) 
• Approx. date/time you walked 
• Screenshots of: 
  • Pacer Home “Today” steps 
  • Corporate Challenge page showing no update

Then contact support in-app (Settings → Help & Support).