ECG won’t work Charge 5

[danielny]

I’ve had the Charge 5 for about 3 weeks now and I can’t get the ecg to work. I’ve tried around 50 times, watched all the videos on how to do the test and still always inconclusive. I’ve tried standing, different wrists, holding the side in different positions and still can’t get it to work. Fitbit even sent me a replacement and the replacement still fails to give an ECG reading and get inconclusive on every try. Help!

Moderator edit: format

[DavideFitbit]

Hi, thank you for sharing all this information about what you're experiencing with the ECG feature on Charge 5, @danielny.  

Before considering other options, please make sure to try the following steps: 

1. Uninstall the ECG app from your Charge 5.
2. Force quit the Fitbit app and restart your tracker.
3. Open the Fitbit app and pull down on the screen to force a manual sync.
4. Install the ECG app one more time and make sure the permissions are enabled.
5. Tap Discover > Assessments & Reports > Heart Rhythm Assessment to double check if still appears completed 
6. Try taking a reading one more time and let me know how it goes.

Hope this helps, I'll be around. 

[danielny]

Well seeing as how I received a replacement it basically the same and more of what you suggested. The replacement didn’t work any better. 

[LiJaHi]

@danielny have you tried downloading any of the PDFs to have a look at why they are inconclusive? They can be inconclusive because they are total nonsense, or because the signal is low and hard to distinguish from 'noise' and the software can't do the calculation. I have had both problems and had other people test my fitbit to see how it worked on them. The total nonsense problem was the fitbit whereas the low signal is me. I can only occasionally get a good reading, usually in the middle of the day. If you are concerned about a medical issue, you can still show low signal ones to your doctor, as the issue is signal regularity and that may still be visible.

[danielny]

I have no idea how to read an ecg, kinda why I want a device to do it for me :). Attached is a picture of exported pdf. What does that indicate?

 

 

[LiJaHi]

@danielny this is inconclusive because you aren't getting a signal. I would suggest asking someone else to try to take an ECG reading using your watch. If the same thing happens for them, that would point to the watch being the problem. It isn't difficult to take the reading when the watch is working properly. If you've watched all the videos and tried so many times, it's unlikely to be your technique. When I asked a colleague (who happens to have a pacemaker) to try my watch, he got a perfect reading on his first try after a quick demo from me on how to do it.

Have you tried at different times of day? Many biological functions have a circadian rhythm. I am more likely to get a conclusive reading in the middle of the day than in the evening.

This is a picture of a more normal looking ECG from a tech article https://www.nextpit.com/fitbit-sense-vs-versa-3-comparison

[danielny]

I’ve tried two different charge 5s and and same results. I’ll try at some different times if the day.