Recording an Activity

Recording an Activity

Navigate to the record screen by tapping Record from the bottom navigation menu. Strava will default to recording the activity type you recorded last, but you can change this by tapping the sports icon (for example, the shoe or bike) next to the start button. Tap the Down Arrow Icon in the top left corner to exit the record screen.

• To begin recording, tap the Start button near the bottom of the screen.
• If you are recording a GPS-based activity, you can toggle between the map and stats displays by tapping the minimize icon in the top right corner or swiping down on the stats. When on the map, tap anywhere on the stats to expand to the full stats view. 
  

Swipe the bottom sheet of the record screen to access controls for the following:

• Strava Beacon will share your real-time location with up to three safety contacts.
• Connect a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) heart rate sensor.
• Under the More section, you have the option to: 
  •  
    • Display Settings allows you to choose whether you'd like to prevent the screen from turning off while recording. If you are using Android, this will be under Screen Display.
    • Audio Cues can be enabled for the activity start/stop/pause, running splits, and Live Segments.
    • You can enable auto-pause for hands-free pausing, or you can choose to leave auto-pause off, and we will calculate your moving time when the activity uploads to our server.

Pause, Save, or Finish an Activity

Tap the pause button to stop your activity. You have a few options to remove resting time from your training:

• It is unnecessary to pause your recording while stopped unless you'd like complete control over your moving time. You must be consistent about pausing if you go with this option.
• If you'd like the app to auto-pause, the app will use GPS data or your phone's accelerometer to figure out when you're at rest. If you go indoors, you should manually pause, or else the obstructed signal may trigger a false auto-resume.
• If you turn off auto-pause and don't use manual pause, we will do all of our calculations on the server side after the activity is uploaded. We'd use your GPS data to determine when you were resting.

Pressing the Finish button will take you to the save activity screen.

• Title your activity, add photos, write a description, change your activity privacy controls, and more.
• On iOS, tap Save Activity to upload to Strava's servers; if you are using an Android, the Save option will be located at the top right of your activity - and be aware that if you tap Discard Activity (and then confirm this choice) - there is no way for Strava to recover the activity.
• Your activity will be uploaded to your feed immediately, and you'll be able to view the complete activity details after it is done syncing.

Other Recording Features

Off-Route Alerts

Strava can alert you when you go off-route during a recorded activity. Off-Route Alerts are available on the Strava Apple Watch app, Mobile Record (iOS and Android), and Live Activity (iOS).

How it works

When you record with a saved route loaded, Strava tracks your position relative to the route. If you move a meaningful distance away, an alert appears on your recording screen — on Apple Watch, the Mobile Record screen, or the iOS Live Activity widget (Lock Screen and Dynamic Island). The alert dismisses automatically once you return to the route. Minor GPS drift won't trigger it.

Enabling and disabling

Off-Route Alerts are on by default. To toggle them:

• Apple Watch: While recording, swipe left to the settings page and tap the Off-Route Alerts toggle.
• Mobile: Open navigation settings from the recording screen to enable or disable.

Turning alerts off won't affect your ability to follow a route — you just won't be notified when you deviate.

Requirements

• Apple Watch or iPhone/Android running the latest version of the Strava app
• A saved route loaded before or during recording
• Live Activity requires iOS 16.1 or later

Load a route by tapping the Add Route icon in the bottom right-hand corner. Learn more.

Live stats for run activities will display the split average pace while recording. For ride activities, you will see your current speed during recording and your average speed when your activity is paused.

The GPS strength indicator is a halo around your location, indicating accuracy. The smaller the halo, the stronger the GPS signal.
 

Live Elevation will display on your record screen for the following sport types: Hiking, Trail Running, Cycling (MTB, e-MTB, Gravel, and Road), and Winter Sports (Alpine Ski, Snowboard, Backcountry, and Snowshoe). We’ll display two elevation stats, Current Elevation and Total Elevation Gain/Loss.

App Data Usage

While recording, there is no data usage unless you view the maps or have Live Segments or Beacon turned ON. Otherwise, the app uses GPS while recording. Once you've finished recording, the app will need to transfer some data to sync the activity with the Strava servers. That's typically about 1MB for two hours of recording, but it can vary slightly. There will also be a small amount of data transfer to update your feed. Please note, however, that if you can wait for a WIFI connection to sync the activity or view the feed, you can prevent all cellular data usage.

FAQ

My activities aren't being recorded correctly. The activities are missing a map, or the recorded map doesn't match what I did.

There is likely an issue with your GPS connection. Refer to our article on troubleshooting GPS issues.

I hit save, but the activity hasn't synced to my account.

Refer to our article on troubleshooting syncing.

How is live elevation on Strava’s Mobile Record calculated?

If you are recording on an iOS device, your live elevation will be derived from your device's motion sensor. This requires you to accept activity motion permission on Strava. To do this, you can go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Motion & Fitness. If you haven’t granted Strava access to your motion sensor, live elevation will be calculated based on your GPS, which is less accurate.

If you are recording on an Android device, your live elevation will be derived from your GPS location. 

Why do my live elevation stats change after uploading to Strava?

Since elevation data derived from a GPS signal is fairly inaccurate, Strava automatically corrects elevation derived from a GPS source by consulting elevation databases to determine the elevation at each point in the activity. Our thresholds and smoothing process may differ from that of the other platform or GPS device.