Charge 5 HR Spikes

[kmb63]

I really like my new (not quite 2 weeks yet) FitBit Charge 5, but the one thing it doesn't do correctly is heart rate. When it gets my HR right, it is spot on, but when it gets it wrong, it is through the roof.

Every so often, the Charge 5 will suddenly vibrate and tell me I'm in Fat Burn Zone, and then Cardio Zone, and then compliment me on the 193 active zone minutes I have for the day. During all this, I'm seeing sky-high heart rates in the 120s and 130s. But I'm just sitting in an easy chair reading a book, and my medical grade BP/pulse monitor and a manual pulse tell me my HR is in the 60s.

I've gotten into the routine of deleting the erroneous zone minutes, but I have to do this almost every day, and the Charge 5 getting this metric wrong affects a bunch of other metrics, including the Readiness score, which to be fair is still in baseline-gathering mode, but was 1 this morning after being 49 yesterday due to overactivity (I guess) because of the erroneous 193 active zone minutes.

I've read the help articles on this and resetting the device doesn't fix the problem. Changing arms doesn't help. Position on the arm (2 finger breadths, etc.) doesn't make a difference. The Charge 5 seems to be pegging my HR correctly when I'm exercising and most of the time when I'm at rest, but when it suddenly spikes like this (seems to be random) I have no idea what is causing it - glitch? interference?

Any ideas? Thanks!

[DavideFitbit]

Hello, welcome to the Fitbit Community forums, @kmb63. 

Thank you for sharing that you've been experiencing this inconvenience with your Charge 5 and that you already tried a few troubleshooting steps.  

In this case, since you already tried all the recommendations shared in the forums to improve the accuracy of the heart rate and you continue to experience the same problem, I recommend that you get in touch with the Customer Support team for further assistance with this. They will let you know how to proceed. 

The best way to get help for this problem is to chat with us online or give us a call. Click here to get connected. 

See you around. 

[SunsetRunner]

Hello,

I’m having the exact same issue with Charge 5 , please let me how the issue got troubleshooted ? 

Moderator edit: format

[Kdubs44]

Mine has been great for the past month but today I noticed it said my HR was 130 which seemed odd so I took my pulse and it was 80. I need this to be accurate so hope this was a one off. 

[kmb63]

I spoke with Fitbit tech support and they wanted to rule out the third party bands I was using so I had to test a couple of Fitbit approved bands, even though I was pretty sure the band had nothing to do with it. I went back to the one that came with the Fitbit Charge 5 (latex/silicone band) and ordered a second one from the Fitbit store (fabric band).

The HR spikes continued just the same no matter which band I used -- Fitbit approved or third party.

I followed up with Fitbit tech support again and they said they would escalate my case to a higher tier and to expect to hear from them soon. I never have, and its been weeks.

Moderator edit: format

[DavideFitbit]

Hi, thank you for sharing all your replies about this issue with the Charge 5, @SunsetRunner @Kdubs44 @kmb63. 

It seems that you have tried all the basic troubleshooting steps hared in the forums to improve the accuracy of heart rate information. If you haven't done so already, please make sure you've exhausted the troubleshooting options mentioned in this thread. 

If you continue to have the same inconvenience with the heart rate information, I recommend that you continue the communication with the Customer Support team; it seems that some if you already have a case open. You can click here to get connected and chat with us online or give us a call. 

Thanks again for taking the time to share your experience and feedback about this.