HR monitor inconsistent

[AdamMSC]

I've praised the Blaze in the past for its accuracy when compared to my chest strap; however, recently I have found it to be off... Not just a little bit off, I mean off by an alarming amount. Example-today I compared my Polar H7 to the Blaze and this is what I got:
This is a one hour work out.

PH7: Max 190, Average 145
Blaze: Max 154, Average 125

I am not sure why it is so far off... I have seen it first hand do much better than that! Anyone else find their Blaze's monitoring to be inconsistent? Not just inaccurate... I mean that it works sometimes and at other times it seems to be lost in space. I've done restarts to try and fix the problem and moved it up on my arm and everything in between. Not sure why I am getting these unnacountable changes in the software/hardware.

[FerdinandFitbit]

Hi there @AdamMSC. It's great to see you in the Community! 🙂

Since you've already tried some things as restarting your tracker and making sure to wear it a little bit higher on your arm, I can recommend that with high-intensity interval training, P90X, boxing, or other activities where your wrist is moving vigorously and non-rhythmically, the movement may prevent the sensor from finding an accurate heart rate. Similarly, with exercises such as weight lifting or rowing, your wrist muscles may flex in such a way that the band tightens and loosens during exercise. Try relaxing your wrist and staying still briefly (about 10 seconds), after which you should see an accurate heart rate reading. Note that your tracker will still provide accurate calorie burn readings during these types of exercise by analyzing your heart rate trends over the course of the workout.

Other than that, there's nothing else I can think of that could be causing this. So keep an eye on it and see if this keeps happening. If it does, I'd suggest getting in touch with the Support Team and they will be happy to help you out.

Let me know how it goes!

[SunsetRunner]

And I've mentioned to you before its inconsistencies and inaccuracies. Why the surprise?

[AdamMSC]

Yes, we did disagree based on what I saw at first. I graciously admit that it seems as though you were correct. After a larger sample size of tests, I have come to the same conclusion as you: it is hit or miss. My initial tests against the chest strap were much better than what I have gotten lately. I am confused as to what has happned; I haven't changed my workout!

[bbarrera]

@AdamMSC I have the same issue with Fitbit PurePulse optical HRM and Apple Watch. Its ok for stuff I don't care about, like 1-3 mile dog walks, or in an emergency like this morning when I forgot my chest strap at 5am spin class. Otherwise for accuracy I go with 1) chest strap, 2) Scosche Rhythm+, or 3) Mio Fuse (cycling). The Scosche is nice because its worn on arm, above or below elbow, and is generally good with tracking HR while lifting weights. Also nice because its transmits on both ANT+ and bluetooth so it pairs with gym equipment, Apple Watch, and phone.