Heart rate inaccurate

[Wills66]

I have started using the Fitbit blaze to track my heart rate for training.

For the first month or so it worked wonderfully, and it has tracked my resting heart rate to be 41 bpm (which is correct!).

However, I have found over the past few weeks that suddenly the tracker stops tracking my heart rate throughout parts of the day, and for some reason thinks my resting heart rate is now 47 bpm, which is a considerable jump!

I have tried using this whilst exercising, and in the beginning, this has worked very well; whereas now, when I am exercising, the tracker seems to think that my heart rate is at about 80-90 bpm when I am pushing it flat out.

Clearly, something is wrong, but I can't figure out what. I have been washing the back of the tracker with water, and have even used the soft bristles on my toothbrush to clean the tracker, yet nothing seems to help. I am left with a Fitbit which tells me my heart rate is way too high if it reads my heart rate at all!

What should I do to resolve this problem?

Thank you very much for your help.

[MKMP332]

I do agree that I shouldn't have to do this for the price I paid, but I also realize there are no perfect devices out there.  If it's made by man, it will have flaws.  I am very analytical and try to find solutions before putting up a fuss.  The only downside to trimming my arms is that I now look like an overgrown 10 year old...lol!  If I have problems in the near future, I will update this thread, but it seems to be working.

[TerryFit]

Agree entirely. 

Without prejudice, let me say in general terms......For a company that makes certain promises or expectations and perceptions about the features and performance of their products .... all of which influences the user to purchase your product, they should not hide behind "limitations of technology or science" when some of those expectations and perceptions that you have created, don't turn out to be achievable.

If you as the manufacturer or if science simply cannot produce the result your buyers are expecting, then don't produce the product until it can, or be honest with your customers about the products real and independently tested features/performance.

I can accept "not perfect" products if I knew it's real performance before I buy it and if the manufacturer continues to work with me (as a customer) keeping me informed of their goals to improve the product, what they are doing and how long they realistically expect it to take, to achieve those improvements etc.  Not only would I still buy their product but I would hold that manufacturer in high esteem and attempt to play my part in feeding back to them my experiences in a positive constructive way.

My home is full of "not perfect" technology but it hasn't stopped me buying them, it is only when I see where that manufacturer is not being "straight up" that I feel like I would think twice about buying another product from that business.

Finally let me also say that I love Fitbit always have and I cant wait for some of the issues you have mentioned are solved and then I will definitely get back into a new model, in a "heart beat"!

[schmict]

OK...when all else fails, now shave your arms for this thing to be kind of accurate measuring your heart rate.  That implies it is otherwise accurate for those with no hair on their arms. I am male with very little hair on my arms and I see quite a few females post on here regarding the same issue.  Wearing it turned to the underside didn't work for me either.  It is simply not a device for real time heart rate.   It is OK as a calculated average of activity over time.

[MKMP332]

You are correct.  It is more "kind of accurate".  Last workout yesterday evening on the bike, my HR was much better with a less hairy arm.  I didn't shave my arms, I trimmed them to a shorter length of hair.  I was quite the gorilla!  Well after about the first five minutes of frustration, it started reading correctly!  You see I had to hold my wrist at a slight bend in the semi flexed position.  Now, that had me frustrated again, because what happens when I jump over onto the erg (rower) that I truly love to use, or decide to use the heavy bag for some boxing cardio.  I'm starting to think I could have bought a $5 pedometer and wore my plain wrist watch and got as much data.  Ugh!

[schmict]

Yea...your right about holding your arm in a certain position.  I think that was actually a recommendation at some point.  But who the heck holds their arms still when they workout.  Yep a pedometer if you are interested in steps.  I will probably go to time tested and accurate chest strap for real time heart rate accuracy.  I think the fitbit operates mostly on averages...and I am disappointed.

[MKMP332]

I have a Polar H7 that I used to sync to Endomondo.  I noticed that Fitbit will work with Endomondo, but I think that puts my HR back on my phone.  This thing won't sync directly to a Bluetooth Smart chest strap like the H7, then display on the watch, will it?

[Wilkovian]

Yeah; I pretty much just use the Blaze as an average throughout the day read and wear my trusty Polar H7 whenever I do any actual workouts.


Heavy bag work, kettlebells, and any cardio except when I run (and even then it messes up half the time). It's especially annoying that you can't lock the buttons during workouts too; the number of times I've been out cycling (especially mountain biking where you're bumping around) or running and realised I must have touched the screen or back button inadvertently and the workout paused 5 minutes in and it's an hour or two later... Very frustrating.


I mean to be fair; a watch doesn't work great with some workouts anyway. I find they can be bad for how you hold your wrist if you're punching etc. and if you're using kettlebells then the basic first position of most movements puts your watch in severe danger of being smashed with a cannonball-on-a-handle at the start of every single rep...


Generally speaking I love the fitbit concept; the steps etc. are fantastic and it's not a stretch to say it changed my life in the last five years since I had a One; but at the moment I think they're stretching what they're claiming the devices can manage. I love innovation and I only hope there's a way of making more accurate readings etc. in the future; hopefully some combination of the technologies or some way of reading pulse more accurately through the wrist; but at the moment it's not in any way feasible to use any of the optical heart rate reading methods for any true accuracy. The averages for the day seem to work out pretty well though; I've found they work nicely with MyFitnessPal etc. to give me an idea of calorie burn etc. and when I combine that with my food diary I've found they give me a good guide of loss/gain etc.


If you're into serious workouts though or want accuracy even from cardio then I'm afraid the strap is the way to go.

[TerryFit]

Yes agree.  It begs the question then (assuming it is technically possible)  "why not make an accessory chest strap that syncs with your fitbit"...  for those people who want more accurate readings. Is that too tough to build?

[gmorrell]

So hears what I would do. Restart the blaze that you push all three buttons until it shows the logo and if that doesn't work delete  it from your account. then try to sync it then connect  it then if that goes south contact fitbit and ask them. That's

---

wrote:

I have started using the Fitbit blaze to track my heart rate for training.

For the first month or so it worked wonderfully, and it has tracked my resting heart rate to be 41 bpm (which is correct!).

However, I have found over the past few weeks that suddenly the tracker stops tracking my heart rate throughout parts of the day, and for some reason thinks my resting heart rate is now 47 bpm, which is a considerable jump!

I have tried using this whilst exercising, and in the beginning, this has worked very well; whereas now, when I am exercising, the tracker seems to think that my heart rate is at about 80-90 bpm when I am pushing it flat out.

Clearly, something is wrong, but I can't figure out what. I have been washing the back of the tracker with water, and have even used the soft bristles on my toothbrush to clean the tracker, yet nothing seems to help. I am left with a Fitbit which tells me my heart rate is way too high if it reads my heart rate at all!

What should I do to resolve this problem?

Thank you very much for your help.

---

what i would do.

[MKMP332]

Well, I got out the trusty H7 Polar Bluetooth chest strap, and fired up Endomondo.  I went in and had it connect and share with Fitbit.  I did a very short workout on the rower, and even though my Blaze showed 80 bpm, my Endomondo on my phone (via Polar H7) was showing 120's to 130's.  I guess when I workout, I still get to feel like I am wearing a bra!  It seems to be the most accurate.  Kinda piss poor, to me for what I paid.  I do like the notifications, and other things of that nature.  I may end up eBaying this thing and going with a Samsung Gear watch that will do all that and more.  It's just a smart watch, but it actually ranks on some top fitness watch lists.  I am an Android guy, so the Apple Watch is not an option.  Great watch, but they are too stingy with opening their platform to us green robot guys.

All I wanted was an accurate HR on my watch!  I think it does that during the day over a long period and average.  The resting HR is pretty accurate.  I have been told by the dermatologist that I have very tough, thick skin on more than on occasion (when having problematic moles removed).  I wonder if that could be a factor.  Oh well.  I had better figure out which option I want to go with!  Thanks for all the replies and input!

[TerryFit]

Hi I had very similar experience and nothing fixed it.  I finally gave up got rid of my blaze and will only get another Fitbit after there is widespread support by their user base that any new model Fitbit is performing accurately and reliably under alll usage and that includes exercise periods such as in a gym and not just a walk along the beach! And that the watch can be worn in a normal position on my arm 

[atormena]

Hello, 

Yesterday I tried to follow your tip to turn the Fitbit around to the bottom of my wrist and unfortunately the heart rate monitor kept showing a value absolutely inconsistent with the machine I was on and with I realize in myself (Fitbit showing 80 and the machine 140)... 

I agree that we, as customers, should not have to do things as wearing the equipment differently... all those situations should be prevented by Fitbit while developing the product. And I really wonder why we do not have an official position from Fitbit about this issue... (I'm not talking about useless recomendations to use the product differently... I'm talking about an official position from the manufacturer about the innacuracy of HRM). 

Regards, Anderson

[schmict]

Yep...disapointed , because if I had really known that it can't be depended on to  monitor what real time heart zones you are in during even a moderate workout, I wouldn't have bought it, because that is what I bought it for.  Fitbit won't make any statement on the unreliability of the heart rate monitoring for just that reason....many of us wouldn't buy it.  To be fair though...I think any wrist based tech won't be accurate enough for real time interval training based on heart rate zones.

[MKMP332]

Mine is boxed up and going back tomorrow.  I will go back to my Polar H7 chest strap and Endomondo on my phone.  I tried, but won't be buying a wrist fitness tracker of any brand until the technology is there.  The Blaze doesn't do anything well.  Hell, it lost 35 minutes under constant sync overnight making me late for work.  That was enough!

[gmorrell]

​Try going to fitbit live chat and picking live chat and ask them if they
can replace it. thats what i would do.

gosha​

[FerdinandFitbit]

Hello everyone! 🙂 Good to see you all in the Fitbit Community Forums! 🙂

I'm sorry to hear that you're having problems with your heart rate not being accurately recorded. In the case that the heart rate monitor is not turning on at all, you might want to try to restart your tracker.

You can easily do this by pressing the left and lower right buttons for 10-12 seconds. This will make your tracker to reboot.

Now, if your heart rate monitor is actually working but the reading seems to be off, keep in mind that your heart rate may be affected by any a number of factors at any given moment. Movement, temperature, humidity, stress level, physical body position, caffeine intake, and medication use are just a few things that can affect your heart rate. Different medical conditions and medications can impact your heart rate. 

Fitbit trackers are not medical devices and should not be used to diagnose any condition but your tracker is sure a good tool to have an overall idea of your health, so if you notice abnormalities on your heart rate, you can consult your doctor.

Hope this helps and anything else you may need, I'm always here to help!

[phatbitzr]

I wore a lycra wrist wallet in the hopes of holding my Bla2e high up on my wrist.  It holds it up somewhat, but then sometimes the fabric lifts the edge of the Bla2e up, causing it to not press against my skin.  Also, due to the tapering of my arm, it is looser on the hand's end than the elbow's.  My fix for that is to put a rubber band to hold down the side of the Bla2e that is looser.  It blocks the '1' on the HR readout, but I can live with that.  They should have a bungee wrist mount solution, so the device can be pulled back against the skin without the need to overly tighten the unyielding wrist strap.

Also, after a while, the tracker just starts slowly going down in HR (I know this because I wear a chest strap too).  Could be due to too much sweat pouring down my arms.  Sometimes twisting the tracker could resolve it, other times, I have get a rag and wipe that part of my wrist dry.  What fitbit should have is little squeegees at the inside of the watch, so a up and down twist will wipe the sweat off that part of your arm.  A microfiber lined wristband would help too, so it does the absorbing and the squeegee does the wiping.

[TerryFit]

So funny yet many truths within your humour... well done.  This whole "move it up your arm" advice is ludicrous... why would you buy a wrist style fitness band to have to position it up your arm in order to get it to work properly?  

[atormena]

Hello Ferdinand,

I imagine you wanted to help but just in order to make it clear and to do not distort the content of this topic. I hope you understand that we are discussing the heart's rate lack of accuracy. The reason behind this fact we do not know as we do not have an official position by Fitbit.

Maybe it is due to certain intrinsic features of the technology used by Fitbit on this equipment. 

What you posted in your reply and we are NOT discussing on this topic:

- Heart rate monitor is not turning at all; 

- The reading seems to be off; 

- What can vary my heart rate / Abnormalities of my heart rate (OMG)... 

Please understand what we are discussing before writing your reply. I hope we are speaking the same language now. Please help us getting these answers... regards, Anderson. 

[phatbitzr]

The most accurate locations to measure heart rate optically are the fingertips, forehead, food pipe and a few other private areas.  Nobody is going to sell lifestyle accessories where they tell the user to stick something on their forehead all day.  I don't think they can even make a watch that's to be worn on the upper forearm, where optical measurement over the myriad of veins would be much more accurate.  If the wearing of jewelry on the forehead became popular instead of on the wrist, then we wouldn't be having this discussion.