Versa 3 heart rate discrepancies

[Lurre]

The heart rate tracking on my versa 3 is extremely inaccurate, I can be at 170+ bpm and the app says im not even above 100. Any help is appreciated.

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject

[MarreFitbit]

Hi there, @Lurre. Welcome to 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?

[MarkMM · Accepted solution]

My post pointing out the truth with proof was deleted.

@Lurre Look over the forum or do a search. It won't take long to find threads about this. It's not your fault like you're not wearing it tight enough or in the right location. 

[Lurre]

Hello again and thanks for your answer, it unfortunately does not help much tho. Today at the gym, was biking like a madlad and HR sensor on the bike was showing 185BPM, fitbitwatch was showing between 120-150, thats extremely off. I do make sure the watch is tight but not tight enough, I have it perfectly on my wrist, maybe its the sweat? Sometimes sweat builds on my arms since I sweat alot but since the watch uses green light to calculate my HR that should not matter I guess, if so then theres nothing I can do because I cant magically stop sweating. It seems like this is a problem with the software in the watch maybe, or the hardware, since the other lad in here said it's been an issue for many other people. 

[Lurre]

@MarkMM Aye man I saw the post she deleted, it came to my mail before she had he time to delete it. For anyone else reading this, in march one of the moderators posted this about the HR issue: "Hi everyone - Thanks for letting us know about this issue with the accuracy of the heart rate monitor. We’re aware of it and are working to identify a resolution as quickly as possible.". 

And now here they are sort of telling us its the customers fault of a defect device. Let the word spread so they can fix this problem everyone!!

[MarkMM]

@Lurre Here's a thread where someone reported it as much as 8 Months ago. The one I have here was as low as 45 bpm lower than the Versa1, wearing them both at the same time while cycling. It's been turned off and sitting since last week sometime. 

If it's a software issue, shouldn't something be happening by now? I still have a working Versa 1, so I'm using that for now till I decide if I'm going to return the Versa 3. 

Heart Rate Inaccuracies

[SunsetRunner]

This happens to me a lot, and I bike/commute several times per week. This morning I was practically sprinting up a hill, and manually checking my HR indicated I was around 170-175 but the watch displayed 108. So disappointing… I feel like because of this the calorie count is lower than it should be as well. This is my third Fitbit watch (had two charge 4s that constantly needed repairs) and likely my last. 

[sharonaf]

I am having the same problem! After many years working out I know when my HR is at peak level. Today on the elliptical I was going my hardest and my Fitbit said 102 HR 🤷🏻‍:female_sign:. Being older I like to keep better track!

[Gatman]

I read a review somewhere (wish I had it bookmarked) saying the Versa 3 employed some kind of "smoothing" algorithm to smooth out quick increases/decreases in the HR.  This totally lines up with what I see during my workouts if I'm doing something like HIIT or weight training where my HR goes up and down a lot.  If I'm cycling and my HR is generally steady, then I don't see the inaccuracy as much.  I've noticed it's especially slow to respond to increases.  I don't expect chest-strap accuracy here, but when I do 25 jumping jacks and manually take my pulse at about 125bpm, the fitbit shouldn't be lagging along at 80.  Then 81.  Then 83. And eventually work its way up to 125 over the course of 30 to 45 seconds.  Unfortunately, it's not that slow responding to decreases, so average HR is always lower on the Fitbit than any other device I have.