Heart rate inaccurate reports

[SunsetRunner]

So I've had my versa for about a week and have had 5 workouts with it. First I'll start that it is showing a much different recording then my charge 2 did. It is a difference of about 30 bpm depending on what I'm doing. And the resting HR is 67 when charge 2 was 60. Also when I'm doing a workout it won't show the right heart rate unless I start an exercise recording. I was doing cardio for 10 min and it shows 120bpm which is crazy low, I turn on the record exercise and it shoots up to 160bpm. This can't be an intended feature...? Is my versa a lemon?

[SunsetRunner]

Bump

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[fbnkevin]

Similar issue here.  During a 45 minute run the Versa showed my HR as 170-192 BPM where as the same run on my Charge 2 would have given me 135-165.  

I'm hiohop  a patch is forthcoming.  

[Marussia]

I have the same issue. I had the Charge 2 and Charge 1. My resting heart rate went from 63 to 74 in less than a week of me wearing the Versa. My overall score went down from Good range to Poor. I've had the Charge 2 for over a year and have had no issues with it- in fact, based on my fitness level my score continued improving until last week, when I got the Versa. My heart rate while  exercising has also gone up significantly into the 190's range- which was NEVER the case with the Charge 2.  What gives, Fitbit?

Update: I wore my Charge HR 2 to bed overnight and my rest HR went down two points while with the Versa it stayed the same for a week. I'm returning the Versa. 

[VeronicaG]

My boyfriend just got the versa and it says his resting heart rate is 115bpm..... Extremely inaccurate. Very disappointed.

[ImTurningViolet]

Mine reads my heart rate too high when the band is tight. Try loosening the band? 

[SunsetRunner]

Maybe we can get a response from Fitbit while we're still in the return/exchange period otherwise might just return it. No point in having it if it's not going to report properly.

Of course I've tried multiple ways of wearing the band, right left tight loose. Also I've noticed it records relatively "well" until sweat is present, which is weird since you can apparently swim with the versa.

[air1dpt]

I've been doing high intensity interval training for the past 5 years and have always used a polar FT7 with a chest strap for heart rate monitoring. Recently I purchased the special edition Fitbit Versa and have been wearing it for the last week alongside my polar to gauge the HR accuracy. I am using the polar as a benchmark because i know it well and it has worked flawless for the last 5 years and it uses a chest strap that monitors the tiny electrical impulses that signal the heart to contract.

The Versa does a poor job of measuring HR increases when doing short interval bursts. As an example, when I start doing burpees, my HR rate will increase to 170 after 3 or 4 in a row. The Versa will only track to about 130bpm. After I stop and my HR returns to around 130, the Versa will eventually "catch up" after about a minute and generally match the Polar HR BPM. Because the Versa cannot keep up with the fast changes in HR, it only records about 60% of my calorie burn in a 55 minute workout.  I held off buying a smart watch until I saw the Versa and figured that by now, Fitbit would be good at detecting HR on the wrist. My experience so far has been disappointing.  So far I have only used the "Workout" mode. I will try a few others to see if tracking is any better. 

[SunsetRunner]

That actually makes a lot of sense. When I'm doing weights and it's pretty average stuff it records well, but anytime I'm pushing max on squats or whatever, where my hr would normally be high it doesn't even change from the regular 120-130. And my cardio usually consists of a 3 stage sprints slow 2 min medium 2 min fast 1 min repeat 7 times. So those ups and downs aren't being caught I guess. That actually perfectly fits my issue, thanks for the reply air1dpt

[nemomh]

Same here! HR tracking seemed to work while LISS walking; however, did weight training yesterday, and HIIT today - and especially while doing the HIIT training, my HR would state around 120-130bpm nearly ALL the time?? Sorry, but with 11 burpees in 30 secs, HR should be much higher? Have you tried other workout modes in the meantime? Has it been any better? Otherwise, I am really thinking about returning my Versa, as HR tracking during training is the most important feature for me 😞 Many thanks in advance!!

[air1dpt]

I tried several other workout profiles and none were any better. If
anything they were worse. I tried moving the watch higher up on my wrist
but that did not help either. Customer service had me reset the hr monitor,
that did not help. I sent the watch back yesterday and will try something
else. I believe that wrist hr monitoring can be accurate but I don't think
this device has been properly tuned for HITT workouts. Unless you are very
familiar with your hr during workouts, you may never realize the calories
that you are losing due to innacurate hr monitoring.

[SunsetRunner]

I exchanged mine for a new one to see if it was just mine being inaccurate, but I'm not optimistic. If it's the same I will be returning unfortunately.

[nemomh]

Great you let me know, thanks a lot! Could you please kindly give a short update on this? Thanks in advance! And do you happen to know where I can adapt the "Interval Exercise"? It's default 30:10 (Move:Rest), but I would like to change that - and cannot find?? 

[nemomh]

So many thanks air1dpt for coming back to me on this one! This is such a pity, as I had been looking forward to using the Versa - but if HR measuring is not that accurate, then it's not worth it for me 😞 Btw, I had used the "Interval" training mode - but did not even find a way to adapt interval times.. Thanks again!

[Farettm]

I’m sitting and my resting was 119 until I read to loosen band which I just did. Weird. I’m always around 70. 

Now its 81 within one minute. Hmmm. 

[Stunuts]

Was there an update on this.   Heart rate reads 63 on a charge 2 but 98 on a versa ....  Something doesnt seem right with the versa

[Marussia]

It's definitely inaccurate. I returned d mine. 

[air1dpt]

I returned mine 8 days ago. Still waiting for the refund payment to come
back on my Visa..

[nemomh]

I returned my Versa 😞 Heart rate and step tracking was too inaccurate for me, sometimes way off. Must admit that I switched to Apple Watch series 3 - love it or hate it, but for me, heart rate tracking is much better, even with HIIT workouts.

[Dixiex2]

Same experience here. Was asked the other day by stranger if I liked the Versa.

The answer was no its not worth $200 bucks!