Heart rate tracking on Charge 5 not accurate

[Ian132]

I have heart failure and bought a Charge 5 to keep a close eye on my heart rate during exercise. It seems accurate for about the first 5 minutes then tells me my heart rate is 85(seems to be the default) then is garbage for the rest of my work out. If you actually need to know your heart rate don't waste your money on this inaccurate watch(time is the only thing that seems to be accurate

Moderator edit: format

[DavideFitbit]

Welcome to the Community forums, @Ian132.  

Thank you for sharing this information about the inconvenience you've been experiencing with your Charge 5. 

Let me know if you've tried any troubleshooting steps so far. In the meantime, and before considering other options, I recommend that you try restarting the device again 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, please 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 something similar. 

I'll be around. 

[Ian132]

That seemed to help a little. When jogging it got to about the same bpm(165) but during my cool down walks it would read 115 then 1 second later will read 95 and dropping then 1 second later it will read 130 and rising then it will read 110. When I finished cardio rehab on their monitors my jogging hr was 175 and while walking never dropped below 130. So no I don't think that restarting it fixed the accuracy. I am walking and jogging not lifting weights or boxing. There is no wrist flex during my excersize and I wear it about 2-3 fingers above my wrist and I have tried every position tight loose and in between

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Is that the end of customer support? I just got done with a workout it told me heart rate was 65 30 minutes into my excersize. I know I spent too much time trying to get my watch to read accurately(I bought in february) so I know I can't return it to best buy. Is there any way I can return it and get a refund? I just had my 40th birthday and didn't make it that long till I needed a quadruple bypass they say my heart looks like a 70 year old that has had multiple major heart attacks(I'm 6'3" 210 lbs. Not morbidly obese) so I am terrified to workout without a monitor and am not working currently due to my health. I don't have much money to buy a ton of hr monitors to see what works. So I really need a refund so I can invest in something more accurate

[DavideFitbit]

@Ian132 Thank you for your reply and for confirming that you already tried all the troubleshooting steps suggested.  

In this case, since you already tried all the recommendations in the forums and you continue to experience any problem with the heart rate, 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. 

[JC4321]

I also have found the Charge 5 heart rate is not accurate during exercise. This not only makes heart rate zone training impossible it skews all your data. This is the main purpose of the Charge 5 fitness tracker. Based on the number of members experiencing the same issue this clearly needs to be corrected. Please escalate this issue and provide an update on the status and when we can expect this major issue with your product to be resolved.

Thank you,

John