Versa 3 Heart Rate Inaccurately Low - Only Works When App is Open

[aneeky]

Hello everyone,

This is my first Fitbit Community post, and I know this topic has been discussed before but I have struggled to find a solutions. I purchased the Versa 3 in January 2022, and have noticed that the heart rate reading is inaccurate when exercising. 

For reference, my resting heart rate is 60-65bpm. When I start a workout, my heart rate is usually around 90bpm, and the minute I'm warmed up is 120bmp and above. When I'm the middle of a workout, it easily hits 140bmp or 150bmp if I'm doing cardio. 

However, sometimes I will look at my Fitbit and it will read 80bmp or sometimes lower. I can be at a point of dripping sweat, gasping for air, pulse thundering, but my heart rate is low. 

At first, I thought this was just because my heart was getting stronger. But realise such a jump in less than three months just wouldn't make sense. I'm progressing but not superhuman. Similarly, when I open the Fitbit app, the heart rate will quickly climb from 80bmp to the 140+bmp I'm used to seeing. Then when I look at my watch again it changes to reflect the numbers showing in the app. 

It's very frustrating because I don't want to have to keep unlocking my phone to open the app when I'm in the gym. I have to check my watch between every movement/machine at the gym, which defeats the purpose of the tracker anyway. 

At the moment, it seems like the only way to get an accurate heart rate reading is to keep the Fitbit app open or swiping through the options on the watch to get it to "wake up" and monitor properly. 

Does anyone else have this issue? Everything else about the watch is perfect, but the reason I bought it was to calculate my calories but if my heart rate isn't measuring correctly then neither are the calories I'm burning during my 1 hour+ workouts. 

[James291]

Hello and welcome to the community.

Are you starting the exercise app on your watch before your workout? If the watch is aware you are exercising then it might be more responsive to heart rate changes. Swipe from clock face and select Exercise, then choose your exercise mode. There are modes for Workout, Circuit and others that might suit you. You might want to leave it in one mode throughout to avoid stopping and starting for each item you do. Remember to end the exersise when you have finished by swiping up and selecting End.

What would be interesting to know is when you think the watch finally has your correct heart rate, does it stay correct for the rest of the workout, or do you have to keep opening the app?

I have noticed something similar myself. When I use my exercise bike I don't start the exercise app on the watch, otherwise I would get a duplicate workout when the bike exports its version of the workout into my account. At the start of my ride my watch is often slow to notice the heart rate increase compared to the bike's own heart rate reading taken from a separate chest strap or optical sensor. If I wake the watch a few times by turning my wrist it does catch up after a few minutes and stay reasonably correct. I've not tried opening the app though. Perhaps the app sync causes the watch to wake up as well?

If you don't find a solution then you can try chatting with support directly on the main website. Look for Help then Let's Talk.

Heart rate accuracy with the Versa 3 is a common complaint in this forum. In fact there is a long running post near the top of the board as I write. Most of the complaints are about low HR readings. I get the opposite problem with excessively high readings when running. FitBit will ask you to make sure you are wearing the watch correctly and point you the FAQ page https://help.fitbit.com/articles/en_US/Help_article/1565.htm. This is useful advice, but I find that it does not help. It's all very disappointing.

[aneeky]

Hello,

Yes, I start the exercise app before my workout. The auto-detection doesn't seem to work anyway, since having this Versa 3 I have only been notified once of an auto-detection when using an elliptical machine, so learned not to rely on this feature. Up until now, I have been switching modes based on what exercise I'm doing. For example, if I use the treadmill machine for 20 minutes, I start the exercise on the watch, begin working out, and end the exercise when I'm done. 

With regard to maintaining the correct reading, this is hit and miss. Some days, it will show what seems to be the correct heart rate. As an example, if I do a weights workout for 35 minutes, the most I see fluctuation is between 130bmp and 150bmp, which seems to be correct since I'm constantly moving. But there are times where it will report 140+bmp, and then after a set I check the watch to see it's back to around 90bmp. Then, when I open the app it suddenly shoots up and then tells me I'm in the fat burning or cardio zones. Surely, my heart rate won't change from 90bmp to 145bmp in seconds when I am already exercising? 

I definitely think the app sync wakes up the watch, as does turning it on your wrist of swiping through heart rate/time/GPS options. But I shouldn't have to do either to get an accurate reading. 

I have seen similar posts, it's a shame there's no solution yet. I'm definitely wearing my watch correctly and it's tight enough. I have tried a manual shut down, un-pairing and re-pairing, and a factory reset to no avail. The entire reason I bought a Fitbit was to monitor calories for health and weight loss, but an inaccurate reading for such an expensive device was not expected.

Oh well!

[James291]

It sounds like you are doing everything correctly. You could contact support about the problem. They might offer to replace it and it will also put more focus on the issue.

After that it might be time to ask around the gym for other recommendations and return this one...

[MrsMidg]

Hello,

I have the same problem with mine. I think it's a issue with the watch as I've searched the forums before and there seems to be alot of users with the same issue. I contacted support and they were pretty rubbish about it sent me help guides on how to reset, clean my watch etc even when I told them I had already tried this. They seem to be aware of the problem but haven't fixed it yet either as that was the last response I got from them. 

[hikingking]

Been talking about this for the past 2 years. This product is faulty when it comes to the heart rate monitor. I have posted extensively on this. If there is time, suggest you return it back for a full refund. Unfortunately I could not return it. If the heart rate monitor is important to you, then my advice would be to switch to a different watch/monitor etc. Do not waste your time by calling customer service. Most people there are working remote and been sitting on their butts all day long and the only advice they will give you is to reset the watch. 

[MrsMidg]

I've been messaging them on twitter and the response I got today was thank you for the patience so I replied with what are you going to do to help me get a accurate reading. I'm yet to have a reply it's just shocking mine seems to be getting worse. I do 45 min work outs and it doesn't go above 130 it used to kick in after about 20 mins and read it properly now nothing. 

[James291]

What's strange for me is that most people complain about it reading too low, whereas mine reads too high, at least when running. I've tried all the things about 'Wearing It Correctly' but nothing helps.

Last summer it did regulary improve throughout a run and lock-on after about 20 minutes, but over winter it's not even done that. The other day it read 162 BPM when I was at 126 BPM according to my chest strap. It's now just a very expensive watch and sleep monitor. Waste of money really.

[hikingking]

Sometimes, moistening the place where you wear your watch helps and it picks up the heart reading faster. However, it still goes into a tailspin and the reading could dramatically drop.  Bottom line is that it is a faulty product and there is absolutely no customer service. 

[James291]

Thank you @hikingking yes I noticed that too. I decided that the locking-on after 20 minutes might be due to sweating. I could literally see the transition in the heart rate graph on the dashboard, switching from spiky/innacurate to fairly smooth/accurate. It would then stay accurate unless the area dried out. Making the area behind the watch slightly damp at the start of a run did improve the lock-on time, but recently that method has not worked for me. Perhaps the sensor is degrading or it's the cold dry winter air or maybe the firmware update made it worse.

I'm a disappointed customer FitBit.

[t.parker]

@James291 for me Sense (the same HR sensor as Versa 3) also reads often too high HR when running and this is mostly related to high running cadence. In fact, my HR often aligns with the cadence so I see easy runs with HR of around 180bpm (whereas I never reach such HR). Not sure if this would be your case, too but that's one explanation of too high HR during running.

[James291]

@t.parker my cadence is around 150-160 at the moment so it's close to the HR reading. I did consider that as a possibility. Have you found a way to reduce the effect of cadence on the HR reading or have you switched to another monitor?

[t.parker]

@James291 I haven't find way of doing that. Only way to fix it would be by Fitbit improving algorithms to filter cadence out (not much chance for that considering that Fitbit doesn't even support cadence as a metric). Luckily, Sense was my secondary watch so not much harm done. I run always with chest strap paired with different brand watch.

[BruceJ]

I replace my Ionic with the Versa 3. Today was my first exercise with my new Versa. Elliptical training showed only 17 zone minutes with Versa. Similar effort and time with Ionic was over 40 zone minutes. HR appeared inaccurate throughout. I did not test with machine reading or simple pulse on wrist or neck check but it seems HR at least during exercise seems to be considerable off. 
I am wearing the watch on a similar location on my wrist. I will be anxious to see other feedback from new owners or a Fitbit rep. 

[ajpisciotta]

Hello

For the last 3 years I have used a ionic and I am having

Same experience here today was my first day walking with versa 3 usually my walk gives me 38 active minutes, but today I got only 22 minutes 

Was the Ionic wrong and versa correct?

I will try to tighten band for tomorrow's  walk.

[hikingking]

Versa 3 reading is wrong and that is what we have been saying and pounding the table. Return your faulty Versa 3 for a full refund. Do it when it is still under warranty. And do not hold your breath because no Fitbit rep will call you.  The reps are all working from home and sitting on their butts all day. They have no idea about exercising. So don't waste your time calling them either. At best, they will ask you to reboot your Versa 3. 

[stephaniekg]

Same issue here.  I replaced my fully functioning, seemingly accurate Ionic with the Versa3 due to the Ionic recall.  I am so disappointed with this product.  The heart rate tracking is so ridiculously inaccurate.  While doing cardio when the machine indicates a HR over 160 and I am absolutely feeling it, the Versa3 shows a HR in the 90s.  Something about this product is definitely not working.

[Podenco]

I also had an Ionic. And also replaced it for a Versa 3, a big mistake, I should have read the community posts first. My old Ionic was way more accurate.

I don't expect the accuracy of a medical device, but the Versa 3 is during exercise way off, 30 to 50 bpm behind my actual bpm. 

If you post about it you get the same scripted reply from a moderator everybody gets. Although Fitbit knows about this issue, that's been going on for 2 years, they just ignore it. There will be no fix.

There should be a recall, but they just keep on selling a faulty product. 

I just bite the bullet and when my Versa dies I move on to another brand.

[stephaniekg]

Somewhere in this thread it was mentioned to try wetting your skin just below the watch before you start your workout.  It does seem to help.  I take my watch off, water up my skin in the sink from 2” above the watch location through the watch area and wet the back of the watch that makes contact with my skin.  Most of the time I do not force the watch into exercise mode and let it pick it up.  It’s not the accuracy of my prior Ionic, but substantially better than before.  Forcing into starting an exercise mode has not helped me.