Ionic heart rate inaccurate

[CarloN]

The ionic is my fourth fitbit product so I'm pretty familiar with the platform. The problem I'm having is that heart rate data is significantly off at rates >130 or so. Compared to the chest tracker on my treadmill the fitbit will read low by as much as 20-30 bpm. I'm guessing it has something to do with cadence because at >130 bpm I'm usually running rather than walking. I've tried all the tricks -- tightening the band, moving the tracker up my arm, wetting the skin -- without any consistent change. I can't determine if this is a sensor problem or a problem interpreting the data, but it's frustrating to say the least. With inconsistent readings any parameter that uses heart rate becomes unusable -- calories, cardiac fitness score. So basically I have a Charge that gives me text messages. 

[Iteatin]

Yep! Two Charge HRs (the band died on the first one) and two HR2s (the first one wouldn’t track elevation/stairs). Thankfully the Ionic hasn’t had either of THESE problems. 🙂

[allan473]

My wife has a charge 2 and an ionic and both work for her. The charge2 and surge work for me but not the ionic.

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@CarloNwrote:

I have a charge hr, never had any issues with it. My guess is that the ionic is heavier and flops around on the wrist more.

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[Rob2018]

I am having the problem that the Ionic reads way too high when I start my work and for about 30 mins afterwards (when it usually, finally, begins to read correctly).  Comparing with sensors on the treadmill and with a manual count of my heart rate, the Ionic will be as much as 40-50 bpm off in its reading, which seriously diminishes its value for me.  Thinking about returning it.

[Gerrywiz]

Ditto here too. My Surge was more accurate at recording heart rate. Using a chest strap and wearing the Surge the heart rate readings were mostly very similar, average 120-140 [resting rate averages 50]  and the calorie rate around 7- 8 cals/min for walking. The Ionic on exactly the same walks at same speed now records an average of 98 and a calorie burn of 5 cals/min I can't believe that is accurate when walking 6.5km/ hr! If I just walk around the house quickly at half the speed it reads 135!

Doing indoor aerobics and the same exercise video at the same intensity I get really diverse average readings for heart rate of  98, 137, 145, 127 and so on with variable calorie rates from 5-9. It makes it impossible to know what you are doing and as you state, calories, cardiac fitness etc become totally unusable.

[Rob2018]

Just a quick note. Before heading to the gym today I sprayed a bit of eyeglass cleaner on a very soft handkerchief and then rubbed the back of the watch very lightly (I didn't want to spray the cleaning solution on the watch itself).  At the gym I did one hour of fat burning on the treadmill and an hour of cardio on the bike and the heart rate was 100% correct on the fitbit for the entire workout.  I am going to get in the habit of doing this every week or so.  So far, it works like a charm.

[Invader75]

Same here. I've been used to using Polar M400 with H7 chest strap. Very surprised by the weird readings I'm getting from my Ionic. Considering sending it back as it's useless if I can't accurately check HR. 

[ClaireT2]

I just got the Ionic 2 weeks ago. I jogged a half marathon last weekend and I was shocked to see my heart rate was at 206 to 210 the entire time. That just can’t be right...

[ahefner33]

Yeah. The first charge HR was the most accurate for me in any situation. Interval training is the worse with ionic.The ionic is for features.

This is on a basic walk around our neighborhood with no hills or elevation. 

This is my 3rd replacement too. This one and the others failed the 100 step test 3 times while on phone with support. Either 20-50 steps above or below and yes with gps

[Alfred77]

Personally, I'very noticed that compared to a variety of static bike heart monitors, it sometimes takes a while to find the correct heart rate (usually too low to be accurate). However, once found, it manages to track it accurately. Not sure why this happens though.

[ClaireT2]

I called customer support and they stated they have a case/ticket in for this issue. This is my 3rd FitBit and the one I’m most disappointed in.

[CarloN]

It's been six months or so since I started this post and people still are having issues with getting consistent heart rate data. I've been fortunate insofar as I figured out how to make the ionic work for me. I'll share what I found, hopefully it helps some of you as well:

I have skinny wrists and I noticed the tracker moving with the swings of my arm. Note that when I say 'moving' I do not mean sliding over the skin. I mean the skin and tracker moving over the muscles and bones.  The motion is back and forth (wrist to elbow), not rotational (around the wrist). I think this sets up the problem for the sensor. I first tried tightening the strap to the point that the tracker was immobile on my arm. This worked but knocked off the blood supply to my hand. Then I switched to my other arm (dominant), and this would provide good readings but not always. I think this is because my wrist is a bit thicker on that side. The final solution was to position the tracker lower on the wrist, at the point just before the arm bones flare to meet the wrist. This prevents the tracker from moving more than a couple millimeters fore and aft.

Hope this helps...

[Iteatin]

I ended up just switching to Garmin. Got the Forerunner 235 and haven’t looked back. Consistent heart rate, waterproof, tracks GPS very accurately, and keeps my pacing on point while running. It doesn’t have a touch screen, or a well-designed app, the ability to control my thermostat, or play music … but it does what it’s supposed to do VERY, VERY well.

I was a hardcore Fitbit advocate for a couple years getting most of my family on their platform … now I can’t recommend switching enough. Especially, if you’re looking to leverage this data to help you with training. If you just want the novelty / 80% solution that’s a better-than-apple-watch fitness tracker, but still has apps, stay with the Ionic.


Bill Tinney
Member Experience Team Lead

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