Charge 3 heart rate inaccuracies

[Elinelinelin]

Hi

My Charge 3 has been glitching for a few months now. Minor problems that have been solved by restarting it. It has been annoying, but as long as the data has been somewhat accurate I’ve been OK with it.

However, now my Charge 3 has started to record crazy inaccurate heart rates. The other day my pulse was 200 while I was standing still, and during a high intensity work out my average pulse only reached 137. Today my charge 3 has been recording 6 hours in pulse zones - even though it’s been in a bag the entire day. I’ve also apparently climbed 182 stairs. I can’t be bothered to wear it anymore. 

Has anyone else experienced this, and do you know if there is a way to fix the problem? Or should I give up and return it to the store?

Thanks

Moderator edit: subject for clarity

[BBR0208]

Thank you for your post. I am having the same problem.  

I hope there is a solution.  I'm ready to return mine 

[AlejandraFitbit]

Hey @BBR0208 and @Elinelinelin, welcome to the Community.

Heart rate may be affected by any number of factors at a 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.

As with all heart-rate tracking technology, accuracy is affected by personal physiology, location of wear, and type of movement.

When you’re not exercising, wear your device a finger’s width above your wrist bone. Fitbit’s PurePulse technology is designed to be most accurate when you wear your device on the top of your wrist.

For improved heart-rate accuracy, keep these tips in mind:

1. Experiment with wearing the device higher on your wrist during exercise for an improved fit and more accurate heart-rate reading. Many exercises such as bike riding or weight lifting cause you to bend your wrist frequently, which could interfere with the heart-rate signal if the watch is lower on your wrist. 
   
2. Make sure the device is in contact with your skin.
3. Do not wear your device too tight; a tight band restricts blood flow, potentially affecting the heart-rate signal. That being said, the device should also be slightly tighter (snug but not constricting) during exercise than during all-day wear.
4. With high-intensity interval training, 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 device will still provide accurate calorie burn readings during these types of exercise by analyzing your heart rate trends over the course of the workout.

Let me know how it goes. 

[DoesntFly]

Hi,

Thanks for your reply- the thing is, I'm already doing all of what you've suggested. I did actually have a Fitbit Charge 3 before (same model) and it was decided to be faulty as the battery didn't last longer than 2-3 days out of the box when I'd turned off a lot of the tracking and battery draining things- the only thing I needed to track was my sleeping, my steps and my activity, all other notifications off. 

So I got this device- same model etc. Only thing is the steps which are a lot higher than I'd experienced and now I'm not sure which is right but having spent the majority of today typing (moving my wrist but not my **ahem**) I can't quite understand how I've accumulated 10000 steps and I have not even gotten to my gym work out yet! I did some movement, don't get me wrong, but I also know 10000 steps is about 5 miles, should take me about 2-3 hours to walk that and there is no way I spent that long walking today!

I am now not sure if this device is also faulty! I will count steps and see if it tallies, but will do when I get the time. It's going to really annoy me if this second device is faulty too because chances are if I return it again I will get sent another faulty device if it's a batch problem as it appears to be...

 I did ask the company I bought it from if I could change the colour- it would feel less likely I'd experience a similar issue if it is a batch issue, but they said it has to be exactly the same even though they sell the same model in a different colour (same price, different colour). I don't know if you know if Fitbit would be able to do this? I have had it 3 days and if I'm not seeing improvements in the step count I'm worried it wont get any better...I just want a Fitbit that works!

[sehhouse]

I have been doing exactly everything as I was before three days ago. My heart rate is now doing like theirs, going crazy. Very disappointed as it affects my workout. I tried changing my max heart rate to 220 and will see if that helps. It adjusted my ranges for during my workout but numbers are crazy high, much higher than my actual pulse rate.

[DoesntFly]

I already changed my max heart rate manually, not sure if it makes much difference, I will say that the fitter you become the lower your heart rate will fall- this is a natural thing which happens to everyone which was why in the past I was able to get my resting heart rate super low (because I was fitter than I am now and had the already issue of a naturally low heart rate/low blood pressure).

I do feel Fitbit needs to deal with this better- it's a very general assumption with heart rate and though I don't dispute the calories burnt being more or less the same, to reward a higher heart rate when working out is often inappropiate and can be misleading and even damaging. I doubt Fitbit will change anything- but then I also doubt other similar services will do the same. They're missing a trick.

If you are finding though that your heart rate isn't getting lower and it's just "going crazy" and giving random figures which don't apply- try a few things first:

First, try making sure that the sensors are clear and there is no excess sweat or water affecting the sensor- this in my experience can give false readings.

 Next try keeping a tally on what results you get for certain exercises and sitting, check it's the same day in day out, if it's not; you have cause for complaint.

 If you can't get things to make sense- complain to Fitbit or wherever you got your device- you have a warranty lasting a year and if it's within that you are able to get it exchanged. If it's within a month it should be refunded, (unless like mine it was a freebie which would mean no refund but an exchange).

I hope you get this sorted. 

[Beckie71]

None of these things have helped.  Last time this happened with my previous charge 3 it died a few weeks later.  I even take this off near water to kerp it dry.  What's the point of having one if it doesn't last more than 6 months.  Woke up in the middle of the night and checked it, HR read 160.  I manually checked my pulse and it was 70.

[DoesntFly]

That's annoying! I have since had my fitbit changed and this one seems to be working accurately. I'm not sure why mine works and yours doesn't- or that it stops working after so many months. (Having said that, the one I currently have is only 2 months old...). If you paid (mine was a gift so wouldn't be possible for me for example) you should be able to get a refund or replacement, you could try a different model? I don't know if Fitbit would suggest anything or what could be causing the faults.

I don't let mine get wet either -even though it says it can tolerate water. I also don't wear mine all day every day. I take it off for about an hour or two first thing or when I know I am going to be at a desk sitting for a long time. I'm really only interested in my steps and my sleeping patters to be honest.

 I do know that if the monitor gets wet or damp from sweat it can give a faulty reading, could it be that a small amount of condensation or sweat collects behind the reader? -I'm not saying this is OK if this is what's causing it to give a faulty reading by the way, it would make the watch not fit for purpose if it's unable to collect readings because the skin on your wrist got damper. It's not so easy to fix though. 

I don't work for Fitbit, but I have contacted their support service many times by phone, they are really helpful and actually I find them more help then when I email so if you've not tried calling, try this? If I were in your shoes I'd either be wanting a better version or different model or a full refund because if the same thing keeps happening, something needs to change or it will most likely keep on happening.

[Auugghh]

It's the device itself. Mine suddenly started doing the same thing. 

[SunsetRunner]

Thank you for the instructions.  Had I thoroughly read the entire manual, I would have found this under the "Track an Exercise" menu.

As far as the heart rate goes, as mentioned, I've tried the band higher and lower, looser and tighter.  Unfortunately, I suspect most people's forearms - especially men's - get larger the further up the arm one goes.  For me, placing the band further up on the arm only results in it soon sliding down to where it is then below my wrist bone.  Only if uncomfortably tightened will it stay in place up higher.

My Charge 3 is only a month old.  Like others, I find the heartrate as well as the steps taken to be inaccurate most of the time.  Guess I'm back to plotting my course distance(s) by other means and continuing to utilize my old Omron monitor with the chest strap.  Inconvenient & slightly uncomfortable, but at least I can rely on its accuracy.

As far as the Charge 3, it's not a product I can recommend to anyone.

[dgraves909]

I've tried all of the above without any help for the problem.  Will Fitbit replace my unit?

[sehhouse]

Mine was replaced however it had also developed other issues such as the screen had multiple lines running through it and eventually disappeared. The original unit could not be used. Contact fitbit via chat and they will talk you through everything, again. They make the final decision.

[dgraves909]

Thank you for the incite.

[Csal69]

I already do everything listed and I’m not sure who wants to stop doing a workout for 10 seconds to let their tracker catch up. I’m working out to have a continued raised pulse. 

[DoesntFly]

Oooh, that sounds just plain faulty! I've gone through several Fitbits that were or became faulty, none acted like this! (mine just refused to track steps and sleep randomly when being worn when they would do for the exact same activity other times.)

I'd phone the Fitbit people, they will talk you through some things you can try and sit with you on the phone whilst you do them- seriously, I did the 100 step test (walk for 100 steps) three times in a row, each time writing the numbers and the guy sat on the other end of the phone and waited to hear my results. They may have dubious devices at times, but they're customer services will try their best to help if you call. You can email but it seems to take much longer for a reply, a phone call and it's far quicker.

Is your device still in warranty? Have you tried a reset? (you wont lose the data from the day, it seemed to retain this each time I tried this. Can't remember how it's done off hand but it's fairly straightforward and again, they always sat with me as I went through this on the phone with them.

Hope you get somewhere. I don't know the best time to call or not call but I'd guess in the early afternoon or late morning when most people are at work or busy if you can spare the time. No worries if you can't, it just means you wait a bit to get put through.

Also- my advice- try writing down what they suggest you do in diary form. If you find things are not working, you can explain clearly what you have already tried rather than having to repeat each time.

[dgraves909]

Hi thanks for all of that. It is pretty much the road I went down. Tech
support worked with me and finally decided it needed to be replaced. Was
still under warranty so that was a good thing. Maybe the new one will last
more than six months. Here's to hoping. Thanks for your response.

Doug

[yippi]

This happened to me, I got a replacement, it still happens. I guess the device is just not good for heart rates.

[Csal69]

Thanks for the reply I don’t believe it is still under warranty. Unfortunately this is not the first device I had do this so it leads me to believe there is something missing in quality control. 

in the past I always bought the extended warranty through Best Buy. When I bought this one I was informed Fitbit was no longer allowing Best Buy to sell the extended warranty. I paid extra money to replace my other faulty Charge 2 (covered under the extended warranty I bought) with the upgrade to the Charge 3 and hoped for the best. Same problem.......

I will call and see what happens but am not hopeful for a good outcome. There are also several days a week I have to reboot the device for the data to transfer  as well. 

[Lexus15207]

For the past three days my Charge 3 has had insanely inaccurate heartrate measurements. Resting it reads at 130-140 and I will manually take my readings and max I will be at 91. That's an INSANE difference.

I have reset it via the charge itself, I have reset with the cable, I have cleaned the sensors, I have turned on and off the heartrate portion on the unit itself and it will work for about 15 minutes and go absolutely haywire with heartrate. I noticed also the face of my watch would glitch a bit.

IF I shut off the heartrate portion it works fine. But what is the point in that?! Now I just have a step counter... 

Frustrated because I upgraded from the Charge 2 and gave that to my husband. My old Charge 2 still works and is very accurate compared to the new Charge 3.

Seriously looking into a new device that isn't Fitbit 😞

[DoesntFly]

What did Fitbit say when you contacted them? (am guessing you tried asking them for help already?) If not; try that.