If your steps look correct on your Pacer Home screen but show as 0, missing, or not updating on a Group/Club leaderboard, it’s usually caused by one of these:
- The leaderboard page hasn’t refreshed yet (sync delay)
- Your Step Source (Phone / Apple Health / Google Fit / Wearable) isn’t syncing into Pacer
- Your phone is restricting background updates (especially Android)
- The challenge/leaderboard has rules (daily caps, GPS-only scoring, daily step goal scoring, etc.)
- Time zone / “day cutoff” differences (steps counted on a different day)
This guide helps you pinpoint which one applies.
1) First: Identify the Exact Symptom (so you use the right fix)
A. Steps are missing in Pacer Home too
→ This is a step tracking problem (permissions, battery restrictions, sensor). Go to Section 4.
B. Steps look correct in Pacer Home, but leaderboard shows 0 / not updating
→ This is usually a sync / scoring / refresh problem. Continue below.
2) Quick Fix: Refresh the Leaderboard Correctly (Most common)
- Open the Group/Club → Leaderboard page
- Pull down to refresh (if available)
- Fully close Pacer and reopen it
- Return to the leaderboard and check again
This matches Pacer’s recommended first steps for challenge update issues.
3) Confirm You Joined the Group/Club/Leaderboard Inside the App
If you joined from a web page, you may be viewing a page that doesn’t include leaderboard scoring.
- If your group/club has a share link: make sure it opens in the Pacer app (not only the browser view). Pacer’s own guidance notes that the website view can look similar but does not contain a leaderboard or scores.
If needed: open the group/club again from inside Pacer and confirm you see the leaderboard there.
4) Check Your Step Source (Most important for “Home steps ≠ Leaderboard steps”)
Pacer can count steps from your phone sensor or import from connected sources.
If the leaderboard is driven by the source you selected, and that source isn’t syncing, your leaderboard stays at 0.
Step Sources Pacer supports
- iOS: Phone, Apple Health, Apple Watch, Fitbit, Garmin
- Android: Phone, Google Fit, Fitbit, Garmin, Samsung Health
What to do
- In Pacer, open Steps Data Source.
- Confirm which source is marked In Use / Primary.
- Then follow the matching troubleshooting path below.
4A) If your source is Phone (built-in step counter)
If leaderboard is stuck but Pacer Home steps are also unreliable, jump to Section 5 (background & permissions).
If Pacer Home steps look correct but leaderboard is stuck:
- Do the refresh steps again (Section 2)
- Then continue to Section 6 (rules/caps/timezone)
4B) If your source is Apple Health (iOS)
Apple Health can combine multiple sources (Phone + Apple Watch + other apps), and priority affects what Pacer receives.
Try this:
- Open Apple Health → Steps → Data Sources & Access
- Ensure your preferred source (e.g., Apple Watch) is prioritized correctly (at the top if needed)
- In Pacer, confirm Apple Health is connected and set as the primary source, then sync again
4C) If your source is Apple Watch (iOS)
If Apple Watch steps are not flowing into Pacer, leaderboard won’t update.
Recommended checks:
- Update iPhone, Apple Watch, and Pacer
- Ensure Health/Fitness Tracking is enabled on the watch
- Keep watch paired (Bluetooth/Wi-Fi)
4D) If your source is Fitbit
Your Fitbit device must sync to the Fitbit app first, then Pacer can import it.
Do this in order:
- Open the Fitbit app and confirm the tracker has synced
- Open Pacer and use the Fitbit sync/refresh area (check last sync time)
- Allow time—Fitbit syncing can be delayed because it goes through servers
- Verify the correct Fitbit account is connected in Pacer (wrong account = no steps)
4E) If your source is Garmin
- Sync your activities in Garmin Connect first
- Then open Pacer and refresh Garmin sync from Pacer’s Home sync area
4F) If your source is Google Fit (Android)
Reconnect and confirm permissions:
- In Pacer → Steps Data Source → connect Google Fit (“Save Power with Google Fit”) and allow access
(Note: Google Fit syncing may become unstable on newer Android versions due to changes on Google Fit’s side—so delays/inconsistencies can happen even when settings look correct.)
4G) If your source is Samsung Health (Android)
- In Pacer → Steps Data Source → connect Samsung Health and ensure it’s set as the primary source
5) Android Only: Fix “Leaderboard Updates Only When I Open the App”
This is almost always battery/background restrictions.
If your steps (or leaderboard) only update after launching Pacer, follow Pacer’s Android guidance:
- Disable battery optimization for Pacer
- Enable Auto Start on some devices (e.g., Xiaomi/Redmi)
- Avoid “task killers” that shut Pacer down
After changing these settings, reopen Pacer and refresh the leaderboard again.
6) Check Leaderboard Rules (Manually added steps, Caps, GPS-only, Daily Step Goal)
Sometimes your Home steps are higher than your leaderboard score because the leaderboard is not counting “raw steps” the way you expect.
Common rule-based causes include:
- A daily cap (extra steps don’t increase score after the cap)
- A Daily Step Goal challenge (may award max 1 point/day)
- A GPS-only challenge (normal pedometer steps don’t count)
- Steps entered manually are not included in the Group/Club leaderboard calculations.
- Sync delays from Apple Health / Google Fit / wearables
What to do
- Open the challenge “Rules/Details” and confirm what counts.
- If it’s GPS-only, make sure you’re using the required tracking mode.
7) Time Zone / “Today” Mismatch
If your “Today” steps look right on Home but appear under “Yesterday” (or don’t show yet) on the leaderboard, it can be a time zone/day-boundary issue.
Pacer notes that leaderboards are often measured by calendar day and time zone behavior can affect what day steps land on.
Fix
- Set your phone Date & Time to Automatic
- Reopen Pacer
- Refresh the leaderboard
8) If It Still Doesn’t Show: Gather Info for Support
If you’ve confirmed:
- Pacer Home steps are correct
- Step source is correct and syncing
- Leaderboard rules match your activity type
…then contact support and include:
- Group/Club ID and name
- Your step source (Phone / Apple Health / Apple Watch / Fitbit / Garmin / Google Fit / Samsung Health)
- Phone model + OS version + Pacer version
- Screenshots: Home steps, leaderboard, and Step Data Source page
- The time window when steps were recorded but not shown