Versa Heart Rate Monitor Not Working

[JennyPenny82]

Hi Fitbit Community I wonder if you could help me....? The heart monitor on my versa randomly stopped working midday yesterday. I've repositioned the tracker on my wrist, cleaned the sensor, shut it down & restarted it numerous times & its still not working. Any suggestions on what else I could do? Also this morning the versa won't connect to the wifi but I've managed to sort that out its list the heart rate monitor that's not working which is really annoying!!

[Mak787 · Accepted solution]

I have the same issue and have contacted Fitbit help. I have begun to understand (following other postings) that many Versa watches have suffered the same fate. Mine started acting up a day after after a sweaty hike. The lights went out and couldn't be fixed with multiple restarts, resetting to factory settings. What's worse somehow the heart rate tracking seems to be tied to steps getting reflected in weekly challenges. Now my steps in those challenges have essentially frozen. But was able to explain this to Fitbit support and they gave an option to get a replacement or 50% off a new device (since, my Versa is within 12months of purchase)..

[Fred1967]

Mine is 18 months old and the heart rate monitor has stopped working.  A worry as I have a bad heart and got the Versa to monitor this!  Also I cannot link to the Tracker to re instate!  Awaiting a reply from Fitbit.

[Fred1967]

Reset for 2nd time and now working. Hurray 😁

[JennyPenny82]

Thanks for your reply, I've just spent the last 30mins onto the tech support & offered me a replacement/ 50% off another model. I think I'll take the replacement. Do you know if they are reconditioned replacements or brand new?

Thanks again

[DillC]

I have the same problem with my Fitbit versa. I had a very quick swim in the pool with it for the first time a couple of days ago. I got out as soon as I realised something was wrong. I dried the watch with a towel. It stopped working properly for the rest of the day, it kept turning off and on itself even though it had a full charge. The heart rate sensor stopped working completely since then, I believe the sensor got water in it even though Fitbit Versa is supposed to be waterproof. I have never even had a chance to use the lap counts. I tried to turn it off and on again but the sensor lights on the back are not working anymore, nor the heart rate. 

  It has only been 7 months, so still in warranty. And I am pretty disappointed, to be honest. I tried to have the live chat, but somehow I was kicked out after explaining my problem. I emailed them on help.fitbit.com yesterday but no reply yet. I have also messaged them on twitter today, hope they reply this time. If not, I will try to call them tomorrow. I feel like I've been ripped off and am fuming. 

[Mak787]

@Fred1967 Looks like you got lucky! Congratulations!

@JennyPenny82 I’m not sure if the “like for like” replacement is a refurbished one. When my previous Versa died, I got a refurbished one. I couldn’t wait to get that one in the mail and ended up buying a new one from Target. The refurbished one is still being used by my Dad. The new Versa I got lasted 8 months and I noticed these issues after sweaty activity (long run in hot weather and a long day hike). For now, I decided to go with the 50% off on the new Versa2.

[Mak787]

@DillC I feel your pain! Have been using fitbits since 2013. The fitbit one worked so well for so many years! I got the Versa for HR tracking mainly. My first one started developing issues after a short swim too! It basically died and couldn’t even turn on. The second one started acting up after a sweaty run. The HR tracking would show weird numbers ~ 175+ even when I was sitting on a couch. When I tested my HR with my wife’s it was ~56. I called support and they gave me the run around that a firmware release will fix this (which didn’t happen for a month and half) After another sweaty workout this weekend, HR tracking totally turned off (no lights in the back). Multiple resets don’t help and also doesn’t show reminders to move, track sleep or even register active minutes. There’s normally no way to turn the laser lights off (even if you turn off HR tracking on the device: it only stops recording/displaying it). Somehow in their software, having the laser lights on all the time is essential to tracking all the normal things (hourly active steps, sleep, even steps for challenges). I do weekly challenges with my buds and despite a strong lead, my step count doesn’t move anymore.. Frustrating that fitbit makes these unreliable products. 
Just explain to support and they should run some checks and give you a replacement/ 50% off a new one.

[PaRose]

Replacements are refurbished. My replacement lasted 6 months and started acting up

[harterlee]

Having the same issues....my bpm won't calculate ....I did all the same things you did and a factory reset as well and thought it was working only to have it stuck at 149 all night. Shut down again this am and now its stuck on 70....😢 

[strickland1515]

I'm having the same problem... It seems this is a major problem with these versa, and Fitbit is unwilling to acknowledge this defect. My HR sensor stopped working after I cancelled my premium membership... I know this should have nothing to do with my sensor, but it seems a bit strange that I stopped my membership and my Fitbit is now broken. The 'best' they could offer me was 35% off my next Fitbit... Like I'm going to waste another $200 for a device that will only break after 18 months of wear. 

[Mak787]

@strickland1515  What? Only 35% off? Is your purchase within 1year? They normally do 50% unless something changed. Honestly speaking, they should stand behind their devices and replace them free of cost. This seems to be a nagging defect and they are bound to lose customers.

[strickland1515]

It's 6 months past the year warranty... But looking at all of these HR sensor problems, they really should have a recall or repair option. It stopped working when I canceled my premium membership too... I'm not getting another Fitbit. 

[Mak787]

@strickland1515 Indeed, Fitbit should admit fault with their 'early failing' devices and replace them free of cost. They seem to be more focused on launching new devices every year without solving some of these nagging issues. I hope Fitbit realizes that they will keep losing customers until they deal with these things.

[ZekeAdrian]

The same thing has happened to me! My versa is about 1.5 years old and the heart rate tracer has failed. I've also tried resetting it several times and followed all the advice on this thread. I tried getting in touch with Fitbit support but the wait times were so long today, even at 7:30 in the morning. I know that my versa is out of warranty but I really like to talk to somebody about it.

[DillC]

Hi, I bought my first Fitbit versa 2 in Nov 2019, it got broken in June 2020 due to swimming! They replaced my versa 2 last July as it stopped working prematurely and that replacement has now stopped working again. The problem is the screen doesn't work anymore. I did a quick restart with the buttons on the sides but I cannot put it off using settings section as I can't use the screen. This is absolutely unacceptable! I don't want to use Fitbit anymore as it made my life a lot harder. I didn't even swim with my watch at all after they replaced it as I knew it would stop working again. I want my money back now! I've just sent a message to Fitbit support on Twitter, waiting for a reply... If they don't fix my problem, I will write a review on every single online platform about how terrible Fitbit versa is!

[SunsetRunner]

My heart monitor stopped working and can’t be fixed. I communicated with Fitbit support and they offered a 35% discount toward another replacement watch. What I found out is that this has been an ongoing issue that Fitbit is aware of but doesn’t have a fix. I feel the 35% discount is not an adequate fix since this seems like a defect. Very disappointing! I’ve moved on to another brand for a sport fitness watch.

[stashu1117]

Good Luck.  They don't care that they sell crap.  I've had 3-4 Garmins during the time I've had 12-15 Fitbits.  All the Garmins still work and basically none of the Fitbits work.  That said, there has been an improvement in the quality but it still sucks.  I having hoping that someone would buy them and fix their issues (Product, Warrant and Support) but that has not happened.  Support has actually gotten worse.  There is absolutely no troubleshooting and they'll claim they don't see any issues....   Well, if you've been using the device and you know something has changed, it means they are not researching your issue.  They just escalate it to another group that will provide you a discount off of list which most of the time you can buy cheaper without the discount.  You are better off buying even apple which may cost 2-3X but will last 10-20X longer.  Fitbit is crap and they know it.  They deliver crap and bank on you replacing with more of their crap.