Versa 2 Heart Rate stopped working

[MaxA.]

My Versa 2 Heart rate stopped working after the last updates.

Ive tried everything to get it working again but it just seems to be the update messing things up for it.

[Pondlily]

Did you try to see if they would replace it?

[JuanFitbit]

@Pondlily Nice to have you around. 

@MaxA. A warm welcome to the Community! Thank you for your efforts. 

Could you please describe, what you already tried, so I don't ask you to perform that again, if not needed?

Do the green LEDs blink?

Do you see the heart rate readings on the Fitbit app but not on the Versa 2?

Did you tried restarting the Versa 2 by holding the button pressed for 8 seconds, until the Fitbit logo appeared?

[MaxA.]

I have tried factory resetting my watch, turning it off and on, turning the heart rate monitor off on the watch then syncing manually through the app turning the watch off then back on and turning HR monitor on and syncing manually through app, and etc. nothing has worked. Also my Fitbit is out of the warranty period so can’t replace without having to buy another one. Thing is I’ve had my Versa 2 since Christmas 2019 and this thing worked well for a month and then a software update came out and it totally messed up the heart rate monitor. Occasionally it started working like 4 more times that year but after that it never worked again.

[AlbertPark]

Exactly the same thing happened with my Versa 2 this week, after about three years of working pretty flawlessly (purchased in January 2020). My previous Fitbit Surge worked for over four years before I replaced with the Versa 2 due to poor battery life, and I've been pretty happy with Fitbit until now. (One I bought for my wife gave up, but I forgave them for that as it was a Charge.)

Looking back at the synced data, this issue with the Heart Rate seems to have started two days ago. The lights on the back are no longer flashing, and the watch and app display shows no heart rate. I tried several soft restarts, and also turning on and off the Heart Rate setting several times. Finally I tried a factory reset (which lost today's data, grrr) and it still isn't working.

Could this be a common, and temporary, problem due to a recent firmware update? I do I need to start thinking about a replacement after only a little after 3 years? Perhaps it's time to try a Galaxy Watch!!

[MaxA.]

I do believe it’s probably caused by the firmware update as I have been looking at many different forums about this. A pretty common thing I’ve read   Is that it’s many peoples stopped working after a firmware update and also that the common solutions to fix the HR monitor only work for a few days at most. Also probably gonna switch though to apple. It sucks because I’ve always had higher for this watch and waited a long time to see if the firmware would get patched.

[JuanFitbit]

@AlbertPark , Thank you for your message. Support informed me that you already contacted them. You should have received a message from them . 

@MaxA. , Thank you for your further info and efforts. 

In that case please give our team a call or chat with them for further assistance. 

They'll be more than happy to verify your case. 

Here you'll find our contact options. 

[JasonAce77]

Yeah, mine stopped working this week as well. I’ve tried manually turning heart rate off then syncing. Turning it back on and syncing, then restarting watch. It will function normal for a few hours then stop working again.

[AlbertPark]

Thanks. Yes, as I mentioned in my reply in one of the numerous other threads on this same issue, I did contact support via chat but their incantations (two factory resets) did not work for me. I still think it's more than a coincidence that so many seem to be having the same issue at the same time, but the support person told me that it must be a hardware failure with the sensor. I was then contacted and offered a 35% discount on a new fitbit. I won't be taking that up though as I've lost faith in fitbit's ongoing quality, so I'll be buying elsewhere. That not just from my own experience but experience of others.

My watch was just over three years, but was top-end at the time and cost A$350. For that you'd expect a better lifetime, especially as it's been looked after pretty carefully with no rough treatment. These days mid-level phones last much longer than five years, and it's usually the battery that fails, but it's not worth my time arguing that with fitbit, and quoting Australian Consumer Law expectations when the best I'd get is a replacement fitbit watch with a similar design life!

I'd be sorry to lost my 8 years data, but that's life...

[Vivek2021]

I have been having the same issue since the last few days. After a hard reset or reboot it works fine for an hour or so then dies. Tried everything from the posts. 

If the answer is Buy a new one then fitbit just lost one customer now and 3 other members of my family soon. 

[Leopard767]

Exactly the same issue at the same time here. Tried the switching heart rate on and off and syncing etc and no job. Still not working after a factory reset. No green light on the back. Is greyed out on the device, and no data on the app.  Issue only started in last 2/3 days. Very frustrating.

[JuanFitbit]

Hi everyone. Thank you for your messages. 

If you all tried the recommended steps above, please give our team a call or chat with them for further assistance. 

Here you'll find our contact options. 

[Vivek2021]

Just got off chatting with tech support, final answer is to buy new device 😞

Bye bye fitbit