Incorrect Heart rate measurement - Charge 4

[mstinagray]

Just did a workout with my new Charge 4 and my polar chest strap. I was so hoping the good reviews of the HR functionality of this Fitbit were true, but alas, it still cannot track HR properly. If it were only a little off, I would be okay, but same workout with Charge 4 = 115 bpm/avg and a high of 163 with 214 calories burned. Polar measured 155 bpm/avg, high of 188 and 378 calories burned. I hate wearing all this gear, but guess I still have to. So annoying! And yes, if adjusted the strap.

Moderator edit: Subject for clarity.

[mstinagray]

Charge 4

[RBParker]

The regular version.

That is Charge 4 regular edition.

Moderator edit: merged reply

[cmurphy11]

I know this thread is a little dated, however I to wanted to express my frustration about the Charge 4's inaccurate HR monitoring.  I had a Charge 3 for about 2-years and had some issues but the firmware updates always caught up to fix the issue.  I lost my Charge 3 and immediately went to buy a Charge 4, and I have to say I have been under impressed with the product.  The issue is simple the HR tracker is not accurate, and even when I am on my Peloton and use the chest strap and then share my workout with FitBit, the results are still off.  I like the FitBit tracker as it will help me be more productive in my workouts, but at the current state of FitBit's code quality they are letting down their customers and on the brink of losing them.   I do not care about a ticket being opened with the FitBit support as they can not do anything to change the issue until they fix the bugs in their code.  

[Mfitness3]

I have charge 2 and ionic for long time. Ionic died and got a charge 4. The hr is way off  when I was working out on my elliptical as I have been every day for years. I was puzzled, reset the charge 4 and the hr us still really low.   I even put on both charge 2 and 4 at same time and charge 4 read 92 and charge 2 read 124. 

I really don’t understand why Fitbit can’t fix this. I am returning my charge 4 and have another ionic on order.  Bummer as I like the size of the charge 4 and the battery life but if the hr is wrong I can’t keep it. 

[RBParker]

I too am so disappointed. I actually went through the pain of getting a replacement for the first, having HR issues as you describe with the second, was waiting over a week for them to receive #2 for yet another replacement when I caved and let them know I wanted a refund. Their initial reply was that the warranty had expired (for #1)! But I had a device in my possession just a little over a week..........40 days had expired as the devices traveled back and forth. Through a special process, I am getting my money back. I went back to my charge 2 but wish the 4 had been better because I have loved my 2 but it doesn’t retain charge very long any more.

Sent from my iPad

[Ralf]

After many attempts on support they finally replaced the device. The new device arrived about 2 days before the last firmware update. I used it for 2 days with original firmware and HR was as accurate as my old Charge 2. I then updated to the latest firmware (i think 2nd update from the original).

Now i got the replacement for like 6 weeks. And the last days it's back to only registering 80-102 bpm when it should be 145-160. At first occurance a little adjustment helped for a few minutes. Then i did restarts and it worked a bit better for a day. So daily restarts last week. This week it's getting worse by the day. In a 90 minute workout i only have small few minute intervals where it works.

Since nothing has changed with Firmware the last weeks i'm starting to believe it's really a hardware failure... like do 1 million steps and it degrades.

[mstinagray]

100%%%%%! I have given up on the Charge 4 being accurate at all. I just use
my Polar H10 chest strap for my high-intensity workouts.

[RBParker]

Wish I had a way around the way I use the Fitbit. I do use it for workouts but I also use it to control my weight by counting calories burned and consumed. I hope they fix the issue with the 4 before my 2 dies. I am dependent on it for my health.

Sent from my iPhone

[TANM12]

 During a long run yesterday according to my Charge 4 - my heart rate dropped from 181 down to 65 on 5 occasions despite the fact that I was running hard the whole time. Quite how anyone recovers to resting heart rate mid way through a run (5 times) is beyond me... this has happened on several runs and Im very frustrated with the inaccuracy of the charge 4.

I have tried different straps, different tensions... still the same. Any thoughts on what I can do to improve the accuracy? (I've read all the FAQ's available).

Also - does the Charge 4 integrate with any other HR devices? (chest straps etc).

Moderator edit: merged reply

[K2HB]

Hi... I just upgraded from a Charge 2, and so far I'm really disappointed. The heat rate when I'm exercising is wildly inaccurate, usually way too high, which inflates my calories and Zone minutes. I guess I should have stayed with the Charge 2.

[RBParker]

If it is still under warrantee, ask for your money back. Thankfully, I still had my charge 2 and went back but the battery is dying. Still, I am happier than I was with the Charge 4. 

[LionQueen63]

Exactly the charge 4 is inferior to the charge 3. The heart rate is way off as you stated. It’s very frustrating. It doesn’t matter where you put it on your wrist it’s in accurate.  Nothing has fixed the HR problem.   I want to charge 3 and get rid of this charge 4.   I don’t like the zones I like active time better!  It really is disappointing 🙁.  Even my  charge 2 was better than this charge 4!

[mpfeninger]

having the same issue. tried it compared to 2 different elliptical machines and charge 4 is reading heart rate far below the machine readings. i don't have sweat pouring down my face with only hitting cardio for 2 minutes out of 35! tried adjusting band, and just tried restart. will keep watching. 

 

 

 

[mpfeninger]

not surprised, but no support response on this. at the gym again tonight and this thing is garbage. my heart rate is higher when I'm sitting idle than it is when using the elliptical. tried a different machine tonight, and again a very large difference in readings. i checked my heart rate before stepping onto the elliptical and it was at 111. i checked again after a few minutes of activity and it was below 90! the only time the Fitbit really seems to have tracked it properly was in the final 5 minutes, which was the cool down period with lower activity... yet it is recorded as my highest. i got the charge 4 within the past couple weeks as a warranty replacement for a charge 3 with lines on the screen. obviously i should've accepted the free replacement with a 3 rather than a discounted "upgrade".

[Rimvydas]

I had my FB4 for one month, but now it is refunded. My problem was that it was impossible to update the FW, it stuck with the thirst one out of the box... no Spotify control, no Glonas and so on. But HR count worked quite well. It's hard to belive how FB can downgrade HR acuracy  with new FW updates... 

I placed order for Versa3, but after reading thirst customers' impressions canceled. The HR accuracy is downgraded...., Versa2 was better.

[MkSwmFly]

I agree the Charge 4 is a POOR tool for measuring heart rate. I find the Charge typically says my heart rate is 76-80 when the actual rate is 120-140. it's very disappointing...

[RBParker]

I am sorry to learn that Fitbit has not fixed this by now. The Charge 4 had some very nice features but is useless to me if it is does not report an accurate heart rate.

[SunsetRunner]

Hi LizzyFitBit,

Myself and my wife have the same problem as others described as well:  significant variation in heart rate between the Charge 4 and chest strap during workouts. The Charge 3 device that I had was much more accurate. 

Are there any new fixes that may help this? All of the items mentioned have not worked for either of us. 

Thank you! 

[nickcolgan]

I'm experiencing the same issue. I tracked a 3.1 mile run today using the Charge 4 as well as the Wahoo Tickr chest strap. The average heart rate of the run according to the chest strap was 172 bpm, while that recorded by the Charge 4 was 134 bpm. The rate over time of the two is posted below. Given the relatively stable pace of the run, the results charted by the Charge 4 seem wildly inaccurate, actually decreasing over the length of the run. It seems pretty clear to me that this is a bug and would be interested to know if this bug is being actively addressed by the development team or whether I should be seeking a refund and moving to another device.

Wahoo Tickr (chest strap monitor)

Fitbit Charge 4

[mstinagray]

I gave up! Just use my fitbit for low stress activities and sleep and my
Polar HR for the rest 😕