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

[jmarks2]

I had already commented on this problem a few times to no avail. My Fitbit Charger 2 gave me more accurate hr readings. Today I went for a run and the ionic told me my hr was 176 which is way off. I kept moving it around and it finally settled at 102 . Problem is when you look at your results for average hr, they factor in the inaccurate readings which throws the average totally off.
I also walked a course the other day that the website associated with the course says it’s 4.4 miles. Ionic said it was 4 miles - off by .4 when I’m walking. When I run the course the ionic says it’s 3.8 miles. I guess my running stride thinks I’m covering less distance?
I give up. The ionic is now just a watch to tell time.


Sent from my iPhone

[jmarks2]

had already commented on this problem a few times to no avail. My Fitbit Charger 2 gave me more accurate hr readings. Today I went for a run and the ionic told me my hr was 176 which is way off. I kept moving it around and it finally settled at 102 . Problem is when you look at your results for average hr, they factor in the inaccurate readings which throws the average totally off.
I also walked a course the other day that the website associated with the course says it’s 4.4 miles. Ionic said it was 4 miles - off by .4 when I’m walking. When I run the course the ionic says it’s 3.8 miles. I guess my running stride thinks I’m covering less distance?
I give up. The ionic is now just a watch to tell time.

[Mark2018]

Hi,

did you all contact Fitbit-support?

I assume that they are don't check this community.

Best regards,

Mark

[erikkai]

They do check and have provided guidance. Please see earlier posts. In short positioning is key and also ensure your wrist is moist or wet helps.

Sent from my iPhone

[YFG]

So, in addition to putting on my workout clothes I need to
Reposition my Ionic
Tighten the band on my Ionic
Wet my arm under the Ionic

Good stuff!

[Nettuno]

I finally solved .. After several attempts, reset and replacement, I managed to get rid of Ionic ..

I sold it and I'm happy to delete my account from this ridiculous company ..

A greeting to all, I hope you find in forums that they talk about true fitness.

Goodbye.

[YFG]

Haven’t you heard? Fitbit says if you
Tighten the band
Move it higher on your wrist
AND make sure your wrist is wet under the Ionic

It is then more accurate! Glad I spent $300 on something so well made.

[erikkai]

Apparently some people don’t appreciate the technological strides made over the last few years. If you are this challenged using a device maybe you should stick to a heart rate strap only and the pedometer you clip to your shoe.

Most Ionic users seem content.

Sent from my iPhone

[erikkai]

Just like any technology— there are limits and ways to make it work.

Sent from my iPhone

[Windman]

..and there are god and bad implementations og technology, and heart rate on Ionic sucks for dynamic training just like erikkai comments in view of adding anything usefull to this dicussion.

[SunsetRunner]

@erikkai it's more relation price vs features and how well they work. If you brought standalone devices like chest strap and cheap pedometer worn on the ankle - you can get both for less than £100. It's almost 3x cheaper than Ionic and accuracy for steps and HR increases dramatically ( steps counted using feet will be more accurate than via wrist swinging, the chest strap is considered the most accurate device when it comes to measuring HR during intense workouts ). It's not that people cannot handle the technology but that the solutions are way overpriced compared to what they offer and how they work.

[erikkai]

When the first iPhone came out, it was by far less functional than the Blackberry. However, through continuous improvements the technology matured. People take for granted how complicated it is to make a deep, rich ecosystem like Fitbit offers. It was just a few years ago that pulse technology was barely conceivable. 

I get it. You bought it and expect it to work. However, the days where a product is fully baked when you buy it are gone. Right, wrong, indifferent, nowadays when you buy a piece of technology you must accept limitations with the tech and how through an iterative process the company expects to make it better. Now, if your Fitbit just doesn't work, then it could have suffered from a manufacturing defect. 

But just remember...the same issues that plague Fitbit are just as problematic on competitors like the iWatch. In just a few years from now, these shortcomings will have been solved. Personally speaking, as long as I can determine how to adjust the limits of technology to make the most of it for my needs, then I am satisfied. 

Cheers!

[Windman]

this thread is about the accuracy of the Ionic HR measurements. The Ionic
came with a new sensor that according to Fitbit should make Ionic HR
readings more accurate than the older trackers. Thus customers may
rightfully expect the Ionic to be more accurate than f.ex. the charge 2.



Others in this forum has documented accuracy problems of the Ionic, though
not all reported problems are valid (Ionic not worn high on wrist). I can
document that my Ionic is even less accurate than the charge HR and the
charge 2 HR using accurate chest HR sensors as reference even if every
precaution to maintain the accuracy of the Ionic is taken. From this thread
and similar threads, it seems that there are a couple of hundred customers
that are having exactly the same problem. As Fitbit does not react and offer
replacement this seems to be a general problem. Thus it seems that Fitbit is
not delivering at all as promised, and that is not ok at all.



Compared to state of the art Fitbit is not at all a front runner. There are
medical grade HR monitors with optical or wearable sensors that are capable
to measure HR accurately and even deliver Holter diagrams (ECG) under
dynamic conditions. In addition, scientific studies have shown that Apple
Watch is capable of medical diagnosis from HR, and there are new more
accurate convenient and wearable sensors coming that may make the Fitbit
trackers look prehistoric. However, accuracy of devices has a value but
ecosystem has a bigger value. That is why I hope that Fitbit will fix the
accuracy issue. I assume that Fitbit is using sw for filtering and
processing of sensor signals, if Fitbit is using mainly HW then it will not
be fixed. I will keep my watch some more months. If a fix does not come up I
will return my Ionic and get my money back.



.

[erikkai]

Cool. Then return it. I, for one, think it’s extremely accurate when used and worn correctly. Most of the time it matches my other heart rate sensor/strap. That’s not to say I am in love with os 2.0. Cheers!

Sent from my iPhone

[Denodan]

Think people are expecting to much out of the tech. Does not matter which fitness watch you have. They are all not always accurate and if the reply on stride, or steps won't be as the firmware or software assumes we have the same exact stride all the time and many variables come into play that the software cannot compute.

My fitbit ionic maybe slightly off for distance but still not that bad. HR comared to the old fashion method and more accurate is pretty good, with in a couple of beats.

[Denodan]

Well said. Mine is pretty accurate also. To many moaners here expecting 100% perfection. Don't like it then don't complain here and sell or return your fitbit.

[Nightfallstill]

As I stated previously, I expect there to be bugs. What I don't expect is blatant dishonesty. If the Ionic HR reads 205 peak on my wrist, but is somehow magically changed to 170 by the app to compensate, that's dishonesty. There is no way to accurately 'compensate' for the discrepancy, which makes it merely a cover up of a huge flaw. Glitches I can tolerate. Dishonesty is unacceptable.

[erikkai]

I would be outraged as well if there was dishonesty involved. However, I have never seen the app make such a change. I’d suggest calling their support or consider restoring both the app and the Ionic to the defaults. Sounds like you are experiencing a nasty bug.

Sent from my iPhone

[JohnHolmes]

I’m pretty disappointed with this Fitbit Ionic so far. I had and still have an old FT80 Polar with the chest strap that works great! My Fitbit Ionic gives consistently low readings for my heart rate during my workouts. For instance, doing the elliptical I had both the Ionic and Polar on, the Ionic gave me an average of 113 for 30 minuets of strenuous excercise while the Polar gave me 143 as the average. I know the Polar is correct since I’ve even used a friends heart rate monitor and wasn’t able to replicate the results. Other than firmly attaching the Ionic further up on my wrist/arm I don’t know what else to do?  The ENTIRE reason I bought this watch was for the heart rate function which works round the clock as opposed to my Polar which uses a cheat strap and I’m not wearing that 24-7. Is there anything on the Ionic that actully works? I’m so pissed. 

[Tony.r]

@JohnHolmes Do reboot your Ionic on a regular basis? I too use an independent chest strap monitor and my Ionic pretty much tracks that under exercise. As a rule I always reboot my Ionic  after every charge.

Hope this helps.