Sessions by Device Type, FullStory

Sessions by Device Type for FullStory stores. Tracked live in Vortex IQ Nerve Centre. How to read it, why it matters, and how to act on it.

Metrics type: Supporting Metrics • Category: Sessions

At a glance

Sessions by Device Type breaks your captured FullStory sessions into desktop, mobile, and tablet. It is the context layer for every other card. Frustration, scroll depth, and conversion all behave differently by device, so knowing your split tells you which experience deserves the most attention. If 70% of sessions are mobile, a desktop-only bug matters less than a mobile checkout glitch, and this donut is what frames that judgement.

What it counts	The distribution of captured FullStory sessions across device categories (desktop, mobile, tablet) in the period.
Sample type	Backend API data from FullStory, refreshed on the standard data refresh.
Why it matters	It is the lens for prioritising every other signal. A problem on the device that carries most of your traffic and revenue deserves attention first.
Reading the value	Read the proportions and watch for shifts over time. A growing mobile share raises the stakes on mobile-specific frustration cards.
Currency	count
Time window	30D
Alert trigger	-
Sentiment key	fs_device_split
Roles	owner, marketing

Calculation

Calculated automatically from your FullStory data. Vortex IQ groups captured sessions by the device category FullStory records for each session and shows the share of each for the period. See the At a glance summary above for what the metric tracks and the worked example below for a typical reading.

Worked example

A representative reading of Sessions by Device Type for a typical merchant on FullStory. Suppose the split is 64% mobile, 31% desktop, 5% tablet. With nearly two thirds of sessions on mobile, a rage-click spike on the mobile add-to-cart button is far more urgent than the same spike on desktop. The device split is what turns an undifferentiated frustration number into a prioritised decision. For deeper investigation, use Vortex Mind to compare frustration by device; for natural-language exploration, ask Ask Viq how mobile and desktop experiences differ.

Sibling cards merchants should reference together

Card	Why merchants reach for it
fs_session_count	The total this donut splits by device.
fs_rage_click_rate	Frustration often skews to one device.
fs_cursor_thrashing_rate	A desktop-leaning signal best read with the device mix.
fs_worst_frustration_pages	Page frustration that varies by device.

Reconciling against the vendor’s own dashboard

Where to look in FullStory’s own dashboard:

FullStory lets you segment sessions by device in session search and its reporting. Confirm period boundaries and segment filters match the Vortex IQ profile to reconcile cleanly.

Why the Vortex IQ value may legitimately differ:

Reason	Direction	What to do
Device classification. Where tablets are grouped (with mobile or separate) can differ between views.	Variable	Align the device categories.
Period boundary. Vortex IQ uses 30-day rolling by default; FullStory dashboards may use calendar periods.	Variable	Match the period range.
Segment scope. Bot or internal traffic exclusion may differ.	Variable	Match segment and filter settings.

Cross-connector reconciliation: complement with the captured-sessions and frustration cards. For divergence investigations, use Vortex Mind.

Known limitations / merchant FAQs

Q: How often does Sessions by Device Type update? The card refreshes on the standard data refresh (typically every 30-60 minutes for live integrations). For real-time signals, force a manual refresh from the dashboard.

Q: Why does the split differ from my analytics tool? Capture sampling, consent gating, and ad blockers affect device categories unevenly, so the FullStory device mix can differ slightly from raw analytics. Treat it as the mix of captured sessions specifically.

Q: Why does my FullStory dashboard show a different number? The most common reasons are device classification, period boundaries, and segment scope. Match these before assuming a real divergence.

Q: Can I customise the alert threshold? This is a distribution card rather than a threshold metric, so there is no single alert; use it as context for the cards that do alert.

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Tracked live in Vortex IQ Nerve Centre

Sessions by Device Type is one of hundreds of KPI pulses Vortex IQ tracks across FullStory and 70+ other ecommerce connectors. Nerve Centre runs the detection layer; Vortex Mind investigates the cause when something moves; Ask Viq lets you interrogate any number in plain English.

Start for free or book a demo to see this metric running on your own data.