Heart rate still monitoring while not wearing

[Ciochi]

Hi

Yesterday when I rode my motorcycle I removed my charge 2 and put it in my chest pocket because I was getting false steps and floors. When I arrived home I added driving as activity in order to remove the false steps and calories.

I have noticed on the heart rate graph that there is no interruption although I removed it from my wrist for about 3 hours. I wonder how accurate the HR reading is if it reads my heart rate while in the pocket.

Has fitbit discovered an amazing technology that allows you to read the heart rate in your pocket? Or my charge 2 is Faulty? As for me it is very simple - no pulse detected - no heart rate.

[AlvaroFitbit]

@Ciochi Welcome to our Community! By any change was your tracker's sensors next to your skin? Was your pants pockets cloth thick or thin? It could have maybe detected it was next to your skin and due to the movement it tried to record your hr. This is just a guess of course as you do have a point: "no pulse detected - no heart rate."

Try restarting your tracker by doing the following: 

1. Plug the charging cable into the USB port on your computer or any UL-certified USB wall charger.
2. Clip the other end of the charging cable to the port on the back of the tracker. The pins on the charging cable must lock securely with the port.
3. Make sure the button on your tracker is aligned with the button opening on the charging cable. You’ll know the connection is secure when the tracker vibrates and you see a battery icon on your tracker’s display. Your Charge 2 will begin charging.
4. Press and hold the button on your tracker for four seconds. When you see the Fitbit logo and the tracker vibrates, this means the tracker has restarted.
5. Unplug your tracker from the charging cable.

Also clean the sensor with cotton and rubbing alcohol and make sure the HR settings are set to "auto" and not "on", the second setting will always try to get a reading. 

If the issue persist then please contact our Support Team for further assistance.

Let me know how it goes!

[Ciochi]

Hi

It was nowere nere the skin. I kept it in my motorcycle jacket pocket and I
was wearing a t shirt also.

I tried to restart it but no efect. Exactly the same. I asked my girflrend
to remove hers and place it in a pocket when she comes home from work.
Exactly the same. No interruption in heart rate. You can try it. Put it in
your pocket and go for a walk. You will see no interruption on your HR
graph and you will see that you even go in fat burn zone.

I think it is very simple. Fitbit approximates heart rate after the number
of steps. If the watch detects steps it automatically approximates the hart
rate. On my motorcycle, due to vibrations it detects steps so automaticaly
approximates HR.

Approximating the HR after the number of steps is ok as long as you make
steps. The sensor on the back is not that precise and uses step counters to
approximate the HR.

Only issue is that Fitbit advertise it as a brake through - the HR makes
the difference. And it is all a mock up.

I regret not buying the Alta and i strongly recomend to others not to fall
for the HR scam and pay more for a mock up.

[Lindabhwv]

Ciocci, mine recorded HR when on the table for 20 mins! I agree that it may be approximating the HR but not from the steps as the table wasn't moving. Does yours stop when placed on a non-moving surface?

[Ciochi]

If it is on a surface that is not moving it stops after a while.

For example when I shower and I leave it on the table I can see an
interruption in the HR graph.

But when I wash the dishes and it takes only 10-15 mins, I can't see an
interruption on the HR graph. I think it depends how long you leave it on
the table.

Or the table has a pulse. Have you checked yours? Take it to your doc to
see 🙂

[Lindabhwv]

[kevin7]

I put my charge2 in pocket when wearing watches at work and it detects pulse too (see my community topic here, maybe vote on it and they will notice issue if lots of votes???)  There is a setting for heart rate:

-off-doesn't try to detect pulse (green LEDs always off)

-on-always try to detect pulse (green LEDs always on)

-auto-no motion will cause pulse detection to to turn off; otherwise when moving, the LEDs will be on and trying to detect pulse

I wish there were a better way... but I doubt this will change unless they work on the heart rate detection algorithm to specifically consider people who put it in their pocket.  I have been trying to set mine to heartrate=off when in my pocket so the false pulse detections don't impact calories burned, etc...  Trouble is ... I forget to set it back to auto so I miss exercise later in the day.  Also my charge2 sometimes doesn't like to sync for a while so changing the setting on phone doesn't immediately go to the charge2 😞

[Ciochi]

I agree with you Kevin. They need to change the algoritm. Probably the HR is monitorred every minute or so and if it cannot get a reading it checks other parameters so if detects steps it approximates your HR from your steps/minute for example.  And approximating it from steps/minute shouldn't be very wrong. (I assume they take into account weight, height, age and steps/min and creates an approx.  HR). If you walk with your watch in your pocket and still get HR readings I think they might not even be that wrong. The faster you walk, the higer your HR. In the end it is not a HR monitor. It is an activity tracker with HR monitoring. 

In my case, because in my pocket cannot get a HR it looks at steps but the steps are due to the vibrations from the motorcycle. So the HR approximation is completely wrong. 

I have found a workaround for me. Each time I hop on the motorcycle I start an exercise that I don't usualy use from the 8 configurable ones. When I get home I delete the exercise and replace it with a "Driving" activity. That erases all the steps and floors and ignores the HR and calories and replace them with an estimate. It would be great if I could start a Driving activity from my watch and even better if that activity wouldn't count as activity as it does now (my active days are wrong)

[KelloggKS]

 Mine is doing the same thing I've only had it a week now but it's detecting a heart rate when I'm not wearing it or saying I meant ultimate fat burning when I'm sleeping 

[DerrickS]

@KelloggKS welcome to the Community.

Out of curiosity, is your Heart Rate Tracking settings set to "Auto" or "On"?  If it's set to On, I would recommend that you consider switching it to Auto so your heart rate turns off when it's off your wrist.

Also keep in mind that if you remove your tracker but keep moving (for example putting your tracker in your pocket or backpack), it is possible that your tracker may display an erroneous heart rate reading. To prevent this, I'd recommend that you turn off your heart rate tracking when not in use. This can be done by:

1. Logging into your dashboard.

2. Go to "Settings" and click "Devices".

3. Turn Heart Rate Tracking "Off".

4. Sync your tracker for the change to take effect.

Hope this helps.

[KelloggKS]

I do have it on auto... I want to head and turned it off..

Sent from my iPhone

[Juliethebarber]

Mine was on the bedside table while I showered and when I picked it up to put it back on the heart rate was reading 157 bpm.  Crazy, now I’m not sure if any of my readings are correct. 

[cyman07]

Yes mine does,just take it off the charger  and put it on the table it stated reading 97 fatburn,with no touching or movements

[AlvaroFitbit]

@cyman07 Welcome to the Fitbit Community! It's great to have you here! Sorry to hear that your tracker is showing heart rate after removing it. Make sure you are using the Auto setting so the lights turn off when you remove the tracker or you can turn it off. You can also try restarting your tracker by doing the following:

Plug the charging cable to your computer or UL certified wall adapter.
Align the contacts of the tracker with the charging cable and plug it in making sure it snaps securely.
Your tracker should start charging.
Press the button for 10 to 12 seconds.
You should see your tracker's firmware version and you can now unplug your tracker.

Keep me posted!

[Cathydsrna]

Same thing is happening to me. I have sent several posts just today as I have had several issues with my brand-new Versa. My watch kept showing my heartrate for more than one hour while I was rooms away? I have also had a problem with the alarm app that wont budge.  I used to have the Fitness Blaze and Surge and loved these. I switched to the  apple watch but didn't like the heart rate monitoring (cant adjust to changing heart rate during HIIT) and so upgraded to a Versa from my previous fitbit watches. This one is a loser.  It is being packaged up along with the watchbands I ordered and sent back..

[mlester1]

HI - I am an engineer in charge of lighting control algorithms. I think FITBIT needs to explain to all of us what the actual algorithm is that measures and displays HR. 

1) how often is the result/display updated

2) how long after the HR is removed will it continue to display

3) hat is the time constant between measurement and display

4) etc.

To me it seems like HORRIBLE engineering to have some HR displayed even 10 sec after removing the device. That almost seems like fraud. When I ride a gym bike with HR it updates accurately every couple of seconds. Let's call that REAL TIME measurement. I have NO clue what the FITBITS are doing. 50% accurate is NOT OK! Seriously is a billion dollar company really going to FOOL EVERYONE??? For how long?

[Kgirl00]

Same thing happened to me when I was in the shower once, and the fitbit on the sink, it shot up into cardio for the entire shower. Today, it actually said that I got 30 minutes of activity and that my heart rate was in cardio while I was getting my nails done and it was beside me on top of my purse....I put it "on" to get better sleep info, but I am switching back to "auto" to see if this is purely because it is constantly seeking/recording a heart rate even when a pulse isn't detected. Alta HR

[Percula]

I’m a scuba diver with a Charge 2. I take it off for my dive and leave it on the boat in my bag. Boat engine is running so there are vibrations. And it more often than not measures high heart rates (like +190) and gives me credit for many minutes of active exercise whilst in diving....

the heart sensor is set to auto. The Fitbit has been restarted as per the suggested method and the problem still occurs. 

Its not a great solution to have to turn it off manually each time to prevent false readings. 

[charleskn]

My Charge 4 does the same thing. I can't wear my device at work, so it sits in my gym bag in the car during the day. This is what I regularly see. Not much of a response from FitBit, except to reset the device, which does nothing.

This is still an issue for my Charge 4, which still registers HR data when it's in my gym bag. I put the tracker in my gym shoes (I know). I have tried face down, which doesn't seem to work. I have better, but not definitively good, luck, with it curled up and resting on it's side, and something over the top to block all light. Fitbit really needs to address this. I have reset the tracker multiple times, which NEVER fixes anything.

Not sure if I would call this a fix, as much as a work-around. It seems that if I curl up the tracker band, and lay the tracker on it's side, inside my workout shoes, that I don't see this activity.

Moderator edit: merged reply

[MichaelBluejay]

This is an old thread but I found it while searching about the same problem.  I put my FitBit Versa Lite in the charger, and an hour later it still shows a heart rate.  FitBit CS's responses about resetting the device are as useless as the brain-damaged software in the FitBit.  The forum is littered with unresolved issues, it's a joke.