Losing heart rate tracking on my Charge 5 intermittently

[Arunkumar2014]

I am losing heart rate tracking on my Charge 5 intermittently. lost all exercise data yesterday since I did not realize that that HR was not tracking - kept an eye on it - and keeps dropping HR randomly. I took it off to see if the green light is blinking -it doesnt. Only starts to work again on a restart -but this is not a good thing if i have to keep an eye on this. Never had any such issues with my Charge 4. - which i am thinking of going back to.

Anyone else faced this and found a permanent (not restart) fix?

Moderator edit: subject updated for clarity

[DavideFitbit]

Hi, welcome to the Fitbit Community forums, @Arunkumar2014.  

Thank you for all the details that you've provided regarding the problem that you've been experiencing with your Charge 5 and the troubleshooting steps that you already tried. 

I've sent your information to the Customer Support team for further assistance with this, but was informed that you already have a case created or that you already got in touch with them. In this case, they will let you know how to proceed. 

Have a good day. 

[Bluetkt]

I have an issue with my HR spiking on me and providing very high HR... I got 32 zone minute just siting in my car... It's been much better recently but it still spikes almost every day... A bit annoying 

[LionelMandrake]

Happening with me as well, no fix or workaround other than a restart.  Need a fix for this.

[AcerS]

I'm also having the same issue. I've tried everything. Restarting, turning off heart rate and back on, fresh set up of the device and still the same issue.

I noticed the green light underneath only flickers for half a second then stops and will only flicker again if I move the device to wake the screen but again will only flicker for half a second.

On my Inspire 2 the green light flickers constantly.

Is this a hardware issue or a software issue?

[DavideFitbit]

Hi, thank you for sharing that you've been experiencing this inconvenience with your Charge 5 and that you already tried a few troubleshooting steps, @Bluetkt @LionelMandrake @AcerS.  

Before considering other options, I recommend that you try restarting the device again using the three pulse restart method mentioned here below, instead of the restart option found on the Charge 5 itself: 

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, 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. 

If you continue to experience the same inconvenience after all the steps mentioned earlier, I recommend that you get in touch with the Customer Support team for further assistance with this. 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. 

Have a great day. 

Hope this helps, I'll be around. 

[Patricke417]

My Charge 5 charging cable connector does not have a button on it to press. And it does not have a 'flat end' as described above. How do you perform a 3 pulse restart with this charger?

[Wibby]

Hello @Patricke417 

It’s at the USB end.

Here’s a picture.

Good luck!

 

[DavideFitbit]

@Patricke417 Thank you for your reply. 

That would be the USB end, as shown on the picture that @Wibby shared earlier. Please let me know if you continue to experience the same problem after the restart as well. 

See you around. 

[SueinPG]

This is also happening to me. Just exercised on my new stationary bike for 12 miles that reported the rate anywhere from 135 to 150 and when logging it said the average was 92. I am really bummed. Maybe from sweating? It happened before as well on a mini exercise bike, but it did recover. The new Charge five is very new. Less than a month old. I hated the band on the Inspire HR so chose this one and I do love it besides this issue. 

[Yolivamp]

I've had my charge 5 a little over a week and I am not impressed I am having the same issues with it not tracking my HR. Never had issues with the charge3.   Disappointing 

[DoreenVT]

Hi DavideFitbit - how do I get in touch with Customer Support team?  I keep having the issues with my Fitbit 5 losing the HR tracking and would like to know how to get a warranty replacement.  Thank you.

[Bluetkt]

I call them from the APP

[SueinPG]

Hello @DavideFitbit,  I too am having this issue. My Charge 5 records my HR during normal walking, and it did pick up a "weights" reading today but during aggressive stationary biking, the bike is recording my HR between 135 and 155, yet the tracker shows NO reading while I am exercising. How do I open up a case? I am wondering if there is a comparable tracker that I could trade it in for. Although I do love most of the features, and it is recording my steps much better than the Inspire HR I just switched it out for. And the band seems much easier to change out than the Inspire HR.  I wish this HR issue could be fixed.  it is very new, and I see others are also having this problem, but possibly a warranty replacement would work? Thank you for your help.  

[DavideFitbit]

Hi, thank you for all your replies and welcome to all the new users in the Community forums. 

I appreciate all the information that you've shared about this problem and for confirming that you already tried all the troubleshooting steps suggested. In this case, since you continue to experience the same problem, I recommend that you get in touch with the Customer Support team for further assistance with this. You can Click here to get connected with the Support team. 

See you around. 

[SueinPG]

Thank You,   I did, and they have a case opened up for me. Thank you for your reply.

[DavideFitbit]

No problem, that's great news, thank you for the update, @SueinPG!  

[working_9_5]

I have the same issue when doing spin classes.  For the first 12 or so minutes, it shows my HR at about resting. About 12 minutes in, it does start to provide an accurate reading.  

[SueinPG]

Hello working_9_5,  I found that when  I started to use the exercise tracker this resolved. Also, I had my sleep tracking ON, and it needs to be off. Then you can set a schedule for the times of days the fit bit will send alerts . I also found some great UTube videos on all the Charge 5 settings and how they work. Got many answers to my questions answered watching those instructional videos. My Charge 5 is now giving me no issues. Hope that helps. 🙂

[terrah27]

I have the same problem.  My Charge 5 is about 5 months old and the issue has become more frequent.  I had no issues for the first 2-3 months (or with any of my previous fitbit models), but it has become a more frequent problem.  It is resolved easily by resetting the device, but too often I exercise without realizing it stopped tracking my heart rate.  When heart rate tracking stops, it also does not track sleep.  I did call and open a ticket, but want to post here in hopes future software updates can permanently fix this issue.