Ability to use Chest Strap Heart Rate Monitor or foot pods

[JSy]

I like that the Charge HR and Surge have the ability to monitor heart rate via the wrist based optical monitor, but from what I have gathered, it sounds like all wrist based optical heart rate monitors have poor accuracy at high intensity workouts.  It would be great if fitbit had a product that had a wrist based heart rate monitor, but would switch to using a chest strap heart rate monitor if one was detected.  Any chance that the firmware/software on the Charge HR and/or Surge could be updated to use a bluetooth chest strap heart rate monitor? 

Moderator edit: labels and title.

[PreciseCardio]

My fitbit charge 3 is very usefull, also heartbeat was detected in the beginning acurately. lately, i just get weird readings: 30 min on the rowing machine, and the pulse is always around 110. Next day easy jogging with my wife, really easy, she is walking by my side, and i get a reading of 164 bpm? come on.... we want a precise chest strap, otherwise fitbit will be useless and thrown away....

[tghand]

Well I dumped my Fitbit a long time ago. I think of it as a pretty, but
fake sports watch. I do wear it when I sleep because I think that at least
some of that information is at least sort of accurate. I bought a Polar
a370 watch which is at least more accurate and a Scosche arm band, which is
also more accurate. But those aren't perfect either. Between the two of
them I at least get an idea of what's going on. The Fitbit stays in a box
by my bed. Once I get a better sleeping tool, then I'll just toss it
away. All this because Fitbit won't allow a chest strap.i like the watch
and website by the way .... What a waste.

[ScottHsv]

This is sorely needed. Would love to add a running power pod or chest HR for heart rate zone training.  

[underwhelmedF1t]

I am waiting since the dawn of time... can't believe this hasn't been done already... and, you know, Fitbit might want to actually have a representative reply or put info to say they are considering this feature in the near future, or something? Maybe so people don't have to keep wasting their time making suggestions and searching for updates on the matter? You know, Fitbit, like proper companies do? Customer service?

[ScottHsv]

Very long overdue feature that has been requested by many. 

[ashjennings07]

Its pretty obvious why they wont do this on the Ionic/versa, money!  If they open up the bluetooth for external sensors, you'd be able to use whatever brand you wanted/already had.  They'll probably develop their own wireless protocol so they can make more money.  I wish I'd bought a Garmin Vivoactive, you can use external sensors with those, no problems.

[zimscubasteve]

I did get rid of my Fitbit and moved to a Garmin. Forerunner 935. The 945 had just come out, it has everything you could ever need in a fitness watch. Fitbit is horrendous compared to Garmin. You get what you pay for I suppose.

[Hillsmama]

There is nothing worse than climbing a steep hill and kicking **ahem** only to look and see your HR registering below 100. I thought the charge 3 could be my all in one device and I was so stoked. But the HR doesn’t register as accurate EVER when I’m working out. It’s frustrating because then my numbers are off and it’s not an accurate assessment of my fitness. Please please please make an HR strap for when we go hardcore so it’ll register as accurate. 

What I'm surprised about is that, from a corporate standpoint, an HR strap can be another accessory to purchase and make money on.  Why drag your feet?  

[SunsetRunner]

I can't believe this is still rumbling on after 2 years. 

When it was clear that fitbit had no intention of supporting external sensors, I got a Viviactive 3 and have never regretted it. 

I've got a chest hrm, cadence and foot pod linked to it. 

Fitbit are not interested in serious sports/workout tracking, if you want 3rd party sensors look elsewhere.

[Tim1023]

Hey @SunsetRunner, how's the sleep tracking on the Viviactive? I read somewhere that it was pretty crap, getting confused about times, needing to be reset on a regular basis etc. This was the main reason I went for the Fitbit Versa in the end.

Not that I've been so impressed with the sleep tracking that it offers...

[led1002]

This request is 2 years old now and Fitbit hasn’t moved on it.  I posted to the request in 2018.  I gave up on it  when my Ionic died and I replaced it with an Apple Watch.  I now have the chest strap integration, sleep tracking, superior display and much, much more. My only regret is that I didn’t leave the Fitbit sooner.  

[Rob71]

Wow....can't believe this is still an issue that hasn't been addressed by
Fitbit yet. I ditched my device, went back to Garmin and sold my Fitbit
stock due lack in confidence in their strategy (and total lack of response
to customer input with this issue).

[Jacobsen]

Hmm... I see this is a 5 year old issue, going on 6. 

It’s like watching the CEO of Nokia Phone’s thinking he knows best

[lycan]

please allow - Myzone chest strap zync with fitbit charge 3.

HIIT workouts, boxing demands accuracy and flexible wrist movements-without compromising  realtime data accuracy.

[notoriousrab430]

I want this too. I race motorcycles and want to monitor my heart rate while racing. Wearing a device on your wrist is not smart because it could break your wrist depending on how you crash. Even the thin ones are too hard and too big to mitigate the risk. I tried a flex 2 but the hardness of the bit could cause a break if it hit the ground during a crash. 

Having a chest mounted one would be great for cycling and motorcycle racing. 

[notoriousrab430]

I guess I have to go buy an Apple Watch for this integration. Oh well. Been using Fitbit for 4 years....that’s a shame. 

[steve.devore]

Yeah... I decided to get a Garmin Watch, and go that route... Too bad, I'd have liked to stay with Fitbit, but it just doesn't fit my needs.

[SunsetRunner]

I've been loyal to FitBit for over 4 years, but am getting quite frustrated with the device's Heart Rate Monitoring accuracy. The accuracy is so bad that I have completely ignored the data and have since moved on to using an external HRM Chest Strap. With the external HRM Chest Strap, you will get better accuracy with HR since it is directly over the heart vs. the wrist. No device that utilizes an optical sensor on the wrist will be as accurate or comparable to a chest strap. FitBit should allow for other HRM chest straps to sync with the device and override the current HRM. There are other companies like Polar and Garmin that have already implemented this with their devices. FitBit....please make this happen. My loyalty depends on it.  

[Rob71]

Good luck - Fitbit has never responded to this particular issue in years. I
moved on and back to Garmin a long time ago. I also sold my Fitbit stock as
I list confidence in their consumer strategy.

[Mike-in-Airdrie]

Very understandable. I will likely do the same when I'm ready for a new
watch.

[Starkman78]

Fitbit simply refuses to admit that their optical sensor doesn't have the
accuracy of a chest strap. No wrist based HR monitors do and other
manufacturers seem to realize that and allow their devices to integrate with
chest straps during workouts. After all this time and so many requests,
Fitbit won't budge and it's downright absurd. After seven years with Fitbit
(starting with the Flex and ending with the Ionic), I got an Apple Watch and
I love it. Not only for the chest strap integration but because it does
everything that Fitbit does better. It is an objectively superior product
and my training and sleep hygiene have improved since I started using it.

[Mike-in-Airdrie]

Can someone recommend a watch that works with Android? Looks like we will all be leaving Fitbit. Workout HR are way off on my Ionic.Sent from my Samsung Galaxy smartphone.

[cathy_c]

Yup, crazy that this has gone on for this long. I posted about this a couple of years ago. Really hoped Fitbit would address this. I was a long-time Fitbit fan.  In the end accurate data was more important to me than any kind of loyalty to Fitbit. I needed a new running watch and Garmin is my go-to. Their new watches combine everything that my Fitbit and running watch did in one device so I ditched my Ionic despite it being quite new in favour of having just one device which did it all and with ACCURACY.  Hello chest strap for my runs.  Good bye Fitbit. It was nice (most  of the time).  😕

[tonyhighsocks]

I have been dealing with the inaccuracy of the heart rate monitor on the Versa since purchased. I really like the Versa a lot. However, I am becoming very frustrated with the accuracy of the heart rate monitor. Two Sundays ago, on a long run, my average heart rate was 179. This past Sunday on the exact same route it was 140. My heart rate is usually between 125 and 130 on my long runs. Last night I ran 4.5 miles on a high school track - constant speed, completely flat running track. On that 45 minute run, my heart rate fluctuated between 123 and 203. The Versa position on my wrist was not changed at all during the run. Completely unacceptable. Please come out with a chest strap that will more accurately monitor heart rate or make the Versa compatible with another company's chest strap. This is really getting very annoying!! Thanks for your consideration. 

[EdsonFitbit]

@tonyhighsocks Thanks for your suggestion about developing a chest strap to track heart rate.

I moved it to this thread to maintain this board organized and because it is the same idea.