Versa 3 heart rate discrepancies

[ekristin]

I am a long-time fitbit user and just upgraded from the Charge 2 to the Versa 3. The Versa 3 is recording my resting heart rate a few points higher, my heart rate during runs 30 points higher (wore both watches during my run to compare), and consequently my daily calorie burn about 200-450 calories higher that what is usually is.  Not sure why. Anyone else experience this? How do I know if my new Versa 3 is accurate or just giving me inflated readings?

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject

[MarreFitbit · Accepted solution]

Hi there @ekristin, it's nice to see you around the Community Forums. 

Note that you might notice slight variations between your heart-rate reading on your new Fitbit devices compared with your old ones due to improvements in the heart rate sensor and algorithm.

Differences between heart-rate readings on your device and on exercise equipment are likely due to wrist or hand position. Make sure the back of your device is in contact with your wrist and that your band is snug.

Several factors can affect heart rate, including air temperature, stress level, alcohol or caffeine intake, immune response to illness, and medication use (source).

Exercising in cold weather can make it more difficult for your device to track your heart rate, as environmental conditions can affect skin perfusion (the amount of blood that flows through your skin). Spikes in your heart rate during sleep may be caused by sudden movements (for example, waking up and getting out of bed), or a weak signal due to wrist placement. 

As with all heart-rate tracking technology, accuracy is affected by personal physiology, device location on your arm, and type of movement. For a more accurate heart-rate reading:

• Wear your Fitbit device on top of your wrist, and make sure the back of the device is in contact with your skin.
• When you’re not exercising, wear your device a finger’s width above your wrist bone.

• During exercise, wear your device a bit tighter and higher for an improved fit. The band should be snug but not constricting (a tight band restricts blood flow, potentially affecting the heart-rate signal). Many exercises such as bike riding or weight lifting cause you to bend your wrist frequently, which could interfere with the heart-rate signal if the watch is lower on your wrist.

To resolve common issues, see our troubleshooting steps in What factors can affect my heart-rate reading on my Fitbit device?

Let me know it goes or if you have any further questions.

[hillvon]

Mine seems to spike my heart rate randomly between 15-20 bpm. I run with a partner and yesterday we switched - I wore hers and she wore mine and she had the same issue with my device spiking her heartrate. I'm going to return mine, I would suggest anyone who wants to use a device to track hr while training to look elsewhere. Fitbit just doesn't provide reliable readings.

Also, the GPS is quite inaccurate. My running partner and I begin and end our runs together yet end up with often a 500meter difference at the end of our 5k runs! That's just too large a variance to be acceptable as a training device.

[Eva134]

3 days ago heart rate - zone minutes issue resolved.  15+k steps with 117 zone min.

But, it is happening again, 9k + steps with only 4 zone minutes registered on my stationary bike.