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

[SueinPG]

Hi, 

I find that my HR tracks fine now as long as I tell the Fitbit what exercise I am doing. Also, sleep tracking needs to be turned off according to more than one u-tube video I watched when I was having the issue. These videos were very helpful. One goes through ALL the settings and explains them very accurately. Hope that helps! (My open ticket was never responded to, just use the U-tube videos.)

[Ljtex]

Thank you this worked to restore the recording of heart rate, however I lost out on activity minutes from my amazing walk today as it just stopped recording Jan 1.

[working_9_5]

After a lot of research, wrist wearables (as they currently exist), are suspect to tracking errors on your heart rate.  I have done numerous 35 minute workouts where Fitbit only picked up 15 or 20 minutes of my elevated heart rate.  If tracking your workout heart rate is important to you, I have had good luck with chest wearables.

[Ljtex]

Thanks for the suggestion. My husband, who is a cyclist uses one of those for more accurate accounting.

[Sledgame]

I’ve been having the same problem and I have to restart the watch itself for it to come back. I’ve had a Fitbit since 2014 and I have had various types and never had a problem with the heart rate until this one.  Considering the price paid for the charge 5, I am really annoyed to the point that I’m losing faith in their product. I have no idea how many zone minutes I’ve lost.  I have to constantly check to make sure it’s still on. So at this point, my only option would be to contact Fitbit corporate to see if they will replace it. I suggest you do the same because these are definitely defective.

[D_Bakeeee]

Yeah, I'm having the same issue. Had my charge five for at least 6 months. Worked perfectly up until about a month ago. There was a software update not long before. Something isn't right for sure.

Heart rate just stops tracking all the time, and more recently I'll get massive heart rate spikes in to peak. 170bpm + which is very wrong.

Honestly pretty disappointed. Hopefully they can sort it out.

[Sledgame]

I certainly hope they do. Ironically mine has been better this week, it
hasn’t happened. But I still don’t trust it. I’m checking it as often as I
can which is pretty much every hour. Maybe they’ll put out another update
to correct it.

Anyway thank you for your feedback.

Have a nice night.

[DavideFitbit]

Hi everyone, thanks for sharing all your experience with the accuracy of heart rate information. 

It seems that you already tried all the steps shared in the forums. If you already followed the recommendations mentioned here earlier, I do recommend that you continue the communication with the Customer Support team so they can provide you with the next steps. You can Click here to get connected to chat with them or to call them directly. 

See you around. 

[Sledgame]

Thank you much! I so appreciate your input and will do.

Thanks again and have a nice day!

[SueinPG]

Hi Dave, 

I am not having this problem any more. I just try to remember to check that my sleep is turned off in the settings and the tracker ahs been working fine. Thank you. I also found lots of help on Google with u tube videos explaining the settings. 

Thank you

[Chotu-1]

Actually this isn’t the case with the Charge 4. It worked fine.  It seems to just be the charge five.

Moderator edit: format

[DavideFitbit]

@Sledgame @SueinPG @Chotu-1 Thanks for taking the time to share your feedback and experience with this!

See you around in the Community. 

[Sledgame]

Good morning,
You’re welcome. But I just want to share my husband suggested I wear it
higher on my wrist and that seemed to help. At that point I actually
thought that was the fix. However, it’s still happening just not as
often. I intend to contact Fitbit again because I do have a case number.
So now I’m not sure if it’s the design of the charge five where the back of
the watch doesn’t lie flat enough or a defect altogether. Anyway, once I do
contact Fitbit, I will let you know the outcome.
Thanks again,
Teri

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

FYI I contacted Fitbit for third time. Since we’ve exhausted all troubleshooting for the problem of heart rate dropping off, they are now replacing my charge 5 with a new one. I must say their support is amazing. I’ve never been dissatisfied with them for they also helped me in the past and replaced a versa because after I went swimming with it, it stopped working. And the versa was supposed to be OK while swimming. 

They always try to fix it first but will replace if need be. Therefore, they back their product. I really do love Fitbit and want to remain a loyal customer. How can I not when they’ve been so good about any problems I’ve had. And sometimes the problem is corrected without having to replace.

If you’re still experiencing problems, don’t hesitate to contact them.

Have a nice day.

[Ljtex]

Likewise, I have had good customer service and had 2 trackers replaced. The frustration is with the technology which leaves a bit to be desired. It is maddening to have a killer fitness day and not have any of it recorded. Mine is working fine......for now.

[Sledgame]

Yes I totally agree Customer Service is great! I’m very glad your problem
was resolved as well.

It was very upsetting for at times I would be on my treadmill and forget
to check if it was tracking the heart rate. Then after about 20 minutes I
noticed it’s not. Therefore I’m not getting credit for zone minutes. Ugh!
Needless to say, I’m looking forward to the new one.

Thank you for your input.
Have a great day!

[DavideFitbit]

@Sledgame @Ljtex Thanks for sharing these updates and all of your feedback and experience with the device. 

It's good to know that you were able to get in touch with the Customer Support. 

[Sledgame]

You’re welcome.

FYI: I’ve contacted them through the app. When you go into your account
settings and scroll down to “help & support” then “Charge 5” then “Contact
customer support” there are 3 options; Chat, Call, or Community Forum. I
chose Call. And I’ve never had a problem. And it also tells you how many
minutes the wait is.

Take care.

[DavideFitbit]

@Sledgame Great, thanks for sharing these steps in the forums! 

I'm sure it will be useful for other users as well. 

[Sledgame]

You’re welcome. 

[DavideFitbit]

@Sledgame If you haven't done so already, don't hesitate to participate in our Discussions forum as well!