Ionic heart rate readings too high

[Sabrina2628]

I just got a new fitbit ionic. My old one (less than a year old) wasn’t working properly. Everytime I turned on the workout app and started my workout my heartrate according to the fitbit was in the 190-200 range. Needless to say this was not accurate. After a good 5 minutes the ionic started to pick up normal heartrates and tracking was pretty accurate throughout the rest of the workout. This happens everytime! And yes, I wear the watch high on my wrist, restarted the ionic several times. The store where I bought this iconic gave me a new one. Well, the same thing is happening with the new watch. My fRiens and sister in law both have an ionic and do not have these problems. Heartrate tracking is accurate from the start. Does anyone know a solution to this problem? 

Moderator Edit: Updated Subject for Clarity

[SantiR]

@Sabrina2628 Welcome to the Fitbit forums! Thanks for taking the time to share the experience you are having with Ionic's heart rate reading. Thanks for wearing it correctly and for restarting it in order to sort this out.

It is very odd that this is happening with your second Ionic too. You could try a factory reset and check if that solves the issue. If not, please let me know!

Keep me posted! 

[Sabrina2628]

Does a factory reset erase all data on my app? Or just on the watch? 

[sfringer]

Just the watch.

[jivehonky]

I am experiencing essentially the same issue. I'm choosing an exercise from the watch menu and while I'm working out, I'm seeing heart rate numbers of 150-175 bpm or so when my actual rate is more like 100 bpm. I'l have noticed it coming down a bit as I exercise, but it is still inaccurate on the high side. I just called Fitbit customer service and I was told that it was a known issue. I guess that means that I'll have to wait a while and hope that an update can help. It certainly means that customer service and the moderators here aren't on the same page.

Sabrina: what is your actual heart rate when you are seeing 190-200 bpm out of curiosity?

[Sabrina2628]

Thanks for the info! Both my sister in law and friend don’t have these issues. I don’t understand why this is again happening to me with a new fitbit ionic watch. The first minutes into the workout when the fitbit shows heartrates in the 190 range the actual heartrate is in the 100 range. Why is this happening? And only just to some of the ionic users? 

[jivehonky]

It does seem very odd that it is a known issue that is only happening with some of the Ionic trackers. It makes me wonder if the people who aren't noticing the problem aren't paying attention as closely as those who are. Again, I was told by Fitbit that it is a known issue and that they are working on it. That was a few days ago.

[mojay69]

I just installed the most recent update and now every time I begin a work out I am instantly at 165bpm this is a good 60 beats off. I have to keep taking the watch on and off and it finally straightens itself out. Very frustrating. Any ideas.  

[Sabrina2628]

Still having the same issue. After a good 5 minutes into the workout the heartrate starts tl normalize. So very frustrating. Tried everything. From a new watch to resetting. 

[mojay69]

Did your issue start after the recent update? It is so frustrating because it screws with your data 

[Sabrina2628]

No always had this problem. Even with the fitbit charge 2. 

[SilviaFitbit]

@mojay69 @Sabrina2628 It's nice to see you on the Community. Thanks for the details mentioned. 

Sorry to hear about what you're experiencing with your Ionic. In this case, I would like you to confirm you've tried the following in order to improve your heart rate reading: 

• Wear your Fitbit device on top of your wrist, and make sure the back of the device is in contact with your skin.
• When you’re not exercising, wear your device a finger’s width above your wrist bone.
• During a workout, experiment with wearing the device higher on your wrist (2 finger widths) for an improved fit. Many exercises such as bike riding or weight lifting cause you to bend your wrist frequently, which could interfere with the heart-rate signal if the watch is lower on your wrist. 
• Consider tightening your wristband before a workout and loosening it when you’re done. The wristband should be snug but not constricting (a tight wristband restricts blood flow, potentially affecting the heart-rate signal). 

Let me know how it goes. 

[jivehonky]

Are you blowing Fitbit a goodbye kiss?  ; )

[mojay69]

Yes - I tried all that. It started happening after one of the updates 

[mojay69]

While I still have my Fitbit. I have moved to Garmin. 😁