Wildly inaccurate HR readings

[Psyth]

I know innacurate readings during exercise have been very common for various fitbit devices, but I'm just throwing my own issues into the void because I am desperate and genuinely need to find an accurate and affordable way to track my HR.

Anyways, I've had the Inspire 3 for a few months now, and it was working fine up until a couple weeks ago. All of a sudden it would consistently read my HR lower than it was. I know that the readings can be off by 20 to 40 BPM, but while climbing up stairs I was told I had an HR of 85 when in reality it was in the 150s- a difference of 65 BPM. Once I stopped walking and held my wrist flat out in front of me, it slowly climbed up to my actual heart rate, but the issue has been present ever since then. Now, I have to keep my arm bent and wrist parallel to the ground when walking just to be able to get any reading at all (otherwise I usually get the -- thing). Even then, the reading that it does give me is off by 20 to 50 BPM. Restarting has not helped.

I suppose if I was just using this to track exercise or whatever, it wouldn't really be a big deal, but I'm not. I need an affordable way to track my heart rate so I can tell the difference between when I am anxious, stressed, or about to faint. Earlier this year I was using a device similar to fitbit. It was expensive, and subscription-based, and it didn't have a screen, but it was respectably accurate, and I could zoom in down to the minute on the HR graph to see my BPM. I switched because I couldn't afford the subscription, and did so under the impression that the fitbit readings would be just as accurate, if not better, especially considering that fitbit had a 6-year head start on wristband HR reading devices in comparison to the brand I'd been using previously. Instead, I ended up with whatever the heck the Inspire 3 is doing.

TLDR: Fitbit is misreading HR by 20 to 50 BPM and will not register heart rate at all unless I keep my arm bent and wrist parallel to the ground while walking. Restarting hasn't done anything. If anyone knows of a way to get the Inspire 3 to work properly or how to acquire an affordable alternative, do tell. 

[justwannarow]

My inspire is terrible at heart rate during any activity. I recently made a post about it not working during rowing, but doing some testing with other devices and classic counting with a finger on the pulse, it's clear the Inspire 3 has something wrong with the way its reading HR. Mine is consistently 30 - 50 low unless im standing still. Like it will say 80 while rowing, but then if I stop and watch the FB, it shows an increasing HR until it reaches the real HR of 130ish. Makes it essentially useless for tracking minutes spent at a given HR.

[lmacmil]

I have found mine to be pretty accurate overall but I do occasionally see heart rate spikes during my runs.  I can be running at a steady pace and my indicated HR will jump from say 140 bpm to 170 bpm for a minute or two then return to 140.  I attribute this to the band moving around due to sweat.  When you think about all the data the Fitbit is recording, it's actually pretty amazing that it's as accurate as it is.

[justwannarow]

I'm wondering if there's something wrong with mine, as now its consistently inaccurate during yoga, rowing, and general working out. Works fine during a run/hike, but not for the activities I actually want to track.