Versa 3 is tracking my heart rate too low

[Podenco]

Changing from Ionic to Versa 3 I noticed that my heart rate readings are significant lower than on the Ionic. I hardly enter the cardio zone and never the peak zone even after a intensive workout. To check it, I simultaneously wore my wifes Charge 5 during a work out. As the Charge 5 went up to 153 bpm my Versa 3 got stuck on 101 bpm. A difference of 50 bpm! Anyone else familiar with this problem? Is there a fix? 

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject

[Guy_]

Hi @Podenco -  there is no fix, many people expérience high or low readings during exercise.

[MarreFitbit]

Hi there, @Podenco. Thanks for stopping by in the Community Forums and sharing the details about the inconvenience with your Versa 3. I understand where your concern is coming from. @Guy_ Thanks for your input!

At times, you might notice slight variations between your heart-rate reading on your Fitbit device versus on another device (such as a chest strap or another wrist-based heart-rate tracker) due to the differences in technologies.

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.

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.

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?

Hope this helps. 

[Podenco]

Thanks for your swift reply, but it is obvious a standard reply so it does
not help.

If you read my message well, I compared my new Versa 3 with a new Charge 5.
I wore both devices at the same time, a slight variation is acceptable but
50 bpm is in my opinion not a slight variation. When I count my heart beat
the Charge 5 is far more accurate.

I`ve tried everything, restarted the device, etc.

In rest both devices give, more or less, the same reading. So it is obvious
that my Versa 3 does not respond to a higher heart rate. In the fitbit
community this problem is mentioned many times before but it is clearly not
solved. When do you expect a solution?

[MarreFitbit]

@Podenco Thanks for letting us know about this issue. We’re aware of it and are working to identify a resolution as quickly as possible. 

We're sorry for any trouble. We appreciate your patience and look forward to getting you back on track. 

[moldymoo]

I hope this gets a fix soon because mine is only off during cardio workouts and it is extremely frustrating when everything else in the app is calculated by heartrate like calories for food logging and the readiness score/health metrics. My Versa 3 refuses to get above 158 during rough cardio workouts when all the machines at the gym are consistent with each other and I can reach my peak of 170-180. I'll be 178 on the stair climber and my fitbit is reading 120-130. It's EXTREMELY frustrating to be so off, and even more so to see the consistent copypasta posts of "wear it like this" and "it's a known issue" for YEARS looking back through the forums.

[t.parker]

@moldymoo if Fitbit didn't manage to sort it out until now then I don't have any hopes (I use Sense, same sensor, same issue) that the fix is coming at all and it's rather hardware-related problem that cannot be fixed with the software update. Otherwise, it would be fixed long ago.

[Rufous44]

Great news @MarreFitbit that the Fitbit team us working to release the fix as soon as possible. This is in contrast to the previous official answer by @LizzyFitbit that Fitbit might not able to provide the fix soon.

My understanding is that Fitbit was able to reproduce the issue and finally found the solution. Please @MarreFitbit keep us updated because your reply is really making all users very happy.

[t.parker]

@Rufous44 don't want to shatter your world but somebody received exactly that canned response in April 2021.

[Rufous44]

@t.parker definitely the canned response was the same but the consequent reply by @MarreFitbit is the one I'm referring too. So I suggest @MarreFitbit to give us more details on the process Fitbit is following to solve this issue that is present since the release of the top of line smartwatch. Let's also consider the fact that Fitbit is still selling the same model with no difference.

[t.parker]

@Rufous44 that's also response I was referring to. I I just tracked back same words being mentioned over a year ago. If after a year all they have is a very same copy-paste response then it's not very promising. However, I admire your patience 😁

[Podenco]

I still didn't get an answer on my question when to expect a solution for this problem. If you are working on it, it can't be hard to give us an indication when this problem will be solved.

[OG-run-jump]

I just got a V3 a week ago after my V2 died. I have noticed that HR during my morning run is consistent between the 2 devices.The insanely drastic difference comes when I do an upper-body workout; .(I use a bowflex machine; bench press, curls, pull-downs; where my heart rate stays consistently below zones and I get a quarter of the zone minutes that the V2 would record. It’s the same result when I do a lower body workout: leg extensions, leg curls sqats, etc.; so I started playing with the position on my arm. I found that wearing it higher on my arm tightened it and also resulted in higher HR readings. I’ll continue adjusting and let you know if I succeed in getting results that are closer to the readings I got with the V2. 

[Podenco]

Thanks for letting me know.

But the fact remains that I never had any issues with my "old" Ionic wearing it on my wrist. When I use a Charge5 I have no problem either. 

So there must be something wrong with the V3.

Fitbit knows it too, but they still keep selling it.

[Spgrinch]

Regrettably purchased the Versa 3!  

This is my second one in a month and a half after the first ones exercise app started crashing set three uses.  

It’s my own fault for trusting brand name and not reading reviews, I’ve sweat a lot but expected this to work.  The only saving grace for this piece of junk is the sleep statistics. 

Will be going with what I should have done in the first place, Garmin.  

[Spgrinch]

 

[MarkMM]

@Podenco Sense and Versa 3 had a new technology Fitbit called pure pulse 2, with 2 sensors instead of one. Fitbit advertised it as being more accurate.

As for wearing it higher, this has been suggested before, and wasn't consistent with others.

[Podenco]

Well it sure isn't more accurate when you are working out.

And I didn't buy a device, that supposed to be on your wrist, to wear it half way my arm to let it function properly.

[jumperniowa]

I’ve had this same issue for over a year. It clearly is an issue a huge number of people have if you look through the forums. Its extremely frustrating to spend so much money on something that can’t even track your heart rate properly.