Heart rate no longer being recorded with GPS tracked run

[SuzyHo]

Hiya,

I have a new issue with my fitbit. When I track a run from my phone (to be able to see GPS route and split pace), my heart rate is no longer recorded with the entry.

I can log the run manually afterwards and then I see my heart rate, but obviously there isn't any attached GPS data.

This is a new issue and the same fitbit used to record my associated heart rate whenever I tracked a run from my phone.

I've chatted to FitBit support about this, and got a less than satisfactory response that said "It is not possible to have both the GPS and HR data with the Alta HR". 

However, this is clearly not the case...I have screenshots of old runs showing GPS and heart rate tracked with a run!

Support had previously said "we can confirm that this is a rare issue"...so clearly it is an issue.

Anyway, what's the point of having a heart rate tracker that doesn't track your heart rate during exercise, it would be bizarre.

I've also seen threads on here from people with various fitbits that have had the same problem.

Does anyone have a fix? This is seriously frustrating, even without getting seemingly fobbed off by support.

Thanks!

[Rich_Laue]

I assume your using your Fitbit app on some unknown phone to track your run @SuzyHo 

This is by design or a crept in big. Also I'm not sure if it is on only one or all phone platforms

[NatJam]

I’m having the same issue with my Charge 2. It’s very strange.

[Bob20]

Ive noticed this also. It's quite annoying as I would prefer to see map rather than just heart rate.

Would be good to know if there is a fix

[Rich_Laue]

@NatJam are you using the Charge 2 or the Fitbit app to record your exercise. 

[Bob20]

Hello there,
I am using the fit bit app on my phone to record

Sent from my iPhone

[Rich_Laue]

Yes this is a known issue. 

[Joe_Brogno]

Hi Rich, is there a fix for this?  I use the heart rate data all the time after a run. This feature works okay if I track a walk but doesn't when running! It used to work all the time and then suddenly it stopped. I hope there is a fix.

[SuzyHo]

So I spent a LOT of time talking to Fitbit support about this, with no success. One person told me it's a known issue they are working on. The next person told me that the original function of HR + GPS in the same exercise entry was itself a bug. The phrase "The Alta HR never had this functionality" was thrown around an awful lot.

I was told that previously, when I tracked GPS from my phone, my fitbit also auto tracked the run, and there was a 'bug' that meant the two exercise entries got recorded together into one entry - hence GPS + HR. Now they have 'fixed the bug', so this doesn't happen.

Does that sound like a bug, or does it sound like a useful feature they've done away with?

Anyway, I also chatted to some customers on Reddit who had the same problem and none of them got a solution. One person even reported Fitbit to their local trading authority and managed to get a refund from fitbit after months of fighting.

I had wanted to get this sorted while my device was in warranty. In my mind I bought a device for a function it performed. It no longer performs that function, it's in warranty, its busted. But no, apparently these days you can label a feature a bug and wash your hands off it. 

Massively disappointing from fitbit, and my next watch will be another brand.

[Rich_Laue]

Suzy in the past when using the Fitbit app to record the run, if the tracker was also worn, fitbit used the data from the tracker to supplement the run stats.

The bug is that now Fitbit ignores all data from the tracker. 

[Joe_Brogno]

I cannot believe how uncooperative Fitbit are! Looks like Apple iWatch is will be my next purchase.  

[the3amigos]

Suzyho, there is a 10 page thread dated from July 2019 about exactly this. I just posted the following on that thread: "So I updated the app and have used the GPS tracker. The good news is that there is now a bar on the completed map that shows "Default", "Heart Zones", and "Pace". The bad news is that I'm consistantly getting a message "Not enough heart rate data available". So while we supposedly have heart rate information available with GPS again, it doesn't work."

I updated about two weeks ago. I have an Alta HR, running on an Android. This post may be removed for "double posting", but I hope you get to see it before that happens.

[Rich_Laue]

@the3amigos take a look at the heart FAQ

[the3amigos]

Thank you, Rich-Laue. I didn't see anything in those articles that would explain why my heart rate stats aren't being recorded.

When I let the Fitbit auto detect excercise, heartrate innformation is available. This is doing the same walk and at roughly the same speed, but on different days.

[the3amigos]

Thank you, Rich_laue. I didn't see anything in those articles that helped. If I let auto-detect record my walk, I get heart-rate information. This is walking the same route at roughly the same speed so that tells me that my Alta HR is recording information. For whatever reason, it doesn't do that using GPS.

[vickyamy]

I'm getting the same issue with an Alta hr. Would be interested to know of there's a fix.

[Rich_Laue]

@vickyamy this issue is not about the tracker, but in the way the Fitbit app records runs.

While recording a walk or run with the Fitbit app, data from the tracker is ignore . 

I'm not sure if this is on both ios and android. No one above has mentioned their phone info.

[the3amigos]

Rich_Laue, I did mention that I'm running on Android in one of my first posts. I've been running the Fitbit app on my Motorola Turbo since I got my first Fitbit about four years ago. I've never had a problem with the phone but did have an issue with the first Alta HR I bought and an ongoing problem with heart-rate tracking on a GPS walk with my current Alta HR.

[SuzyHo]

Interesting, thank you for sharing your experience. I'm using an iPhone 7, so it's not an issue with the phone type. As far as I know iOS doesn't have an update yet, but hopefully I'll see a step towards a fix when there is an update.

My major gripe with Fitbit really is that they absolutely refused to acknowledge to me that this issue was a bug - I have the transcripts somewhere and I was told multiple times that they've 'fixed the bug' so that HR isn't recorded with the GPS anymore. It's ridiculous.

I even mentioned to the most recent chat lady that a previous person I'd spoken to had admitted that this was a bug they were looking into and she told me her colleague was misinformed and that there would be a reprimand on his desk regarding his 'misinformation'. Literally couldn't make it up if I tried.

[SuzyHo]

I've explained a bit more in my previous message - to me it's obvious it's a bug introduced in some update towards the end of last year, but fitbit help insisted that by removing HR data from being recorded with GPS they had 'fixed a bug' that supposedly allowed the HR and GPS data to be (mistakenly) recorded into one entry.