Inaccurate HR Reading -- SOLVED

[tractorlegs]

I received the Charge HR for my birthday and could not be happier. I've lost almost 10 pounds in my first month of use.

I've discovered that when I am at rest, or at night, the HR tracker is very accurate. When I take my pulse at my wrist or at my carotid, it always matches what the Charge reports. However, during exercise (aerobic walking) it becomes very inaccurate. Generally, I walk at about 110 BPM (checked accurately at the wrist or carotid) however the tracker reports high 80s or low 90s. Documentation for the device says to move it further up my arm to 3 finger widths above the wrist bone to get a more accurate reading, however that does not change the results. Pro reviews of this device indicate that this problem is not uncommon. How can we increase the device's accuracy when exercising?

[Felkhider]

You're a genius. 

I'm 36 and had the same problem. 

HR at rest = accurate. 

HR when exercising at "cardio" intensity = inaccurate within 5-10 BPM. 

HR when exercising at "peak" intensity = inaccurate within 20-30 BPM. Horrible. 

I'll try flipping my Charge 3 next time.  

[DennisP]

Been a fitbit customer for 7 years, and this Charge 2 will be the last tracker I buy. Don’t waste your money. Heart rate is inaccurate rendering it useless. When it actually does show a reading, the inaccuracy skews every other reading. Constantly zeros out and read 179 bpm when I’m in bed watching tv. Showed 2000 steps for the whole day but then it said i had 120 active minutes... impossible. Again, NOT ACCURATE! Not to mention the inaccurate sleep readings. Customer "support" is completely useless as well so don't even waste the time to call. I finally tossed mine this in the trash and will just use my apple watch.  

[Suzanneinsc12]

 I am a senior citizen and use my Fitbit Alta HR when I walk. Recently I started using a treadmill and noticed that the difference between what the Fitbit says and what the treadmill sabs is  faster on the Fitbit.   Because I have to hold on to the treadmill when I walk for balance, I realize that my Fitbit was not recording my steps properly. Today I put the Fitbit on the laces  on my tennis shoes and used the treadmill. When I got off the treadmill it had recorded my steps, but it also recorded a heartbeat consistently over 110 and  up to 136 bpm.  That was for 55 minutes.   That was very interesting because nowhere did the Fitbit even touch my skin. As a matter fact when I would be looking down I could see the contact lights.  At rest it seems okay, but I  don’t trust it now for exercise. 

[Julian2019]

I have the same problem, the Fitbit three is extremely inaccurate at recording heartbeat during work out, by about 30 beats a minute, on occasion it gets it right, but more often than not it’s incorrect

[Steve_H041077]

When I initially purchased my Fitbit Blaze back in 2017 I was blown away by the technology and really loved it. Sadly, however, I have come to realize that its heart rate monitor is, as you say, wildly inaccurate.

While walking earlier today, at a moderate pace the heart rate was showing 180 BPM! I stopped for a few minutes and waited to see what would happen. After about 2 minutes it rapidly descended to around 90 BPM. It has done this on numerous occasions and I'm guessing that it could be picking up on step vibrations and combining (or in some cases confusing) them with the actual heart rate. This would make sense, considering that it is quite accurate at rest. 

It's a great shame as, in many other respects, it's a great watch. However, heart rate tracking is an absolute must for any fitness tracker, so readings that are so incredibly inaccurate render it pretty much useless!

I would never consider buying another Fitbit until they manage to fix this problem once and for all.

[AlzhyganShal]

I am experiencing same behavior on Ionic, it just goes to 180bpm and then divides it by two... And when I'm suffering most it shows me 90-95bpm... It is frustrating.

[Daxp]

I think he means rotate your watch around your wrist so that instead of being on top the watch is on the bottom of your wrist.

[michaeljquinn]

My experience with the Surge is that its wildly inaccurate, with high intensity - chest pounding HR - 93 - impossible.  Slowly cooling down mode during a run, just breathing normally, HR 171 

The HR sensor is dangerously inaccurate

[Marxmyth]

The heart rate reading on my fitbit Charge 2 is useless when exercising. It wasn't always that way. I wonder if the software is corrupted.

I read that I could reset it by holding the button in for four seconds, but that doesn't do anything except turn notifications on or off. 

I'll see if I can reset the whole device when it is attached to my computer. I don't want to lose all my data, so may create another user account. 

[N9SS]

Always frustrating when you read about a problem that has gone unresolved for years like this.  I have an Inspire HR that was just purchased and I am seeing  the same discrepancy during high intensity exercise.  HR under 100 is pretty accurate, but when I run at my max HR the FitBit shows about 150 while my Garmen Forerunner chest strap shows 165. I will try putting it in exercise mode next run and see if it does better, but my guess is that they are keeping the sample rate low for battery life, and don’t want to increase it for the masses who never exercise at high intensity.   No problem, just means they won’t get any more of my business, which I don’t think they will loose any sleep over!  LOL

[Bricked132]

Sometimes we set our expectations too high. If you want an accurate HRM you should invest in a chest strap. And use the Fitbit for other interests like tracking steps and telling the time. 

This is my approach to all technology - expect it will do core functions well. Everything else is brochureware.