Heart rate monitor

[akrau]

My heart monitor is showing dangerously high reading.  It is scaring me and I worry if I should see a medical professional. My actual heart rate is 1/3 to 1/2 the fitbit reading.  I have adjusted my strap and that does not help. I have wore my fitbit for years and never had a problem.  Is the fitbit fried and does it need to be replaced?

[snc97]

This is happening for me too. It started when I was asleep on 4/9/20. 

[Alinou974]

Mine started on Friday too.

I did a factory reset (don't do it as it takes forever to reinstall the firmware). And i still have the issue.

I have emailed fitbit support they told me that a lot of users are experiencing that. They are looking into it but they can't provide an immediate fix. They think it is a problem with the algorithm. 

This is my second versa lite as the first one just died in January. I have bought the watch last July.

I have gave up on fitbit and already ordered a new watch from another brand. In less of a year, I had two big issues without counting sync. Issues.

[Allfit2020]

I have the same exact issue and now my versa won’t turn on at all, when I originally contacted support about the heart rate they told me they were working on it. Now the watch won’t even work at all. 

[akrau]

Fitbit is not offering any solutions. I have tried everything. I am strongly considering going to Garmin or Apple. At least they have been responsive in the past.

Sent from my iPhone
Alan Krause
11024 Arrow Point Drive NE
Bainbridge Island, WA 98110

[Allfit2020]

I bought a new watch on amazon, from another company. Will not use fitbit anymore 

[CC2020]

I've had a similar issue with my Versa. It was a replacement for an older Blaze model which of course died on me. The Versa was working fine, but shortly after the warranty was up the heart rate monitor stopped working. 

I figured there might be options for repairing this, and I really wanted to get my Versa working again.

Customer service has been terribly disappointing, and after two quite expensive smartwatches dying on me with no resolution offered by fitbit, I refuse to buy another one. It's unacceptable that the best solution they can offer is a minor discount on a brand new watch, when the one I have still works but just needs the heart rate monitor fixed. Looks like it'll be a Garmin or Apple Watch for me. 

[akrau]

We have had a very similar experience. My Versa was a replacement for my Blaze after it died. I have only had my Fitbit for 15 months and my heart rate suggests I am having a massive heart attack when my actual heart rate is only 48-52 when resting. I have spent countless hours on the phone and Fitbit has acknowledged my problem is shared by others but they do not yet have a solution. If all they are going to do is offer a slight discount on the next watch, I will move quickly away from the Fitbit product.
It appears their strategy may be to build a product that has a very short 1/2 life (just past the warranty) and then trap the customer into buying another device that will have the same 1/2 life. Fitbit needs to learn that is not the way to build customer loyalty. They are on the verge of losing a customer who is the head of a household who all wear their device. That is about to end. Thanks for sharing your story.

[Jon4141]

I just noticed that my Versa BPM monitor stopped working as well. I've done all the trouble shooting suggestions that I can find. No green light and no BPM reading after hours of trying. Called customer service and all they did for me was confirm I've done all trouble shooting suggestions, and that my warranty was up. They offered me a discount on Fitbit products, but why would I buy a product I know will break in two years. Will not be purchasing or recommending Fitbit. I will keep trying to fix and if I succeed I will update here. 

[fengine8]

Best of luck with Garmin. I used a Fitbit flex for 2-3 years back in 2012 and wasn't satisfied so I tried something else.  Went with a Garmin Vivoactive HR that I've had replaced under warranty 3x and gave up on them a few months ago.  I'm back with Fitbit by purchasing a Versa and am experiencing frustration with the HR not working on it.  I'm starting to wonder if it's just the price point of a $150 - $250 smart watch that makes this happen.  

[Jon4141]

Based off experience, probably.

Apples are expensive but they seem higher quality. My Versa was a gift two years ago, because my girlfriend wanted us both to have smartwatches. I had an android at the time and she has an iphone + apple watch, but now I also have an iphone. So instead of replacing I'm going to just save up for an Apple Watch. I've seen all over the forums people saying they have replaced their Fitbits a couple times, and for that price just get the better product once. Heres to hoping this is just some sort of firmware issue. 

[Sally1992]

Exact same for me too.. so annoying. Have you heard anything back from support? 

[fengine8]

Fitbit resolved my the HR reading issue in a way that completely exceeded my expectations.  The product was still under warranty so they offered to replace the device or to give a discount on a new device of my choice.  I chose the replacement and they sent me a Versa 2.  It's working great and I'm extremely pleased with the situation.  The Versa 2 arrive within 48 hours.  

[CC2020]

I haven't heard anything back since the last time I followed up with them. I asked the support person I was talking with if there was anything more I could to do to file a complaint, and they basically dismissed me and said that a record of our conversation would be kept.

The only thing they did to actually address my frustrations with the unimpressive options for my out of warranty device was to assure me that fitbit is paying attention to customers and always looking for ways to improve their customer experience.