Versa 3 heartrate low inaccurate during exercise

[refturner]

I work out very intensely, boot camp, spin, rowing. My old Ionic tended to shoot a little high on heart rate & calorie burn. 

My new Versa 3 (had it for 6 months now) tends to show VERY LOW heart rate numbers and, consequently, calorie burn. 

By way of example, did an intense rowing machine workout; the Versa 3 estimated I burned 6 calories per minute.  Normally I expect to burn 10+ per minute of intense exercise. Then I walked my old 14 YO dog; the Versa 3 said I burned 7 calories per minute, while ambling along with the old dog.

What's up Fitbit? Can you fix this?

[AnaFitbit]

Hi @refturner it's great to see you here.

Thanks for sharing those details about your Versa 3 situation. If you haven't try so, you can check these tips to improve the accuracy of the heart rate reading: 

• Tighten the band so that it doesn’t slip on your wrist. For more information, see How do I track heart rate with my Fitbit device?
• Heart-rate tracking may not work with certain accessory bands, especially if they’re loose fitting. For best results, use the band that came with your device.
• Use Exercise app to record GPS data for your workout. If you use MobileTrack in the Fitbit app, your heart rate might not appear on your device. For more information, see How do I use GPS on my Fitbit device?
• If you tried the other steps and don’t see an accurate heart rate, restart your device. For more information, see How do I restart my Fitbit device?

I'll be around. 

[nso]

I'm having the same issues.  Not only is recording heart rate zones inaccurately, it only intermittently tracks the workout itself.  

[Statiraroyal]

I'm having the same issue. There's a few of us chatting about it here as well -- https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Versa-3/Versa-3-heart-rate-and-calorie-not-tracking-accurately/m-p/4... 

I contacted support on the 8th and the 11th of this month regarding this problem and still have not received an email from the support team. It seems they are aware this is an issue, but the chat agent I spoke with on the 11th said they were fixing it on a "case by case" basis. Hopefully we can get more eyes on this and a patch... it's getting really annoying. 

[Hanzzie80]

That's the only answer I read from Fitbit. But all over the internet I read that the heartrate on the new purepulsesensor 2.0 is very inaccurate in comparison to the pure pulse on the versa 2 and Ionic. The real thing is that the device need an update because the algorithm is not right. I paid a lot for an inaccurate device and consider to returning it.

Moderator edit: format

[hikingking]

I had the Charge 2 for a long time and the heart rate graph was perfect. But no such luck with the Versa 3. The heart rate monitor fluctuates randomly and is very erratic. Anybody else hate the strap? You cannot really tighten it too much at the risk of breaking it. Also, customer service is really lame and weak. Absolutely no support. 

[refturner]

I’ve done all these things.  No change, heart rate results still vary widely.

[Draykana]

Has there been any resolution? 

Mine is the same, start an intense workout, get the heart rate to peak, it'll buzz me and then HR plummets to resting numbers. After that it takes half the work out to get it back up to at least the fatburn. So it messes up my heart rate tracking, the stupid active zone minutes and basically my entire workout. I track to see if I'm improving or not so this does not help at all. 

I'm so sick of crappy customer service, paying a lot for devices that don't work. I'm looking into getting a different tracker from another company. 

[refturner]

No resolution mentioned by anyone.

[Hanzzie80]

I've send mine back and bought a garmin forerunner 245. Way better heartrate tracking. Unfortunately less smart. But more value for money. Goodbye Fitbit

[hikingking]

Nope. I think FITBIT is busy selling a faulty product ASAP.

Agreed. Erratic heart beat monitor is really irritating the day lights out of me.

Nothing works. You have a faulty product. I need my money back.

Moderator edit: merged reply

[Draykana]

Do you like it? I've been looking more at garmin. Heard their customer service is amazing if you even have to use it. 

Fit bit. I had two versa 2 in 8 months. Last one broke the cs was total bull harky. Bought the versa 3 and 2 months later it is spazzing out. So tired of wasting money with them.

[AnaFitbit]

Hi everybody!

@nso I’m sorry to know you’re having the same issue. Have you tried to restart your Versa 3, if not please try to do it by following the steps in this link How do I restart my Fitbit device?

@Statiraroyal you mentioned you already contacted the Support team, I recommend continuing handling this with them as they already have all the information of your case. Please note that due to recent events affecting our operations there might be a delay in their reply, but they'll get in touch with you so

@Hanzzie80 thanks for your feedback. We are always striving to improve the Fitbit experience with our products and services.The feedback is always appreciated and helpful to evaluate our procedures and make sure that we are delivering what our users want and need.

@hikingking thanks for the details shared and for your feedback. I’m sorry to know about this experience with your Versa 3. I spoke with the Support team and they informed me that you already contacted them about this. Please follow their instructions and reply back to them so you can receive help.

@refturner thanks for all the troubleshooting performed. @Draykana thanks for your feedback and for sharing  your thoughts and personal experience with your Fitbit device. At this moment, I’ve reached the limits of what I can do for you here on the public community forums. The best way to get help for this problem is to chat with us online or give us a call. Click here to get connected.

I’ll be around.

[nso]

I've restarted it.  I've done a hard reset.  I've talked to customer service.  Nothing.  So I just sent it back.  Once you guys solve the software glitches, I may try again.  Back to my old Charge 3 for now.  

[GRS5]

The devise is flawed,  no matter what I do it does what it wants. I was into my 5th round of burpees and it had my heart rate at 98. Did my own count on my neck and it was 155+. Versa 3 need an update to fix this!

[refturner]

It’s now May 2021 problem remains, Versa3 does not accurately record heart rate while working out. It does ok at rest or in non-exercise situations, but remains consistently low when exercising.  No fix from Fitbit. Thinking of switching to an Apple Watch.

[hikingking]

Agreed. Versa 3 is flawed. Should never have bought it. Very erratic. Waste of money. 

[Statiraroyal]

I haven't had any issues with the replacement Versa3 that Fitbit sent me after I complained about mine. I would suggest contacting them if you haven't already. 

[refturner]

Still an issue today 5/28/21.  Contacted Customer Support, they refused to do anything.  Said it was a "known issue" and the engineers are working on a software update, but they have no timeframe for when it will be released. 

I asked if they would extend my warranty & he said after it is released if it doesn't work I should contact support & they might make an exception for me.

In the meantime we've all purchased a fitness watch which can't monitor your fitness accurately.  Waste of money.

Tried again today.  They refused to do anything.  Said it's a "known issue" & they are working on a software update to address it, but have no timeframe for when it might be released. Refused to do anything for me.

Moderator edit: merged reply

[nso]

That’s exactly what I did. I’m about two months in with my Apple Watch and I have to say, I love it. There was a bit of a learning curve for me being a Fitbit faithful for so long, but I’m very pleased.  

Fitbit used to be the gold standard for customer support. I’m not sure when that changed. ☹️