Versa is tracking heart rate readings when not wearing it

[NishyNash]

Hi, my versa is giving heart rate readings when I'm not wearing the fitbit. It's showing 3 hours of over 100rpm while being left on the table. It's done this for the last 2 days now. 

The heart rate is set to 'on' in settings. The help section says to change this to auto, but this is not an option. The only options I can see are on our off.

Does anyone know how to fix this please? 

Moderator edit: updated subject for clarity

[EdsonFitbit]

@NishyNash Welcome to the Fitbit Community.

The heart rate on the Fitbit Versa only has two options: On-Off. To resolve the problem I would recommend placing your tracker on a different place at night to see if this does the trick. If you continue experiencing the same problem, perform a restart by following these steps:

1. Press and hold the back (left) and bottom buttons until you see the Fitbit logo on the screen. This should take less than 10 seconds.
2. Let go of the buttons.
3. If your Fitbit Versa doesn't work normally, use the instructions in How do I turn off my Fitbit device? to turn your tracker off and on again.

Let me know if you need further assistance.

[Kimberly_G]

I received my Fitbit Versa on Wed.  I wore it the first night, but took it off to shower the next night & didn't put it back on until the next morning,  It recorded HR>95 up to 130's.  I called FB & they walked me through how to reset my device.  I took it off the next night to test it and it's happened again.  So, last night I manually turned off the HR at night, but I don't want to have to do this every night I'm not wearing it so that I don't mess up my RHR.  Is my device defective?  FYI...I reset it again already.

[EdsonFitbit]

@Kimberly_G It's great to see you in the Fitbit Community.

Thank you for the time you've spend following our troubleshooting steps. I also recommend following this workaround:

- From the Home page of your Versa swipe to the left a couple of times until you find Settings

- Scroll down until you see Heart Rate, turn it off and manually sync

- Turn your heart rate back on and manually sync

Hope this helps. Keep on stepping.

[LnS2001 · Accepted solution]

I also noticed this when taking a shower. My Versa was resting with the watch face up. So, I decided to have the watch face down the next time. This resulted in no heart rate while not wearing the watch.

Basically, I suggest having the watch face resting down versus up when not wearing it.

[Kimberly_G]

I am continuing to have problems with my Versa reading a heart rate when I am not wearing it.  I've owned it for 10 days and contacted Fitbit 4 times. In that time, I have done the manual syncing suggested in this thread, a soft reset, a factory reset, an iPhone app update & a versa software update based upon the customer support reps' comments.  Now the recommendation I've been given is to leave the Versa with the clock face DOWN when I'm not wearing it to prevent a heart rate from recording.  Is anyone else having similar issues?  I was considering buying a Versa for my daughter's graduation gift, but now am distinctly uncertain.  I'd appreciate feedback from others so I can figure out if this is a device problem or operator error on my part. (Below is a pic of my readings today when I wasn't wearing it & it was lying clock face UP on a piece of paper...)  Thanks.

[BamIAm]

Just checked mine, took it off and propped it on its side.  Green flashing LED went off after a few seconds.

From previous Fitbits I have, this is the same action as the "auto" setting,  I think on the Versa "on" is the same as the old "auto", they've just dropped it as a separate option.

If yours continues to flash, that means it's still trying to record data for some reason.  That's gotta be a hardware problem.

[NishyNash]

Hi, I found the issue is resolved my placing my versa sensor side down on a flat surface when not wearing it.

[Julieyates]

I am having the same problems now. Did you ever resolve this?

[Kimberly_G]

Yes. I place my Fitbit face down on a towel or something similar when I’m
not wearing it. Since doing this I haven’t had any issues. Good luck!

[Bietje]

But if it "detects" a heart rate while not wearing the versa, doesn't this feel like it is making up heart rates and therefore not beiing accurate? 

I am not sure if the heart rate shown is my actual heartrate or some made up one now....

[jamlynn]

I’m having the same issue with it rAnd I agree. How can The HR be correct if it “incorrectly” picks up

a nonexistent HR when it is not being worn? I have actually noticed that my HR has seemed extremely irregular during exercise several times. It will randomly bounce all over place. From 110s to 150s. Very rapidly, back and forth. It does not match my pulse. So how accurate can the HR monitor ever be? I’m extremely disappointed. I

I never had this issue with the charge HR, or the ionic. Only the versa. It this a defect with the versa?

Moderator edit: merged reply

[Uncle_Fugly]

I have a Charge2, and also noticed that it registers heartrates when I’m not wearing it. This is a SERIOUS defect and you need to fix it. It can’t be explained away by recommending a reset. Fix it!

[VASPHL]

I have the same problem. Sick of resetting it. It's grossly inaccurate.  Scarry.

[Vix1976]

I had mine for Christmas 2019 and the issue is still there. It recorded my heart rate for 5 days when not being worn. For a percentage of that time it was on charge! It also recorded basic sleep on two of the nights 🤔 I now don’t trust it at all, which is not great as I have issues and need to be aware. Both myself and my GP believed Fitbit to be reputable enough to be relied upon enough for my needs. Disappointed. 

[jimedmil]

I have a charge 4.  I had it in my pocket because I didn't want it on my wrist.  I expected my steps to keep counting.  I didn't expect my heartbeat to be monitored and yet it looked like it was legitimately tracking.  I wondered how was that possible.

[Nagswoman]

My Charge 2 does this. I left it off for a couple of hours after a shower this morning. While it was off, it recorded heart rates of between 100 and 135. My resting rate is 64. I was just sitting. The Fitbit was 3ft away. This has happened several times. It syncs the heartrate inconsistently.

[Beth.yfd]

I took off my Versa 2 and meant to set it face down, but it wasn’t completely flat/level so this happened. Btw it looks like I put it back on this morning when it drops down from 170 but I didn’t - I put it on the charger. 
Ive compared the Versa 2 HR with a finger pulse ox device and it’s usually pretty accurate, but this is still annoying. I’m going to start turning HR off every time I’m not wearing it. 

 

 

[charleskn]

My Charge 4 does the same thing. I can't wear my device at work, so it sits in my gym bag in the car during the day. This is what I regularly see. Not much of a response from FitBit, except to reset the device, which does nothing.

[CazGirl]

Same issue here with my Versa 3. Placing it face down does the same thing 😞