Versa heart rate sensor always on

[Mcash17]

 The  green light on the back of my Versa stays on all the time even when I take the watch off and set it down  I can't figure out how to turn this off. Thanks

Moderator edit: subject for clarity

[subashp]

@Rich_Laue your solution doesnt work. This is a firmware bug & surprised a public company can get away without fixing this for so long. Imagine if Apple watch had the same bug.

Also I dont understand "designed to work that way". Its as simple as it is. For my versa which doesnt have NFC, if I turn off the HRM, it should just shut off the chip. Isnt there power supply control pin in that HRM unit? Is this sign of poor engineering or a startup that has not grown inspite of an IPO? Whatever fitbit fans say to justify, I have developed firmware in that space and can clearly tell this is a bug!

[SteveH]

It says in the versa manual:

"Note that the green LED on the back of Versa continues to flash even if you turn off
heart rate tracking."

Seems to be that it is working as intended and they do not treat standard versa any different from the special edition.

[subashp]

I dont think the device cannot distinguish. eg: Payment app doesnt show in
my case means the watch knows about it. If they keep it on, I care to know
why so. Its my body data they are collecting without my consent(as I have
turned off the HRM)

[subashp]

"Note that the green LED on the back of Versa continues to flash even if you turn off
heart rate tracking"

This line is a coverup for some serious hardware/firmware bug. This is so vague that if they had reasons, they would have mentioned. What I am now suspecting is that they initially built the NFC version. So they didnt keep enough firmware controllable hardware knobs to turn off the HRM completely.

[Rich_Laue]

The OP wants to know why the heart rate status on when the unit is removed from the arm. It should not be staying on.

The comment that has hijacked the thread. Your asking abouta when the tracker is still on the arm, the OP is asking about when the tracker is sitting on the table. I do not know if this is by intention or if it was overlooked by the developers. It has been  this way from the release of  the versa and ionic. The previous non smart trackers do turn the lights of while on the arm.

Yes @subashp  if your saying that my solution doesn't work with the unrelated subject that has since hijacked this thread, then you are correct, since what is not being asked about is not related to the original question.

Does your heart rate turn off when the tracker is removed from your arm?

Let's leave Apple out of it, if Fitbit acted like Apple they would not sell a single tracker.

[subashp]

I have no idea if heart rate is actually turned off or not. From speculation, turn off from settings could be handled in two levels. Application flag which wont read any further from HRM & HRM that wont read further from the blood stream(of-course its implementation dependent again) So I know application doesn't show anything.

Not part of original discussion:

=====================

To be honest, I come from non-fitbit watch world. My employer's insurance sort of forced me into this fitbit nonsense(as they consider Apple watch is not a fitness tracker) Fitbit doesn't have basic Citibank cards support & hence I went to non-NFC version. WiFi is another joke as last time I checked, firmware update happens on BLE! I also have xiaomi amazfit but their sad part is AliPay wont work in the US(but battery comes to amazing two months with screen on always). With these other experiences & fitbit bugs my first week has been bad. How can I recommend my other colleagues to move into this?

[Rich_Laue]

Firmware update can be done through Wifi or Bluetooth @subashp .even for the non NFC version.

For wifi the tracker must be plugged in and charging, also while charging the Versa will check for updates and load any app updates that are available. No need to manually check for updates.

Yes if heart rate is off, then the tracker does not record heart rate and sleep stages will not be recorded.

[mfppvl]

This is a fake solution, the light stays on no matter what you do

[mfppvl]

Don't know why this marked accepted solution, as light always on regardless

[Rich_Laue]

@mfppvl  I see that your posts are all over the boards and, this makes it hard for both you and us to help..

The OP asked about what the heart rate status on while the tracker is not on the users wrist? Is this the issue that you are having?

If your asking about the heart rate staying on, even with it arrived off while it is on the arm, back in June @RobertoME provided an answer.

[Bluej66]

Hi the problem started couple days ago and I tried to restart and turning off the heart rate monitor but it didn’t help the light is still on and now I have to charge it every day ( before it was every 5-6 days)

thanks for any help, I had the charge 2 before and it was great never problems with that one . 

[Rich_Laue]

Yes @Bluej66 one of the first thing we noticed after the release of the Versa and Ionic is that the sensor light stays on even when the heart monitor is switched off. 

Try swiping over to settings, tap, swipe up to about, shutdown and confirm. 

No hold the button to start or place in its charger. 

[Bluej66]

Still the same thing no improvement at all

Sent from my iPhone

[Rich_Laue]

@Bluej66 are you saying that when e tracker is off your wrist, the heart rate light doesn't turn off? 

[kaw216]

I’m having the same issue. I’ve had my versa for over a year and never had any issues until about a week ago. It stopped measuring my heart rate but the light continuously stays on. This is running my battery down so now I have to charge it daily instead of every 3-4 days like I was doing before this started. I’ve tried restarting it and turning the heart rate monitor off but the light stays on no matter what I do. Even when the Fitbit is turned completely off, the light is on. What is going on?

[Alfordmalones]

Same here. I was told it is suppose to turn off when charging. Blink when
it is on your wrist. I told my husband not to update the firmware on his. I
notice the difference accurred after I updated my fitbit. I do not use
it anymore. Waiting on an update.

[kaw216]

Ok now since I’ve reported this issue my watch face won’t turn on. It’s still “on” as I was able to refresh my stats in the app just fine but I can’t see anything on the Watch. And I do think that this has all started since I did the most recent firmware update. 

[Alfordmalones]

I wonder is there a way to go delete this update. Seems like that update was used to mess up our fitbit, so we will all run out and buy another. Very convenient our fitbit has went to crap all of a sudden. Fitbit are you losing money during this pandemic?