HR on Charge 3 not accurate DURING TREADMILL EXERCISE APP

[MrMarv]

First off, I am a big supporter of the Fitbit devices and their firmware programmers - not as much of a cheerleader sometimes for their app and web development teams (probably Project Leaders and Quality Insurance or maybe the people that push them to market too soon), but I still respect them.

And for the most part, the Charge 3 has been holding its own in the bpm area - when it says 108 and I count 27 beats in 15 seconds I smile. And it rarely disappoints me.

Until I put it into exercise mode, that is.

And I have held off until the latest firmware update came through last night so I could run another short test.

Last night and tonight I performed two treadmill exercises, 14 and 7 minutes in length at 2.2 and 2.5 mph.

For the first exercise last night, I did my normal 50 squat reps and crunches and by the time I took a short break and hit the treadmill at 2.2 mph my HR was up to 100 and increased to 137 (low to mid peak) by the 5 minute mark. All expected; I'm not a youngster, after all. At 6:10 it was at 100 and ten seconds later, at 63 bpm!!! Huh? It started a little climb but by 8:30 it was at 61 bpm. This is for a 66 year old male with a pacemaker/defibrillator with a resting heart rate of 68 to 72. I ended the exercise after 14 minutes at a recorded 111 bpm.

And the chart of the activity definitely shows those three minutes as being under fat burn zone of over 77 bpm.

This evening I performed no pre-walk exercises, unless you count helping clean up after dinner, and started my session at 86 bpm. At 2:00 into the walk I was down to 74 and at 1:59 I was at 71. Up to 84 at 2:20 and back down to 66 at 2:35. From there on, with me increasing the pace to 2.5 mph at 4:00 and 3.0 man at 6:00, it quickly made its way back to fluctuating between 101 and 114, finishing at 104 bpm at 7:00. 

What the heck? There is no way I'm going to drop lower than 90 bpm in those scenarios. I didn't stop to take my pulse manually during those two abnormalities, but trust me, I will tomorrow.

Moderator edit: updated subject for clarity

Original poster edit - Moderator did not clarify, but rather muddied it up.

[Heather-S]

@jag64551 You can go into your app to select your exercises that show up on your tracker.  Inside the app on your phone, select your Charge 3, then scroll to Exercise Shortcuts.  You can add "workout" from there and remove other exercises you don't use.  I removed biking, for example, and added Walk.  You can also rearrange their order, so the most relevant exercise to you will show first.  

[jag64551]

@Heather-S Thanks for the tip. Not to get too far off topic on the post, but I don't see see "Workout" or "Walk" (from your example) in the list. I see Run, Bike, Swim, Treadmill, Weights, Interval Workout. And then it says "All shortcuts in use".

[Heather-S]

@jag64551 Try removing an exercise you don't use first.  On my iPhone, I just swipe to the left on an exercise and a red "delete" icon appears.  Tapping that will delete the exercise.  Then, you can tap the Exercise Shortcut (should be in blue/green lettering) and a big list of options will appear.  In this list should be "workout" and then you can add it!

You can only have 6 exercise shortcuts at a time, so I always pick my most-frequently used exercises.

[jag64551]

Thanks! I would not have figured that out based on the on-screen instructions. I will give Workout a shot, and see if there are any HR differences.

[jag64551]

I did try wearing it higher up on my wrist/arm, and used Workout mode (instead of Running), and I did seem to have more consistent results. Hoping that was the key.

[aurora733]

Has anyone noticed that the Charge 3 will consistently read a "Peak" heart rate (usually around 180-190bpm for me) when you have removed it?  I take it off while getting ready for work, and I find it strange that it is doesn't stop reading HR data when it should be sensing that it's not even on a wrist!

[wollja]

Update: 12/14/18****
When i first got this the heart rate was wildly inaccurate, but it has miraculously recently become more accurate. While it still isn't quite as accurate as my heart strap it is close enough now to be usable. So, i'm much happier now, and the notifications from my Samsung Galaxy S8+ are spot on and very reliable. I did have to go into the fitbit app settings and tell it which texting app was my main one, and which calendar and email app it should sync with after that notifications work like a charm. Battery does last around a week, I shower with this every day so the waterproofing is good. Overall, this is turning out to be a good purchase.

Original Post***

I have the Charge 3 Special Edition with a white strap and the NFC chip. Something is terribly wrong with the heart rate accuracy. I have compared results with an Apple watch, and a Garmin device with heart strap, and the built in HRM of the Elliptical machine. They all match and agree with each other. But, my Charge 3 SE when exercising will wildly switch between 70-110bpm while my other devices stay around a solid 140-155bpm. Most times when I look down at my Charge 3 it is displaying low 70s BPM during my workout. The higher my actual heart rate gets, the more my rate drops on the Charge 3. Usually the Fitbit app will only count about 9 minutes of actual activity in my 45 minute workout because it thinks I'm resting since my heart rate is recording so low. The majority of the workout it is stuck around 72bpm when my actual rate is 150ish. It' is pretty common to have a difference of 60bpm+ between the chest strap/apple watch/elliptical HRM and my Charge 3 during workouts.

It is pretty accurate if I don't ever exercise and just putter around the house.

Maybe this is a problem with the Special Edition?

I tried rebooting the device, cleaning the sensors, changing strap tightness and wrist location. Nothing helps.

Basically this a great basic smart watch, and pedometer. But, the HRM is completely useless if your actual heart rate gets over 110BPM during exercise. I'm thinking of turning off the HR to save battery and just use it as a smart watch, and use my Garmin strap when exercising instead. Very disappointed, was my first and will be my last Fitbit purchase if they can't fix this with a firmware update..

[SunsetRunner]

I just got off the live chat.  I just purchased a Charge 3.  I had a Charge 2HR.  I found the heart rate to be horribly inaccurate.  While sitting at the doctor, my fitbit showed my heart rate at 113.  My physician took it both manually and by machine and it was 52!  Fitbit is telling me that I cannot use the Fitbit as a medical unit and they cannot guarantee accuracy.  I understand that but the difference in rates is ridiculous!  I'm just sitting still.  A couple beats high or low...……..OK.  I will return the unit and go back to an Apple Watch!  So disappointed!

[MrMarv · Accepted solution]

@Blackish and @MarreFitbit

As I stated in my first post and apparently did not reinforce in later posts - the device works FANTASTIC for heart rate tracking when NOT in exercise mode..

I finally got a little fed up with it last night and decided to just turn off exercise mode and kept on trekking. For the last 20 minutes everything was fine, although the 20 minutes was not auto-recognized as a walk as my Alta HR used to do when on the treadmill. And before anyone asks, I have it set to 10 minutes and my Charge 3 auto-recognizes walks around the parking lot at work just fine.

Hmmmm. Will have to try again tonight.

I will be starting another thread within the next two days documenting why I believe the exercise tracking app is possibly flawed.

[NapaBill]

After screwing with my Charge 3 for a month I returned it. The heart rate was rarely correct. If I was sitting down, resting, and checking my blood pressure the automatic cuff would show a rate of, say, 76 and the Charge 3 would display 86 or 95 or 108. While going on a walk, which it never automatically recognized, the rate seemed pretty accurate. Despite never recognizing a forty-minute walk, it surprised me by classifying and hour of gardening (pruning, raking, etc.) as "Sport."

While the Charge 3 would NOT automatically recognize a forty-minute walk, it would record a drive to the market as miles and steps. And it would double or triple my actual mileage when recording to my Dashboard or synching to my other gadgets. Pretty amusing to get a notification of congratulations for reaching a milestone whilst sitting at my desk. 

Then there was the non-communication with Apple Health, which is entirely up to Fitbit to work out. I had to cough up extra $$ to buy Apps to transfer the data. Stupid. And non-returnable.

Finally, I was unhappy with the fit. The "Large" band only allowed me to use one of the last three holes in the band and then it was too tight most of the time.

[SunsetRunner]

Thanks so much for your input..……..

I received an email from Fitbit after having a "conversation" online chat
with one of their reps. She told me that I should not base my heartrate on
the Fitbit since they emphasize that it should not be used in place of a
medical device. I realize that but when my pulse if 56 and it says 113
what am I supposed to do? They sent me directions to reset my heart rate
except I can't get past the first step.

They got upset when I told them that I was going to return it and buy an
Apple Watch!!! I still may do that (once I save up the money!)

[TwinB10]

New to fitbit. Just got one after being diagnosed with afib. Resting heartrate has always been mid  50’s on meds.  With fitbit its all over the place. Doing nothing it shows a sudden spike to 100 or more, though when I check it its only at 60 or lower.  This happens almost everyday. The wristband is snug but not tight. I will try it on my other hand put I dont like wearing it on my dominant hand. Any other suggestions?

[SunsetRunner]

Fitbit sent a suggestion of turning off the heart rate and then turning it back on. My solution: Return it like I did and save money to buy an Apple Watch!

Sent from my iPhone

[madairbob2]

 I have the same problem with the exercise mode. My HR is around 68 and as soon as I pressed exercise mode it jumps to 115 HR, before I even start moving. Any solution yet? 

[wollja]

Madairbob2,

They just came out with a new firmware update, you might try updating yours
to see if that helps. I updated mine late last night on 12/19/18. Just
update the Fitbit app on your phone then it should recognize there is a new
update and ask you to update your watch. Hopefully that will increase
accuracy for those that are having issues, but time will tell!

[DavidFl]

I have worn a Charge2 for over a year and in all that time found it to be quite accurate including during my frequent jogs. My heart rate when running was almost always in the cardio level, rarely over 130.

I purchased the Charge3 in December and now my runs are in the 170 and higher level registering as a peak effort. I have actually considered going to a cardiologist because if this heart  rate is correct , then something may be wrong. But when I run I feel just fine and can not detect a heart beating that  fast.

Is anyone else who is a runner find that their Charge3 heart rate is being monitored  way to high too?

[TwinB10]

My experience is the opposite.. When my bpm's spiked due to a tachycardia event - 160 bpms my charge 3 only recorded 107.  I checked my heartbeat using my phone's stopwatch and also using my blood pressure cuff. Both were much higher than the fitbit.
If you check your own pulse using your phone while running, you can see if it matches your fitbit. I'd do that before assuming it is accurate and going to a cardiologist. Good luck.

[DavidFl]

Thank You.

Sent from my iPhone

[Taroqi]

Hi, I have been using charge 2 for almost 2 years.

Heart rate almost 100 % accurate compared with the elliptical machine heart rate monitor.

for 2 weeks now using charge 3, the heart rate fluctuation up and down in second as you can see the chart below.

[MrMarv]

@Taroqi -

Are the fluctuations when using the Elliptical app on the Charge 3? If so, it is possible you have found another app that has problems.

I documented my test of the Treadmill app in this thread:

https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Charge-3/Heart-rate-during-treadmill-not-accurate-on-Charge-3/m-p/31...

My difference between actual and reported was approximately 70 bpm with the similar ups and downs, followed by consistent cardio numbers once I turned the app off. I also included the heart tracks.