Fitbit overstating my HR and length of exercise

[CJKeller]

I've only had my Charge 5 for a week but it seems to be WAY overstating my HR.  I'm 66 and it says I've reached up to 159 bpm, and been at 145 bmp for 10-15 minutes at a time while hiking!  Even at my fittest when I was 40 I could barely hit 160 without feeling sick.  Then today I went out to shovel snow for 30 minutes right after putting my Fitbit on and starting Exercise.  It said I exercised for 76 minutes and most of the time I was in cardio.  I know my fitness level and perceived exertion, and I was NOT in cardio for 60 minutes AND I wasn't shoveling for more than 30 minutes. What gives?

[Wibby]

Hello @CJKeller 

I can't really advise on your heart rate level other than suggesting you try the tips suggested for getting an accurate heart rate.

Heart rate tracking 

One thing to note is that if you go into Cardio or Peak (as shown by your heart rate zones calculated from your resting heart rate), you earn double zone minutes.  If you're only in fat burn, you earn one Zone minute for each minute of exercise, but in the others you earn two, so it's possible to double your time if your heart rate is up.

If you tap on the Exercise in your App it should tell you both the actual minutes you spent on it and the Zone minutes you earned.

I hope that helps a bit.

Edited to add:

I just did some research and saw a suggestion to switch off the Heart Rate on your Charge 5, then Restart Device, then switch your Heart Rate back on.  Both can be reached by scrolling down from the Clock Face on your tracker until you reach Settings, tapping and then scrolling up.

That might help to fix it.

[CJKeller]

Ok, now I get the double minutes for cardio time.  BUT I tried your suggestion of turning off, restarting etc. and it still read my HR as 145 when I was barley breathing and said I was in cardio when I was driving in my CAR. I've tried it tighter and looser, low on my wrist and high.  I'm getting really frustrated with this. Because there also seems to be quite a lag time between my perceived exertion and what the Fitbit says, I can't even compare my HR in real time using my finger.  I have a very thin wrist.  Could this be the problem? 

[Wibby]

Hello again @CJKeller 

Thank you for responding.  I pretty much gave you all of the advice I could find by researching on this website.

The only other thing to try is restarting your Charge 5 from the power cable.  Put it on to charge and then press the button on the USB end 3 times to bring up the logo.  This is a picture of the button as many people have problems finding it.

If none of these things work, I think it's time for you to contact support for additional help.  I've heard doing this by chat can be the most effective method.

Go to the bottom of the page and select Help,  then Get Support, then Live Chat.  Make sure you check your country is correct at the bottom righthand corner of the page.  If it isn't, tap and select the correct one from the list.

Good luck!