Ionic Heart Rate Accuracy

[Kat_W]

Has anyone else noticed that the Heart Rate sensor is very inaccurate?  Currently my Ionic is showing that my heart rate is in excess of 120, while at the same time my pulse ox machine (a medical device) is saying it's 82.  The Samsung health app is inline with what the pulse ox is saying.  I'm not sure if I have a defective Ionic or if others are having the same issue. ( Note: Sorry if there are any spelling errors, I am tryping around my cat, who has decided to sit directly in front of the screen)

Moderator edit: edited title for clarity

[supersmart01234]

Besides,How does anyone actually know their hr without an actual HR machine used in hospitals.Those are very accurate.Who’s saying the blaze/surge/charge 2 is more accurate than the ionic?

[jmarks2]

I went for a run/walk this morning with the intention of living with the inaccuracies of hr, but I ran for 1/4 mile and it was registering 178 hr which was impossible as I wasn’t even breathing hard or through my mouth. I usually start mouth breathing at about 122 hr. The 178 reading stayed while I walked for 1/4 mike. It did drop down to 132 during the next 1/4 mike run. I am so disappointed in this Fitbit. Did I expect 100% accuracy- no, but for almost $300 I did expect it to perform way better than this. Even the new iOS didn’t help!

[supersmart01234]

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@jmarks2wrote:

I went for a run/walk this morning with the intention of living with the inaccuracies of hr, but I ran for 1/4 mile and it was registering 178 hr which was impossible as I wasn’t even breathing hard or through my mouth. I usually start mouth breathing at about 122 hr. The 178 reading stayed while I walked for 1/4 mike. It did drop down to 132 during the next 1/4 mike run. I am so disappointed in this Fitbit. Did I expect 100% accuracy- no, but for almost $300 I did expect it to perform way better than this. Even the new iOS didn’t help!

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Did you tighten the band?

[jmarks2]

Yes, I did tighten the straps. I have experimented with tightening, loosening, moving it up and down my wrist for different positioning.

[supersmart01234]

The Ionic is One of the MOST accurate watches at tracking RHR.Sadly, it sucks at exercise.I think most of them do.

[Twinz]

I am. 

Neither my Blaze, nor my ChargeHR ever tried to tell me that my HR was over 200 BPM....ever.

No. If you want HR numbers that are THAT bogus you need a top of the line ionic for that. (At least one with the old OS anyway)

[67fit]

Mine is a bit more stable after the OS update, but hr still takes a holiday
now and then. Now to learn all those new display features and notifications
that I didn't really need. Perhaps the new fitbit will be better!?

[YFG]

Do NOT buy your husband the IONIC. It isn’t going to get fixed anytime soon-why? Fitbit has its head in the sand and they have other priorities. Their response to this issue reminds me of Blackberry phones-they ignored the market and customer feedback.

[Denodan]

All they are interested in watch faces and apps, and even half the watches dont work.

The weather app on android is still broken, yet works with ios.

I used to have the weather app working on android, but does not work for me anymore.

Find my Samsung Gear Spirt much better and the apps work and 100's of watch faces to choose from.

Miles better than the fitbit watch faces as most seem like kids watches.

[Withecr]

I moved my Ionic further up the arm from the wrist bone and tightened down
very securely. It seems to be working when I do this. I just wonder if
this is the case why do they tell you to wear the watch loose.

[Twinz]

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@BostonKYGirlwrote:

@Twinz Please let us know if that stays steady. As of right now I am not going to buy my husband the Ionic due to the HR issues. 

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It's 3 for 3 since tho OS update. (Just took my third run today and it showed believable heart rates the whole run)

[Jonxbii]

The reviews are in about Fitbit Versa and what a surprise! It has the same "first minutes too high heart rate" bug! Please check reviews from wareable and Rizknows youtube review.

From the Wareable Versa review:

"Running with the Versa has delivered the same sorts of results we've got from the Ionic. I've been testing it against the Polar H10 chest strap, and it's been mostly fine until it's under pressure. As you can see on the run below, the reading was all over the place at the start, and I've absolutely no idea why. However after that early blip it seemed to gain control and performed more evenly for the rest of the run, and that's generally how I've found the Versa in my time with it: varying. Sometimes it's spot-on (average heart rate has been pretty bang on) but I've also looked down at my wrist while running to see it trailing behind the chest strap."

You can see similar high spike at the start of training in heartrate at Rizknows review.

How about fixing this issue already?! I would like to know hear some reply from Fitbit about this...

[imeson79]

How about fixing this issue already?! I would like to know hear some reply from Fitbit about this.

Dont think they care, its all about making a margin now days, they have had plenty of time to fix the issues, but they won't.  Why? Cause that would require work... and that is not what they are about. Otherwise they would have fixed the issue.... or more importantly.. ALLOW 3RD PARTY Chest Strap Compatibility!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[erikkai]

I noticed that since the OS 2.0 update that when I first start an exercise that my heart rate jumps to 40 - 70 points above where it should be. For example, in Spin I noticed the first 8 minutes my Ionic was reading more than 180 BPM while my chest strap read 80 -100 depending on the vigor of exercise. By about the 10th minute, both were matching perfectly. Strange. It is either a software issue or I will need to start wetting my wrist before exercise to increase accuracy.

[MaginB]

Hello everyone! 

Thanks for taking the time to share your experiences with the heart rate accuracy so far, and all the details, I'm sure this will be helpful for other users as well. I'm aware that you 

I'm aware that you probably already tried all the basic troubleshooting steps, however, it won't harm to take a look at all the information here and the standard restart procedure that could help to improve heart rate accuracy. They could also be useful for other users checking this thread for the first time.  

If you're still experiencing this trouble with the wristband please let me know so I can send your information to the Support Team, if you haven't reached them already.

Thanks for all the feedback Fitbit continuously works to improve the quality of products and services, and all this information is useful to our team of developers. Thanks again for taking the time to share your experience.

[67fit]

Yes, wearing tight and high after installing OS 2.0 seems to give better readings, but they seem to be a little low compared to manual hr reading. Also, my IONIC does it's own workouts now and then. While I had it off my wrist the other day, it was happily running at 111-121 bpm. Better after 2.0, but not perfect. Adequate for most casual exercisers.

[SunsetRunner]

Yesterday I compared the ionic's heart rate to a chest strap sensor connected to my phone.  The Ionic recorded an average heart rate of 132 with a peak of 204 ... the chest sensor recorded an average of 87 with a peak of 103.  It's not the first time I've suspected the Ionic is way off.  The problem seemed to start after the most recent software update.  Has anyone else noticed this. At this point I can't trust the Ionic. I wouldn't recommend anyone else who needs the rate function to buy one until fitbit fixes the problem.

[erikkai]

I have determined that Ionic is very accurate in comparison to my chest strap. Yes I also noticed the variations after the OS 2.0 update. However, by tightening my band and wearing it higher along with wetting my wrist before any exercise I have eliminated the huge inconsistencies I experienced after upgrading to OS 2.0.

Sent from my iPhone

[YFG]

Yes, the Ionic HR readings seemed to get worse after the software update. I would not recommend the Ionic to anyone. I think Fitbit is ignoring market and user feedback. It reminds me of Blackberry in the phone space. They will be irrelevant to the fitness market eventually with that approach. I wish I’d bought the Apple instead.

[Windman]

I and probably 100 's of other Ionic users have reported inaccuracies in Ionic pulse readings that are to high at the beginning of an execrise in most cases independent of if instructions are followed. That is a fact and Fitbit should fix this problem. My Fitbit HR is more accurate! I had expected the Ionic to be best in class, but in reality it is not. Probably it is your least accurate device! I expect you to fix it. Seems to me that Fitbit is lacking basic understanding of signal processing of dynamic signals. Probably there are time series for high intensity which it is accurate, but when assumptions does not correspond with reality I.e low intensity then result is worthless. Plesae listen to you customers instead of telling them what to do. Most of us have read the instructions lots of times. I have had the Ionic outside the HR (which is a finger thick), to prevent the Ionic from sliding down my wrist.Althoug the HR is to close to my hand it is more accurate then the Ionic even if I strap it hard, loose, or medium.