Simplified sleep details 3 nights in a row

[Sarrahhhlou]

I’ve tried fully charging my Fitbit, making sure it’s in the proper spot on wrist, right enough, clean, and I keep getting the simplified sleep schedule! I have this weird obsession with checking my sleep so I’m getting real bummed with the never ending boring version. Anyone else have this problem or have a solution??

[chrisdoc53]

my new charge 2 did the deep sleep the first night and has only done the lesser version the next three nights despite charginging position etc.

[TrophyWidow]

Buckle up, girl. There are a lot of us with the same problem, if you wanna chime in on the longer thread:

https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Charge-2/Charge-2-not-tracking-sleep-stages/td-p/2266403

I haven’t gotten a detailed sleep graph since the 31st of May, with no fix in sight...I can totally understand your frustration.

[gdbtroutfit]

Same issue.  App says it isn't getting pulse rate data, but have checked it several times when waking up at night, and pulse data is being recorded. 

[mjperry51]

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@gdbtroutfit wrote:

Same issue.  App says it isn't getting pulse rate data, but have checked it several times when waking up at night, and pulse data is being recorded. 

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The "can't get consistent heart rate" error message is disingenuous at best.

Sleep Stages is calculated using HRV, not raw BPM. HRV is Heart Rate Variability -- it's a measurement of changes between Heart Beats. The raw heart rate data you see captured all night is not the HRV data. . .

[gdbtroutfit]

Ok great. Now let's review the "official" fitbit recommendations for
resolving this issue:


- If you slept in a position that prevented your device from getting a
consistent heart-rate reading or wore it too loosely. For best results,
wear your device higher on your wrist (about 2-3 finger widths above your
wrist bone). The band should feel secure but not too tight.

Well, it seems to me that these are the same steps one would take if one
were not getting regular old BPM measurements - yes? So if wrist position,
or wrist too dirty/sweaty or wrist not dirty/sweaty enough were the issue
wouldn't a clue to that be that one was not getting regular old BPM
measurements? And if not, please enlighten us on how one would troubleshot
not getting HRV data?

I have been restricted in sleep position due to injury for many weeks.
This issue has occurred in the past 3 (consecutive) days. I think I can
rule out sleep position.


- If you used the *Begin Sleep Now* option in the Fitbit app (instead of
simply wearing your device to bed).

Nope


- If you slept for less than 3 hours.

Nope.

- If your device’s battery is critically low.

Nope.

And from other community input on the subject:


- Reboot the Device


Done X3

While I appreciate being schooled on the technical intricacies of the
device, I have seen past references to fitbit "outages" regarding detailed
sleep data. Might that be a good place to look?

[gdbtroutfit]

To clarify, response is intended for fitbit moderator (hopefully) not mjperry51.  Sorry if that was not clear.

[mjperry51]

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@gdbtroutfit wrote:

To clarify, response is intended for fitbit moderator (hopefully) not mjperry51.  Sorry if that was not clear.

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I was a little concerned 

[chrisdoc53]

It worked last night either because it was reset or because I wore it on the non dominant arm



Sent from my Sprint Samsung Galaxy S8+.

[gdbtroutfit]

Again, sorry.  But here is another question for the fitbit folks (or anyone else who might know the answer).  Is HRV a completely separate measurement or is it derived from BPM using some sort of algorithm?  If it is the latter, and BPM is in fact being collected, then it seems the issue is not device-related but some server-side analysis is not happening(?).   Did some searching on this question but didn't find a good answer.

[mjperry51]

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@gdbtroutfit wrote:

Again, sorry.  But here is another question for the fitbit folks (or anyone else who might know the answer).  Is HRV a completely separate measurement or is it derived from BPM using some sort of algorithm?  If it is the latter, and BPM is in fact being collected, then it seems the issue is not device-related but some server-side analysis is not happening(?).   Did some searching on this question but didn't find a good answer.

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Simply put, HRV is the variation in Heat Rate that occurs naturally.Your heart doean't beat at a precise rate;the rate can vary from beat to beat.

Here's a good article on HRV -- What Is Heart Rate Variability And What You Can Learn From It

[gdbtroutfit]

Thanks.  Very informative.  The article seems to confirm that HRV is calculated from other measurements rather than directly measured.  I suspect this is the case with fitbit, but cannot find anything definitive from fitbit on that question.  Meanwhile, I received my 4th consecutive night of only basic sleep information while BPM data collection was completely "normal".  It would really be great if fitbit would actually respond to these questions as their official guidance is not helpful.

[mjperry51]

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@gdbtroutfit wrote:

 It would really be great if fitbit would actually respond to these questions as their official guidance is not helpful.

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See my post here

[gdbtroutfit]

Thanks for sharing this.  I just got off the phone with Tech Support where I was prompted to do a complete reinstall of software on the device.  By asking several questions and interpreting the answers, I'm now pretty sure that the calculations are done server-side using an algorithm and based on Heart Rate data collected by the device (the support agent did confirm that there is a server process involved).  I strongly suspect that the weak link may be somewhere in that process.  Coming from a long IT background, this makes the most sense to me.  I understand that fitbit is in a competitive market and may not want to disclose much about this process, but as a minimum, they should be able to provide customers with direct information about the reliability of that process and whether it is currently "up" or "down" and if "down" when it is expected to be restored.

[mjperry51]

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@gdbtroutfit wrote:

Thanks for sharing this.  I just got off the phone with Tech Support where I was prompted to do a complete reinstall of software on the device.  By asking several questions and interpreting the answers, I'm now pretty sure that the calculations are done server-side using an algorithm and based on Heart Rate data collected by the device (the support agent did confirm that there is a server process involved).  I strongly suspect that the weak link may be somewhere in that process.  Coming from a long IT background, this makes the most sense to me.  I understand that fitbit is in a competitive market and may not want to disclose much about this process, but as a minimum, they should be able to provide customers with direct information about the reliability of that process and whether it is currently "up" or "down" and if "down" when it is expected to be restored.

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It's been my view Fitbit has hardware and firmware/software issues.

The hardware works -- sporadically. I believe it doesn't have a wide enough sensor range to accommodate the breadth of physiological situations needed to capture the necessary granular level of data across a widely varying user base. There is either an issue with manufacturing tolerances or quality control. App updates have exacerbated the problems for some users -- not enough beta / pre-release testing.

There are so many places for problems it's hard to see where to start. . . they're clearly in over their head. . .

[chrisdoc53]

Mine worked one night but not the next very unhappy my fitbit records heart rate during the day just fine so it is some other problem as you say



Sent from my Sprint Samsung Galaxy S8+.

[HeydyF]

Hello guys! Thanks for bringing these inconveniences to my attention! Well, I can see that most of you already verified some of the most common factors that could affect your sleep stages. Now, for those who hasn't, I will post them below: 

• If you slept in a position that prevented your device from getting a consistent heart-rate reading or wore it too loosely. For best results, wear your device higher on your wrist (about 2-3 finger widths above your wrist bone). The band should feel secure but not too tight.
• If you used the Begin Sleep Now option in the Fitbit app (instead of simply wearing your device to bed). For more information on automatic sleep tracking, see How do I track my sleep?
• If you slept for less than 3 hours.
• If your device’s battery is critically low.
• You can also try to restart your Charge 2

If you have carefully review them, but the issue with the sleep stages persists, I'd like you to tell me if you are getting some type of message on the Fitbit app when checking out your sleep details. If you could post a screenshot, it'll be even better. 

Let me know how it goes guys! 

[gdbtroutfit]

The only error message is: "Your tracker couldn't get a consistent heart rate reading while you slept".  However, as has been pointed out numerous times, the device is collecting normal heart rate data throughout the night which rules out device and sleep positioning.  I have an active case with Fitbit tech support.  They are now telling me that they think it is related to my (new) phone, which is rather hard for me to believe since sleep stages were available on that same phone from March 8 until June 12, 2018.  But, to eliminate that possibility, I am going to use an older phone to sync tomorrow AM. 

Again, my very strong suspicion is that this is some sort of algorithm issue, likely on the server side. 

[HeydyF]

Thanks so much for your response @gdbtroutfit! If that is the response that you are getting, it is because Fitbit estimates your sleep stages using a combination of your movement and heart-rate patterns. While you’re sleeping, your device tracks the beat-to-beat changes in your heart rate, known as heart rate variability (HRV), which fluctuate as you transition between light sleep, deep sleep, and REM sleep stages. If we don’t have enough information on the backend to calculate this, we’ll show you your old sleep pattern which doesn’t require heart rate. It appears as though we didn’t have enough information, and as a result showed your old sleep pattern. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. You may want to check the fit of your tracker to make sure we get a good heart rate signal. 

But yes, try to sync with your other phone and I want to know how it goes so keep me posted! 

Have a nice day! 

[gdbtroutfit]

Thanks you for your reply, however, as I have repeated numerous times, there is not an issue with heart rate data being recorded. It has been recorded every night with no gaps.  This can easily be verified by Fitbit by simply checking the data from my device. The loss of sleep stage data occurred suddenly on June 12, and has continued since then.  Using a different phone made no difference.  With all due respect, Fitbit support on this issue is a bit like groundhog day.  Simply repeating the same "troubleshooting tips" over and over again is not going to resolve this issue.