Inconsistent Heart Rate Reading

[SheltieReltie]

I purchased an Inspire HR. I love its capabilities though I’m worried it’s falling short when tracking my heart rate. Often when my heart rate is elevated for a period of time, the Fitbit will lose the connection with my heart. For example, after half an hour of non stop cardio, there will be 3 resting heart rate periods recorded during that time (when there were no breaks or pauses). I’ve followed some advice and worn it higher on my forearm and tried different positions and checked for updates but haven’t found anything that gets a consistent reading. I’m worried I have a faulty product 😞

[YojanaFitbit]

Hi @SheltieReltie, welcome to the Fitbit Forums! Congratulations on your new Inspire HR. 

Thanks for reporting this to our team and for the steps that you've done to try to fix it. If you haven't try a restart on your Fitbit, I suggest you can try that for now; then keep an eye on it for the next days. When you start using your Fitbit, during the first hours it will be calibrating all your readings, but it should be able to give you a consistent heart rate reading as soon as it picks up your pulse. Let's give it a try to see if this helps.

Please keep me posted, I'll be around. 

[SheltieReltie]

I’m back. I tried your advice and restarted (again) but with no luck. My Inspire HR works great all the time except when I’m exercising. I’ve tried wearing it on different places on my wrist and on my other wrist and nothing. I want it to work SO BAD!! 😫😫 has anyone else had issues like this?  Still getting the random fluctuations and no heartbeat “ - -“ symbol. Should I exchange? Is there a more reliable version?

[Artandvison]

In order to get near my maximum heart rate to measure one and two-minute rebounds, I took some steep steps in a park. The first time up my Inspire read 127 at the top. I went down and back up again twice but the heart rate got lower instead of higher. it kept going down. When I got home and looked at the Exercise app track, it showed a maximum of 145. I tried biking up a steep hill and had the same problem. Real-time readings seem to go all over the place while later tracking seems correct.  

[YojanaFitbit]

Hi @SheltieReltie thanks a million for confirming all the steps that you've tried to help your Fitbit Inspire HR. @Artandvison Thanks for sharing your input, this is helpful information.

You did a great job, don't worry, I'll be glad to check with you a couple of steps that might help. Remember that heart rate can be affected by any number of factors at a given moment, including movement, temperature, humidity, stress level, physical body position, caffeine intake, and medication use. 

I'd like to know what type of exercise or the position of the device may be the cause. See the correct position on your wrist when exercising here. 

If that doesn't help. Please try to clear the data of your Fitbit:

1. On Inspire HR, open the Settings app > Clear User Data.
2. When prompted, press the screen for 3 seconds, then release. When Inspire
HR vibrates and you see the clock screen, your data is erased.

Let me know how it goes.

[Artandvison]

There were a lot of other anomalies so I exchanged this tracker for a new one and will see what happens.

[OhitsJessii]

Let me know if the new one seems to work! I'm having the same problem and debating on whether or not i should replace 😕

[Alrode]

I've had the same problem with mine. I do T25 and Insanity workouts and even during some of the rest periods the HR registers between 90 to 120. Just yesterday I used my phone's stopwatch and checked my HR for 30 seconds and had a HR of 154 BPM and the Fitbit was saying 108 BPM. Not even close. Maybe ± 15 BPM, but off by 46 BPM?? I'm sorry that is not in any sense a heart rate monitor. My Samsung S7 does far better at heart rate monitoring. I've moved it up and down the wrist including turning to the inside of the wrist. The second issue is when it occasionally does get a reading above 145 BPM, which is usually during the warm up, it doesn't record it on the dashboard??? I spoke with several other people at the gym who had Fitbits and they have pretty much abandoned theirs.

[SunsetRunner]

Hi. I have been having the same thing. Mine goes from walking on flat at 110-115, I go up a steep incline, feel my heart rate going much faster, look at it and it is either dropping or has no current heart rate. It will eventually catch up most times but it does happen almost every time I exercise with it. I also find it fluctuates to a high rate easily then drops to a more normal rate a moment or so later. 🤷🏻‍:female_sign:

[matkinson]

I am having the same issue. While on the stationary bike took my heart rate manually and it was 160, Fitbit said 105. Looked back at what the app had logged during during this time and it was the same, 105. I got home and put on my wife's charge Fitbit and manually took my pulse. The charge was dead on and the inspire was way low. Also, had my Fitbit in my pocket this morning and the app logged a HR for several hours that I wasn't wearing it. 

[Deebeern]

I hear you! many anomalies!

[JenBmomx4]

I got my Inspire HR back in September. The heart rate monitor seemed lower than manual, but still consistently clocked an elevated rate during cardio. Now it’s really inconsistent and will dip down even when I’ve been working harder, breathing heavier and feel my heart beating faster. This has been an issue for a month or so. 

[meaghanPR]

Hi SheltieReltie,

Has Fitbit been able to assist you with this at all? Reading the forum posts, it seems everyone is dealing with this. When I'm doing my cardio on a cross trainer, I know I stay between 170-180 and my 6 year old charge used to record my HR almost perfectly. This new Inspire HR is horrific with HR. *IF* it can find my HR at all during my workouts, it's recording 90-105 when I'm up around 170. That's ridiculous! 

[meaghanPR]

Hi Yojana, 

I've tried ALL of the suggestions regarding obtaining accurate HR readings from my Inspire HR and honestly, I'm ready to throw in the towel. And reading the forum posts, it seems everyone is dealing with this. When I'm doing my cardio on a cross trainer, I know I stay between 170-180 and my 6 year old charge used to record my HR almost perfectly. This new Inspire HR is horrific with HR. *IF* it can find my HR at all during my workouts, it's recording 90-105 when I'm up around 170. That's ridiculous! 

There's clearly a large community dealing with the same issue - if HR is the feature I really want, should I return this?

[Deebeern]

I finally got mine to work. I can't even remember exactly what did it, but part of the problem is there is the manual that comes with the Fitbit, there's an app to go with the Fitbit, and then there's fitbit.com, all of which have different info. And it doesn't seem like you can adjust your preferences in one spot. You actually have to go to Fitbit. Com I believe to adjust a setting for pulse. Why won't the app or the watch let me do that? See if the website settings works for you.

[Leowall]

My fitbit inspire consistently reads low when I know my heart is about to explode and often drops out in the middle of my boot camp workouts. I've tried different positions, and three different band types to try to keep it where it is supposed to be to keep reading. This is the first fitbit I've had with HR so I don't have anything to compare it to, but it's consistently inconsistent. I've had it for a while now, so I guess I can't return but it's disappointing as I don't like the size of any of the other trackers.