Heart rate problem.... does anyone have a solution yet?

[SarahYelland]

I am having the same problem with heart rate as many others.I think it relates to level of battery charge.... once it is below approx 70% the HR is wildly inaccurate, and hence all other relevant stats. For example one day it calculated I had burnt 4500 calories!!!!. Unfortunately Fitbit are very unforthcoming, and cannot offer any solutions except to tell me repeatedly to “keep enjoying my Fitbit”. I have jumped through every hoop, reset, reboot, trial and tribulation...Even completed a battery assessment by fully charging and then switching off all functions. Battery lasted 3 and a bit days.... they confirmed that the battery was lasting below the expected 4 days, but nevertheless said this was fine and hope I carried on enjoying my essentially non functional Fitbit. It is currently just a quite expensive time piece! 😤 I would be grateful if anyone has any solutions. It was purchased in August, so it should be under warranty but Fitbit do not appear to want to do anything except tell me they know about the problem and are “ working on it”. I am now at least 6 weeks in with no solution.  ...? Trading standards, consumer rights, any other ideas?

[Rich_Laue]

Have you contacted Fitbit and told them what you told your fellow Fitbit users? 

[lenny4d]

@SarahYelland

>>I think it relates to level of battery charge.... once it is below approx 70% the HR is wildly inaccurate, and hence all other relevant stats. For example one day it calculated I had burnt 4500 calories!!!!.

Usually the HR gets less than actual, and hence calories are also less than actual. But maybe you have more than actual as 4500kcal/day is quite a bit!! Would you also say it is wildly inaccurate at low HRs, like <100bmp? Usually it isn't...

>> Battery lasted 3 and a bit days.... they confirmed that the battery was lasting below the expected 4 days, but nevertheless said this was fine

Spec says 3.5days, no? That's my experience, from full to dead. Depends on what apps you run, how much you look at your watch, how often you sync/use live-data, and especially if you use bluetooth to listen to music (drains the battery fast)/use connected gps. So 3 and a bit sounds completely normal to me.

>> I would be grateful if anyone has any solutions.

To the HR problem, or more? HR, it depends on what you want. If you want it work properly at 180bpm without missing a beat... I don't think it will fly. But it helps to start easy and check where it works and where it doesn't. My best experiences are on the treadmill because it has a steady motion. I start very slow, maybe I have 70-80bpm, and check it is correct. Then I increase pace, until it is steady 100bpm and check again, then I up to 120bpm and check again. If it is not accurate enough I might play with tightness of band or position above wrist. On the treadmill I am quite accurate up to 140-150bpm. I don't get higher anyway. On the elliptical I have less success, obviously ones arms move a lot more, and I am also getting more sweaty. Above 120bpm I start to get deviations. I get both too low HR (most of the time) and occasional ridiculous high values, way above my max HR. For now I sort of live with it.
I will make sure to check the elliptical with full battery, good suggestion.

[SarahYelland]

Thanks for the reply.... @lenny4d

HRs are running far too high, suggesting I am running at 120-150bpm at rest, and in excess of 200bpm during exercise....I am definitely not- I have checked. Other times it doesn’t record HR at all.

3 days battery life is with literally everything switched off.... no HR monitor, no notifications, not recording any exercise, only manual activation of screen- which was activated not more that 6 times and syncing device about 2-3 times in a day. However I live with the battery issue, but would love to have a HR that is roughly accurate without having to maintain battery above 70%, this would require me charging it twice/day.

[SarahYelland]

Yes @Rich_Laue, I have multiple emails to Fitbit....but with no adequate response from them I’m reaching out to the community.

[Rich_Laue]

Fitbit support does not reach out to the community, and the Fitbit moderators do not see every thread or post. The community boards are designed to gain help or info from your fellow Fitbit users. Fitbit support generally gets back to the Fitbit user that contacts them. There is also up to 4 ways to contact Fitbit, 2 are in real time,  telephone and direct messaging. These options will only be shown when customer support is open. 4am to 8pm PT

In general a lithium battery dies not like being charged above 80% or let fall below 30%.

[UtianG]

I'm experiencing the exact same issue with my brand new Versa on the latest firmware (32.32.12.19). 

Reached out to the Twitter support account and this was their response:

"Thanks for responding back to us. We’re aware of this issue, but may not be able to provide a fix in the near future. We'll continue to monitor the situation and keep our team informed of its impact. We're sorry for the trouble, and understand this isn't the resolution you're hoping for. Let us know if there's anything else we can do to assist you."

"We understand that the heart rate feature is important for you. Rest assured that we're looking into this matter in order to resolve it the soonest possible time. About the refund if it still within the return window of the retail store where you purchased it from, you can coordinate with them about their return policy. For you additional questions, we're just here."

Looks like there's no fix coming our way anytime soon. 

I will have to return mine and use my trusted Charge 2 until this issue is resolved (hopefully in our lifetime). 

It's such a shame that a beautiful device that's supposed to rival the Apple watch to have such a crucial flaw and no priority given to have this issue resolved as a matter of urgency.