Heart Rate Monitor Not Working While Asleep

[NicBit]

I purchased the Charge 2 and need it to monitor my heart rate while I'm asleep. This is something that the Charge HR was capable of doing. Unfortunately the Charge 2 isn't capable of monitoring heart rate while I'm asleep. Every night there are gaps ranging from 15 minutes to more than 2 hours where there is no heart rate data. If I can't get this fixed within the next week I'm going to have to return the Charge 2. I've made every settings change I can find. Does anyone have any ideas?

[Marie7077]

I don't know if the moderator is still following this thread, but I suspect something with the app on specific devices, possibly only with specific carriers.  I didn't have a problem until after I uninstalled and reinstalled the app (to fix a different issue.) Now, my Charge HR, which has HR data on the unit if I check it in the middle of the night, has blanks on the screen. Occasionally have an issue during exercise as well.  It will record my exercise automatically, if I tap on the exercise in the dashboard it will show my HR graph, but the resting/daily HR graph has a blank. This has only happened since I reinstalled the app.  App is v. 2.46 running on Android 6.0.1 on a Sprint Galaxy S5. 

[Peejaydee]

Interesting Thread I purchased the Charge 2 for my other half she wanted to use the heart rate function during the sleeping hours  unfortunately it does not, during the day it is fine for recording the data so as far as I am concerned there should be a firmware update to solve the problem if everyone is shouting about it then again is there enough internal memory in these devices to support  updates

My Samsung gear S3 monitors my heart rate every hour throughout the night or have the option to disable I almost purchased a Fit bit device but there are so many negative comments around the internet that I decided in the end  not too.

[NicBit]

@Peejaydee it was a firmware update when the Charge 2 came out that broke the heart rate monitoring at night. Before that my Charge HR monitored fine, but even it stopped working right after the firmware update that came out with the Charge 2. I've had the Charge 2 for close to a year now and they still haven't fixed the issue. I've given up on Fitbit caring about fixing this issue, so don't buy one if heart rate monitoring is what you need. In fact if you want a device that tracks your data accurately buy something else. I've found extremely inaccurate errors in every aspect of the Fitbit tracking software. Honestly, they should fire their developers and hire people that have a clue as to what they are doing. Good luck!

[Peejaydee]

Thanks for the reply

Interesting about the firmware update Fitbit obviously making loads of much
money around the globe but it’s the same old story with some of these
companies no customer care, etc.


I purchased the charge 2 for my other half she quite likes it apart from
the no heart rate monitoring during the night which is probably more
important when you are getting older I myself purchased the Samsung Gear
S3.

[SteveHRmonitor]

I was told by customer service before I bought this thing that it would track heart rate all through my sleep cycle and that if it did not satisfy me I could return within 45 days.

Well, it arrived and despite every effort on my part I could not find a way to view any heart rate information charted during my sleep cycle. When I finally got an hour long session completed with customer service it was determined that I could "try" something that the product was not actually designed for! to track heart rate while sleeping!. What the had me try was to manually put the the device into "workout" mode before I went to sleep (manually start) & stop the "workout" recording after waking. Doing this I was able to see a complete heart rate capture over an 8 hour period that was mostly sleep on a full chart of the workout.

Now the only thing is that for me their charting application on the website sucks as it has no decent ability to zoom in on an small time period of the chart. And it does not seem that the will ever support this use of the application.

I will begin considering return of this product and purchase something that will provide better support for tracking heart rate whenever I want it and allowing me to see detailed presentation of the captured data down to 5 second granularity if I want to zoom in on it.

[Rich_Laue]

It should be tracking the heart rate all through the night. For Sleep stages to work the Heartrate must be monitored by fitbit. The main reason for the heart rate not to work is a loss of connection of the sensor to the skin.  Another cause could be sleepin on the arm in such a way that the blood is impeaded and the "arm goes to sleep", this most likely is not happening. Please see the Sleep Stages FAQ.

I say that the heart rate should be monitored at night simply because the tracker is designed to read the heartrate anytime the user is wearing it. Of course as always their is one exemption,  if the battery is very low the heart monitoring function will be turned off to conserve the battery  so that the steps may be tracked longer.

[RunBetty]

As stated previously I ditched the Charge 2 and went back to the old Charge HR (which also didn't track at night) and figured it was all a lost cause when in the middle of May it spontaneously started tracking again!  I sleep on my left side so I have to wear it on the inside of my wrist on my right arm to get a consistent record.  If I leave it on the left it still tracks but has gaps in reading.  I attribute this to it losing contact with my wrist since it is under my body, or my arm having fallen asleep.  I would be interested to see if the Charge 2 works now, but I returned it for a refund. 

[NicBit]

@SteveHRmonitor Fitbit sales, support, and the forum has told me so many conflicting things about their product lines that I've given up deciphering what their products can and can't do. Now I just take the lowest version I find and consider it to be the specs. This may suck for Fitbit if they have a product that actually does something, but I don't see it listed somewhere, so I go buy someone else's product. This is Fitbit's stupidity for not posting accurate specs and having so many threads like this one in the forums.

I might try the workout workaround you mentioned. However, it's going to be a pain to remember to do every night and I have wonder how much the battery performance will decrease.

I would also like to see a lot more granularity in the charting/reporting. I'm pretty sure the data exist, they're just too lazy to build it into the app.

[NicBit]

@Rich_Laue I've been through all that crap with support. Yes, I understand that it can matter. However, I saw a distinct change when the tracking firmware for the Charge 2 came out.

Also, the Sleep Stages FAQ you posted isn't accurate. The section on editing your sleep stages will mess someone's data up. Yes, you can edit your sleep log. However, if you do it can cause your sleep stage data to be lost. I speak from recent experience.

[NicBit]

@RunBetty I don't think I've seen anyone post suggesting to wear the Fitbit on the inside of the wrist. I actually asked support about this option and they specifically told me not to. However, the only reason they gave me was that it wouldn't read accurately. If you're seeing results using it this way then I might give it a try. Thanks for the suggestion.

[NicBit]

If you're interested here's the thread I have open on Sleep Stages:
Sleep Stages Thread

[Kokila3]

I also have just noticed this issue beginning to arise with my Charge HR. Previously, it was fine, but now, I noticed last night there was about a 2-hour gap in my HR. This is very frustrating as I know I'm not the only one, and it also says I got 5 hours of sleep when I really didn't. I'm going to try that inside of wrist thing tonight, and maybe switching the arm its on aswell.

[NicBit]

I've only tried it for one night, but last night I wore it on the inside of my wrist and it captured the entire night. I found an error in the sleep stage reporting, which I'll post on that thread. I'll continue to test the inside of wrist option and report back if it continues to work or not.

[Peejaydee]

That sounds good I will tell my other half to experiment also
Regards

[RunBetty]

NicBit, I read the Sleep Stages post.  I too sleep like a rock.  Are you a side sleeper?  I suspect the firmware update and the fact the tracker was on the same arm that on the side that I sleep on was creating issues.  In addition to the inside of the wrist see if switching arms helps.

[NicBit]

@RunBetty I've tried everything. I sleep on my back with my arms crossed. All I need is a coffin and I'd be a vampire. I've tried both wrists, even tried ankles based on one post I read. You'll be hard pressed to find anything I haven't tried. As a developer and someone who's in almost every aspect of IT, I can pretty much guarantee you it boils down to the tracking firmware. In both cases, heart rate and sleep monitoring, the issues arose after an update. Fitbit obviously can't get their act together and fix it. I've done everything and more that they and people in the forums have said to do and still can't get their product to work right. At this point, if it's not an easy solution to try, I'm not giving Fitbit any more of my time. Nor will I endorse a product that has faults in every aspect of it's design.

1. Every inch of the data in every category has inaccuracies.
2. The app and website to view the data is poorly designed.
3. There isn't enough granularity in the data you can see to get a good understanding of each category.
4. The materials used to create the band of the Charge HR fell apart on three Charge HRs for me.
5. The materials used to create the basic band for the Charge 2 stretch and loosen with age. If it loosens much more for me I won't be able to wear it because I won't have another hole to go to.
6. The Charge 2 designer bands are absolute crap and no one should ever spend money on them. I bought the brown leather band and it started showing major signs of wear after 1 week. After 1 month, it looked like absolute crap. Not to mention they are so over priced it's not even funny.

I think you can see why I will probably never buy nor endorse Fitbit again.

[Rich_Laue]

When something streaches it usually means that it is being pulled. This makes now sense since wearing the tracker to tight will empead the normal flow of blood and give a bad heart rate reading. You should be able to easily slip a finger under the band..

As for details, i do agree since Fitbit keeps detailed data it only displays averages or totals for time periods. For examples 15 minute for steps, and i think 10 seconds for Heartrate 

[SteveHRmonitor]

As far as battery life goes using the "workout" mode to capture the heart
rate overnight while sleeping the battery life does not seem to be affected
since it seems to actually take the measurements all the time you are
wearing it anyway. I easily capture the 7-8 hours while sleeping using the
workout mode and it does not seem to interfere with capturing the sleep
stages at the same time. After about 5-6 days of doing this the battery is
still about 40% so that does not seem to be a problem.

What IS a problem for me is that the capture of YOUR data that belongs to
YOU has to go through upload from the fitbit to your cell phone, then from
your cell phone over the internet to fitbits web based server where they
don't let you have YOUR own data back, the don't offer ANY method to
download all of your data and their own web based server does not let you
have a controlled view of YOUR own data on there crappy chart presentation.

There is a web site for a SquashLeague that has developed a method to help
you download or chart ALL your heart rate information though.

So the whole process is:
fitbit -> cell phone -> fitbit-website -> SquashLeague -> Your PC

Pretty darn convoluted to gain possession of your OWN data! and not any way
to even find out it exists without trolling the many entries on this forum.

I am actively looking for a better method of heart rate monitor (different
product than fitbit) which captures at a similar rate like 2 seconds.

[NicBit]

@Rich_Laue I'm not pulling on the band, I'm only wearing it. The material they make these bands from stretches over time. It's been an issue with 3 Charge HRs and 2 Charge 2s.

I don't know where you're seeing heart rate data every 10 seconds because the app only shows blips like every 5 minutes. Don't get me started on how frustrating it is to click on the stupid chart to try to see a specific blips reading, it's like playing wack-a-mole. As I've previously stated Fitbit should fire their designers because if they think this design is useful in any way they are idiots.

[NicBit]

@SteveHRmonitor thanks for the info. I'm still testing out some of the easier ways, but I'm keeping this one in mind. I find it amazing that your Charge 2 still has a 40% charge after 5-6 days. Both of the ones I've had at max could only last for 5 days if I was lucky.

I'm in IT so don't get me started on the rights of who owns the data and the fact that you should be able to download your own data. That's a subject that my writing could cause Fitbit to ban me from the community. Granted, it would all be true, but they don't want their users to know it.

I agree that Fitbit's method of data collection is bassackward. We shouldn't have to jump through all those hoops just to see the data. Honestly, I don't have the time to do all that. My job is way too demanding for me to waste time on a product that should do this already. Which is why I will never buy another Fitbit product, nor endorse their products. At least not until I see this environment change.