My Charge 5 is not tracking correctly heart rate while exercising

[tefr]

While exercising at the gym, the machines will roughly display my heart rate around 150 to 185 (depending on how intense I'm training, and yes, I understand these aren't definitive heart rate trackers), while my fitbit has shown my heart rate to be between 88 to 117. I understand there being an inconsistency between the two trackers, but I can't reconcile the "I'm taking a leisurely walk" heart rate my fitbit is reporting, with the "I'm sweating in places I never knew I could sweat" heart rate that the gym equipment is reporting.

After about 10 to 15 minutes, my fitbit will update my heart rate to be a couple numbers off of what the gym equipment states, and then sporadically reverts back to telling me my heart rate is under 100. Occasionally once I've hit 180 on the gym machine, my fitbit will catch up (and again, displays a heart rate a couple numbers off of the gym equipment, for example, 180 on the machine, 177 on my fitbit), but it seems to have a general difficulty tracking my heart rate between 110 to 170.

Moderator edit: edited title to clarity.

[CrisVillaFitbit]

Hello and welcome to the community. @tefr.

Thanks for letting me know about this situation in regards to your Charge 5 tracking your heart rate.

I recommend you to check this article, I'm positive it will help you with this situation with the heart rate.

Also, Fitbit uses a different technology than others trackers or devices that track heart rate, 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.