Charge 3 heart rate too high and the battery is draining fast

[RAD9378]

Hi

since last update installed last week, the heart rate monitor is showing nonsense, ludicrously high rates. Also will not hold charge running from 100% to dead in a few hours.

ive trued all the resetting and rebooting tips I’ve discovered but it’s still useless.

this is my third Fitbit in 18 months but I cannot return this to the store this time as I’ve lost the paperwork. Am certainly not impressed by the quality but would welcome any advice before I bin it.

Moderator edit: updated subject for clarity

[MarreFitbit]

Hi @RAD9378, welcome to the Community Forums. Thanks for reporting your Charge 3's behavior since the last update. I appreciate your efforts in troubleshooting the heart rate and the battery on your device. 

Keep in mind that several factors can affect your heart rate, including air temperature, stress level, physical body position, and medication use (source). I'd recommend to take a look at: How do I improve the accuracy of my heart-rate reading on my Fitbit device? 

If your device i still showing inaccurate readings after taking in consideration the above, on your Charge 3, please go to Settings > Heart rate and follow these steps:

- Turn the heart rate off

- Restart your Tracker

- Turn the heart rate back on

In regards to the short battery life on your device, let your Charge 3 to run out of battery to charge it again. Keep an eye on it to see how the battery goes. You can see: Can I extend my Fitbit device's battery life? 

We recommend to charge your trackers via the USB port over a wall adapter. However, it is also possible to charge your Fitbit tracker with a UL certified wall adapter. What may actually cause damage to the tracker's battery (either on a computer or a wall adapter) is the charging time, which if excessive over time may damage the battery and therefore cause quick battery drain or prevent the tracker from charging at all. 

Tips to best charge Fitbit trackers are:

• Use only genuine Fitbit charging cables
• Use only UL-certified wall chargers
• Avoid USB battery packs
• Charge at room temperature

For charging purposes, your charging cable can be plugged into any USB power source, including but not limited to:

• A computer
• A Wall A/C to USB adapter, commonly found with smartphones
• A DC to USB adapter (vehicle power port)

Give this a go and let me know the outcome. 

[RAD9378]

Hi
Thank you for your reply.

I’ve already done all of those things. I do understand lots of things affect heart rate but I think I would be aware if I had a resting heart rate of over 150, even when sleeping. 
I have deselected heart rate etc as you advise to no avail. 
The battery has run down to zero several times since the issue started last week but it makes no difference. I have charged as you suggest.
I am very disappointed that this is my second replacement that has failed for a different reason. To have three supposedly market leading brand devices fail for different reasons within an 18 month period is not much of an ad for Fitbit and and I am only sorry that I have misplaced the paperwork for the last replacement which leaves me with a six month old piece of useless equipment.
This seems to be yet another known issue that Fitbit should be taking responsibility for rather than offering “ solutions “ that are meaningless.

Sent from Sky Yahoo Mail for iPhone

Moderator edit: personal info removed

[MarreFitbit]

Hi there @RAD9378, thanks for coming back and trying the steps I recommended. 

Since none of the steps you tried have worked, I've created a case to get you in contact with our Support Team about this. They will be able to work with you and review your options. Please keep a lookout in your inbox to the email address associated with this Fitbit account. Someone will be in contact with you soon! 

Let me know if there's anything else I may do to assist you in the meantime. 

[BonnieH]

I think that my problem of ridiculously high calorie burns is related to an incorrect heart rate.  I just reviewed the last several days and the issue started on Sunday, which showed me at peak heart rate for 6 hours and 9 minutes and cardio for 5 hours, 24 minutes, doubling my calorie count from the day before (9 minutes peak and 50 cardio).  So far today it's 2 hr 55 minutes peak and 2 hr 3 minutes cardio.  These numbers are not correct and are probably driving the other errors.

I tried turning off the heart rate monitor and resetting and although it initially worked, my heart rate is back to showing 166 when I'm just sitting at the computer.  Calculating by my pulse, it's below 80.

Please provide another suggestion or just fix the problem.  It makes every calculation incorrect and suspect.

[Crystal_Hark]

I tried all the suggestions and thought maybe the heart rate and battery issues were tied in with the update and notification issues. (I did all those suggestions for that, too.) Now, I’m wondering if the device has actually been faulty the entire time while I was waiting for a software update. 

[RAD9378]

Hi
I think you’re right. Persevere with Fitbit Gelo; they monitored mine and eventually agreed it was faulty and replace it. Good luck.


Sent from Sky Yahoo Mail for iPhone

[PR8]

my charge3  is doing exactly the same thing since the last update.  It was working fine until then.  I have also tried all the steps suggested by Fitbit Support to no avail.  Please fix the last update.  I have had this Charge 3 18mos or longer with no problems.

[RAD9378]

They replaced mine after monitoring


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[NSCanada]

Also my charge 3 is doing this starting today, have tried suggestions here to fix unsuccessfully. Please help or comment from Fitbit tech appreciated. 

[NSCanada]

Just an update here, so done with Fitbit after 3 replacements over past year plus  endless frustration and hope the glitches will be resolved. Need reliability and accuracy especially with heart rate tracking, along with transparency on if there’s a problem for Fitbit to own it not vague answers that don’t work for support. Just purchased Apple Watch 3 today goodbye and good riddance Fitbit. 

[1missbridget]

I'm with you! I've had my charge 3 replaced THREE times and it always has some problem after a few months. When I called to help with the problem this time, I found out I was out of warranty, so they offered me a 25% off coupon for future purchases to be used in the next 30 days. I'll NEVER buy another Fitbit again. I just ordered another brand through Amazon.