Heart rate too low

[Jon123456]

I was on the treadmill today where the Life Fitness machine said my heart rate was 135. My Versa said 105. When the Life Fitness machine said 131, Versa said 99bpm. I mean come on! I was breathing reasonably heavily, had a sweat on, but is my heart rate really 99bpm? I don't think so.

I tried tightening the strap and moving it up and down my wrist but no change.

Consequently, since the heart rate affects estimated fitness levels, calorie count, estimate of amount of food you can eat and so on, I have lost faith in the majority of what it is supposed to measure.

Anyone else experiencing a low heart rate with the Versa?

Jon

[MarciM]

Hi @Jon123456 May I ask how your heart rate is being measured on your treadmill (for example hand held or chest strap)? Chest straps are going to be the most accurate, but I have found my Ionic to generally be in the same ball park. 

[Jon123456]

Hand held. I do not trust the fitbit because 99bpm when breathing harder than normal and sweating...

[Jon123456]

I tightened the band and pressed the exercise button to say I was on the treadmill. I think this helped a little bit, although still a little lower than the treadmill handheld measurement.

[gymratqueen]

Just purchased Versa yesterday with firmware update already installed but heart rate low not working way off when compared to polar chest strap. Tthought this was fixed with firmware update?  Returned Fitbit Charge HR whne it came out for the same reason very disappointed.

[mcrmama]

I have found mine really close to my chest strap heart rate monitor matching it as it goes up and down when I have done comparisons.  Much better than my previous fitbits.  

[GoodGuy5000HD]

Same problem.

Elliptical HR reads 140 (confirmed by manual measurement), Versa shows 95, and refuses to show above 99 for the 40 minutes I'm actually above 130.

Same problem with previous Charge HR.

My BMI is toward the low end of normal, but I suppose I just have an incompatible wrist.

Disappointed. Will probably return this one too.

[GoodGuy5000HD]

So somewhat by accident, I think I found the fix for my device: tell the Fitbit that you're exercising by pushing whatever buttons are necessary. As soon as I tell it that I'm on the elliptical machine, it shows my heart rate at 130--160, close enough to the other measurements for me.

I wish Fitbit was a bit more clear that the heart rate reading often doesn't register higher during exercise if it's not explicitly set to exercise mode.

However, my wife's charge HR will register an elliptical session (with higher heart rates) without the need to press any buttons. Also, when I work in the yard outside, it also assumes some activity (usually assigning outdoor bike) even though I don't indicate an exercise.

Apple just recently announced automatic exercise detection for their watch, so perhaps it's a common issue with these types of wrist HR detectors.

Anyway, if your Fitbit is not showing the higher heart rates, try turning on its exercise mode. Perhaps a future firmware fix will not require this.

[Unicornpff]

My heart rate reading has been off since the latest firmware update.

[TonyTheIcePick]

My heart rate is also low since the last firmware update.  When i first got the device, it seemed to be good.  I do high intense cardio (p90x3, insanity, t25 gamma, 22min hard corps) mostly, and while working out, it reads between 100 and 115.  when i am done and cooling down, it goes up to ~140.  Very frustrating because i just want to know my real calorie burn.  I've tried tight, loose, in between......it's always the same result.  Before the firmware update i would get some stupid high readings (like 190BPM) for short periods of time, but the average seemed pretty good in the end.  Now, it just sucks and it has turned into a distraction because i am constantly looking at the watch to see if it is reading my heart rate correctly. 

[Dan19-19]

When I first used the Fitbit versa lite, the heart rate was very good. However, since the most recent firmware update, it has read low. While the elliptical shows 140-150, the Fitbit is only recording 120-130.

[Mike2304]

I have the exact same problem! Mine is the Inspire 2. . Seems it’s always 30 or 40 bpm lower on the Fitbit than what the equipment reads. Tried restarting it several times, but still the same thing.