PokeT-Walk How to add steps with a Shortcut on iPhone, and when an app is easier
You can add steps to Apple Health for free with the built-in Shortcuts app: add the "Log Health Sample" action, set "Type" to Steps, fill in "Value", "Date" and "End Date", and run it. That is enough for an occasional fix. If you add steps often, want them spread over time or need to change an entry later, PokeT-Walk does it in one tap and keeps a history you can edit or undo.
How do you add steps with a Shortcut?
Shortcuts comes with every iPhone. Its "Log Health Sample" action writes a number into Apple Health. This is the basic setup; you do not need to download anything.
- Open the Shortcuts app and create a new shortcut.
- Add the "Log Health Sample" action.
- Set "Type" to Steps and "Value" to the number of steps, for example 5000.
- Set "Date" to when the walk started and "End Date" to when it ended. If you leave them empty, both use the current date and time.
- Run the shortcut. The first time, iOS asks whether Shortcuts may write to Apple Health; allow it.
- Open Steps in the Health app and check that the entry is there.
Shortcut or PokeT-Walk: what is different?
| Shortcut (Log Health Sample) | PokeT-Walk | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free, built into iOS | Free to download; the free version shows a short ad before each log, the optional PRO upgrade removes ads |
| What you do each time | Type the steps and both times | Tap a Quick steps preset, or type a number in Custom amount and tap Add |
| How it is written | One entry covering the times you set | About one-minute samples |
| Timing | Whatever you set; empty means now | Ends about 15 minutes ago by default, or pick a moment in the last 7 days with Ended at |
| Walking distance | Not written; needs a second entry | Written too, 1 km per 1,300 steps |
| Fixing a mistake | Find the entry in the Health app and delete it | Statistics → See all, then the pencil to change the count or undo to remove it |
| Will another app count it? | That app decides | That app decides |
When is a Shortcut enough?
If you only fix a missed walk now and then, say the phone was charging during an afternoon walk and you roughly know when you left and got back, a Shortcut does the job with no ads. Once it is built, next time you only change the value and the two times.
When is an app less work?
- You add steps often: editing a number and two times in Shortcuts every day gets old; in PokeT-Walk it is one preset.
- You want the steps spread out: with Spread over on Quick and Natural Pace on, 5,000 steps become 45 samples of 97 to 125 steps across 45.45 minutes.
- You make mistakes: the app remembers its last 100 entries and can change the count or undo an entry, touching only data it wrote itself.
- You want proof it worked: a write time appears under the buttons, Open Health jumps straight to the Health app, and the Steps added today widget shows it too.
- You want distance as well: the distance buttons write steps, distance and time together; for your own distance and pace there is Custom Walk in PRO.
Example: adding a 3:00 to 3:45 pm walk of 5,000 steps
| Shortcut | PokeT-Walk | |
|---|---|---|
| What you set | Value 5000, Date 3:00 pm, End Date 3:45 pm | Ended at 3:45 pm, Spread over Quick, Custom amount 5000 |
| Samples in Health | 1 entry of 5,000 steps over 45 minutes | 45 entries of 97 to 125 steps over 45.45 minutes |
| Walking distance | none | 3.846 km |
PokeT-Walk's 45.45 minutes come from Natural Pace, at most 110 steps a minute: 5,000 ÷ 110 = 45.45. Distance uses 1,300 steps per km: 5,000 ÷ 1,300 = 3.846 km.
Common mistakes
- Running the shortcut with both times empty: every step lands on the same instant.
- Adding the same walk twice: each run of the shortcut writes another entry, so check the Health app before you add it again.
- Expecting every app to count it: each app that reads Apple Health decides which sources it accepts and how often it refreshes. That is true for steps from Shortcuts and from PokeT-Walk alike.
Questions and answers
Can PokeT-Walk be run from Shortcuts?
No. PokeT-Walk has no Shortcuts actions; you log from the buttons in the app. If you want to stay in Shortcuts, use the Log Health Sample setup above.
Does adding steps with a Shortcut cost anything?
No. Shortcuts is a free app built into iOS, and the Log Health Sample action is free to use.
How do I delete steps a Shortcut added?
Open Steps in the Health app, go to the full list of data and delete that entry. PokeT-Walk can only change or undo entries it wrote itself, not steps written by Shortcuts.
I added steps but another app doesn't show them. Why?
First check that the entry is in Apple Health. If it is, the other app is the bottleneck: it may refresh only every few hours, or it may count only steps measured by the phone or its own watch.
You might also like
More PokeT-Walk guides
- How to add steps manually to Apple Health as a logged entry
- How to add treadmill steps to Apple Health when your iPhone missed them
- Steps not counting when pushing a stroller, pram or cart: add the missing steps
- Km to steps: a walking and running chart from 1 to 12 km
- How to edit or delete steps you added to Apple Health
- Added steps not showing in another app? A checklist for Apple Health
- How to add a steps widget to your iPhone Home Screen or Lock Screen
- Why is my iPhone not counting my steps?
- Forgot to wear my Apple Watch: can I add the steps?
- How many steps a day on the Camino de Santiago, and how do I log a stage my phone missed?
- All questions about PokeT-Walk
- Back to PokeT-Walk