Heart rate too high for running Charge 5

[Cihane]

I measured my hr with polar and Charge 5. Polar shows between  135 to 140 Fitbit is total unstable between 80 to 180. I had similar problem also with Charge 4. 

 

Moderator edit: subject updated for clarity

[DavideFitbit]

Welcome to the Fitbit Community forums, @Cihane. 

I appreciate the information that you've shared about what you've been experiencing with your Charge 5.  

If you haven't done so already, I recommend that you try restarting the device using the three pulse restart method mentioned here below:

1. Connect your device to the charging cable. For instructions, see How do I charge my Fitbit device?
2. Press the button located on the flat end of the charger 3 times (end of the USB cable), pausing for 1 second between presses. Then wait 10 seconds or until the Fitbit logo appears.

In addition to the restart, you can follow the instructions in this article to improve the accuracy of heart rate information and check the information mentioned here about other factors that could affect your heart rate reading, this has been useful to other users who have experienced similar problems. 

I'll be around. 

[SunsetRunner]

I've also had this since switching to the Charge 5.  I get a better result if I wear the band about 2 fingers from my wrist bone and have the strap quite tight.

[Cihane]

Thank you for your reply.

Compared to the Charge 4, I also feel that HR accuracy is improved. But there are some segments in this HR  jump from 140 to over 160. In a 60 minute workout, there are about 2x (3 to 10) minute periods like this. 

[SunsetRunner]

I've had mine just from 145 to 208 and it stay there until I stop.  Once I stop within a few seconds it's dropped to about 120.  It does seem eratic at times.  I think I'd know if my HR was running at 208!

[Cihane]

Yesterday during my gym (hr is between 100 to 110) jumped hr again to 160 for at least 5 minutes. This is annoying. Seems a software failure

[Bradcore]

I run into this issue. I'll be jogging in place and glance down expecting a heart rate around 120 or so and have it at 160. Meanwhile, I can be running as hard as I can and out of breath and it will read 146. It seems to spike unreasonably high with minimal effort from time to time. 

[Cihane]

hello again,

yesterday i run for 1-h and try to keep my HR under 140. 

I measured my HR also with polar verity sense which matched the most of the time with fitbit.

i wear fitbit as explained tighter and two finger from wrist. And make a three pulse restart before session.

However, there are a few issues I'd like to show and expect a slightly more refined answer than last time.

1- in the beginning phase a jump of HR for a few minutes but than normalizing. i though before this is physical phenomenon until i have another watch to doppel chech HR. Sometimes there is a little jump but not more than a few pulse rate(it was very commmon by charge4, and fitst time happening by charge 5)

2- as i reported before the are some spikes again. Yesterday it was 6 times expect of begining jump. duration of this spikes are betweens 1 to 3-4 minutes. As ecpected none of them was detected by polar.

I am sending a picture of my Fitibit HR reading to exemplify it a abit more.

[SFin2]

I have had strange 190 peaks in the Charge 5 heart rate while  resting, like watching TV.

This totally messes up the Zone Mins and I was worried about my heart... 

I noticed that this only happened in my living room, so I was able to check the sources of inteference.

In my case the problem is caused by a large LED panel. When this LED panel is on, the Charge5 heart rate rises rapidly.

Light off-> Charge 5 heart rate works ok. Funny.

Check the lights in you training room?

[Cihane]

Thank you for your suggestion. In my case it  was outside. But something interesting is, this didn't not happened last 2-3 times in my treadmill run in gym. 

[SFin2]

Well, if the  indoor lighting can cause an error, then it is not impossible that the sunlight in certain conditions could do the same.

Maybe a dark band/cover over your wrist and the Charge 5 to block all light in the next run? If the error persists, then it is not caused by the light.

[Cihane]

In my opinion it is independent of indoor or sunlight, if the light conditions change it can cause a problem.

So I'll be covering my Fitbit in the next run. Lets see what happens.

-------------

I run today outside and cover my Fitbit. It was no spikes but avarage was 3 rpm higher than polar. Still acceptable. One suggestion from me: restart your Fitbit after each sport Session otherwise Fitbit start showing unrealistic hr again. After restarting everything was fine.

[Chitt2]

Thankgod I'm not the only one! I am sitting on my desk and heart rate is 149! I get these wierd spikes often and yeah not only goes it mess up the metrics, but it is added anxiety if all is well.

I never had these issues with garmin ever, but moved to fitbit charge 5 because of the rich functionality in a compact body. Such a bummer

[Cihane]

No does not work. I ran today and covered my Fitbit screen but the hr was really inaccurate. The average was 149 (Polar 139) and Fitbit showed almost half of the run above 160 while Polar showed 140 as hrmax. I'm losing my patience for this.

[DavideFitbit]

Hi everyone, thank you for all your replies and for sharing your feedback about this problem with the hear rate information. 

There are some general recommendations to improve the accuracy of the heart rate data that have been useful for other users. However, if you already tried the steps mentioned here earlier and you continue to have the same problem or if you need to constantly restart your device, I do recommend that you get in touch with the Customer Support team for further assistance with this. 

Sunlight should be affecting the accuracy. We use green LEDS because they maximize the signal detected from the capillaries near the surface of the skin. The optical heart-rate sensor also uses infrared light to determine when the device is on your wrist to improve the accuracy of your heart-rate data.

Thanks again for all your comments and feedback about this. 

See you around. 

[Bradcore]

I agree. This is extremely frustrating. I went for a walk earlier today and my Fitbit vibrated. I looked down and I was showing a heart rate of 187. I had a moment of panic and quickly checked my pulse. My actual heart rate was around 110ish, nowhere near 187. This has happened on more than one occasion, and it had nothing to do with light. I find this very frustrating as my Charge 3 seemed to work better than my Charge 5.

[charleskn]

@Cihane I have similar issues with my Charge 5, but primarily for certain activities (I had the same issue with my Charge 4). I also use a Verity Sense, and the Cardiogram app. Great minds, and all 😉

Do you find this happens for one or more specific activities? For me, rowing gives me the most difficulties, but running and weight lifting seem to be OK.

[Bradcore]

It seems to be random. Sometimes I'm talking a walk. Other times I'm just sitting on the couch.

[kschuerman]

This is exactly what is happening to my and of course throws off my calorie burn. Super annoying. 

[DavideFitbit]

Hi everyone, thanks for sharing that you continue to have the same problem with your Charge 5. 

In this case, if you already tried all the steps mentioned here earlier and your heart rate is still not accurate, I recommend that you get in touch with the Customer Support team so they can let you know what are the options available for you. 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. You can click here to get connected.

See you around in the Community.