Fix the Heart Rate lag during exercises

[Martin20202]

The heart rate during exercise is lagging behind vthe reality extremely. I had a medical checkup with the heart rate going up to 190 and the sense recorded 166. It is often reported that the heart rate measurement is quite good over long times, but not for short times. Intervalls etc. are not accurately measureable.

[YojanaFitbit]

Hi @Martin20202, and thanks for taking the time to share this suggestion about fixing the Heart Rate lag during exercises. We rely on feedback like yours to help us develop products and features that we know our community wants to see. If this suggestion receives votes from other customers and gains popularity, it will be shared internally with various teams at Fitbit. To learn more about how Fitbit decides which suggestions get developed, visit our FAQs.

Watch this space for status updates. In the meantime, try visiting Health & Wellness to talk with other members about all things health and fitness.

[harshani]

There is a whole number of us begging Fitbit for MONTHS asking to give a choice between active minutes and zone minutes. fitbit decided to take active minute option completely away from app and watches and thrust Zone minutes which is known to change based on heart rate and gender, race, type of diet you have, different medical conditions, different medical drugs you take, environment and etc etc etc.,

All we asked was to give people who have issues to be able to use active minutes ... aka ... give us a choice to chose active and zone minutes. Since June /July months this zone minutes were thrust and they have not changed anything. Now, this random thing appears and it is not going away. I have deleted and re deleted and it is not going away. 

Me and many others have learned that Fitbit moderators cannot do anything. Any complaints here mean nothing to them and moderators cannot do anything.

Trust me ..... fitbit NEVER listens

[angelius15]

I have also had this problem. For example, I just completed a 20 min exercise that was intense yet the cal burn was rated at only38 or so. I was dying during that workout. There are other times when I am not working out as hard and in the same duration I get a cal burn of over 100. This is with the placement of the tracker in the same place on my wrist. So, hundreds, if not thousands, of us have requested Fitbit to either make their own chest strap monitor to improve accuracy and get real time HR or team up with one already on the market and work on compatibility. We are met with the same, "Thanks for letting us know. We're working on it but it's not avail. at this time" or "We've moved your comment to the discussion board on this topic so please vote." Many of us have just given up and either invested in an Apple tracker or just don't rely on that particular feature due to the gross inaccuracy. It seems Fitbit is too busy worrying about activating features so I can use my tracker to pay for items, (which I don't want) and not really paying attention to what the community really is asking for. 

[Bauer24]

Most of us have spent £300 on your best watch. Yet it can’t even give an accurate HR reading. If you visit the Sense community pages you’ll see it’s the most thing people complain about.

[jumper0888]

Fitbit must address this issue!  Almost $500 CDN and my $200 Versa 2 is infinitely more accurate. Not acceptable. If this is not addressed this will be the last Fitbit product i purchase (for what it’s worth)

Moderator Edit: Formatting

[YojanaFitbit]

Hi @Bauer24, thanks for sharing your feedback. I've moved it into a similar request.  A lot of users are asking for this option, I hope we receive updates soon.

[Adrockwe]

I just wanted to add my voice to the chorus here.  My last Fitbit device died and now I'm looking at replacing it and upgrading.... I *would* love to try out the Fitbit Sense, but with the universally known fact that Fitbit's HR Tracking is abysmal I'm jut about ready to spend my $$$ on a Garmin Venu instead.   If I had confidence that Fitbit was serious about correcting this issue then I'd wait!

[jumper0888]

I pray that this heart rate issue is fixed. My heart rate as per the Sense is 20-30 bpm lower than my actual rate. The one reason I bought the almost $500 watch is for activity tracking and it doesn’t do that. Extremely disappointed with this product 

[MichelleW77]

I just got my Sense and have been using it for a week and a half and have all the same issues talked about here.  I wish I had seen this before purchasing it to replace my Versa 2 that died.  I have heard many rumors that customer service is not what it used to be since FitBit was taken over by Google and I hope they are able to prove the rumors wrong!

[Mattcor15]

Yeah the new sense is not fit for purpose to be used to track your heart rate - and thus all the other features - when you use it for your workouts. The responses I have had from Fitbit are pathetic. Having spent so much money you’d expect this feature would not have regressed from other models. Can see them losing a lot of customers on this. Can confirm mine is going in the bin and I will be getting a garmin and linking to my heart rate monitor. And I will not be going back

[msmonaotr]

I recently purchased the sense and wished I had known about this heart rate issue before I paid so much money for it! I'm a healthcare professional and can manually count my heart rate. I was shocked when the sense had my heart rate at 72 during an intense elliptical workout. I checked manually using my carotid pulse and my heart rate was 142. Sense kept my heart rate in the 70-80 range throughout most of the workout, occasionally going up to 130's. I think it was fairly accurate at those times. This appears to be a long standing, known issue. Is fitbit working on it? I would like a moderator to respond. 

[Annieod]

I am having the same issue. I use a wahoo tickr HR monitor to do workouts on the Fiit app. When I'm pushing myself hard during cardio workouts, my sense tells me my HR is almost half of what the tickr is (more accurately) reporting. Today the tickr told me my HR was between 160-180BPM while my sense didn't even go above 100BPM. Really, really frustrating and I definitely agree that for a watch of this price Fitbit should be addressing the issue. Especially considering how many people seem to be reporting this issue. 

[alex-w]

Same here, I was so surprised that the Sense heart rate accuracy is inferior to that of my old Ionic.  

I like my Sense watch and the amazing technology it packs--but it obviously needs a firmware fix.  I have no doubt that FitBit will find a solution soon--especially with the resources that the new owner (Google) brings to the table.  The Sense is their iconic watch and I am certain a fix will happen.

In all fairness to Fitbit, all the watches I have including the excellent Apple Watch 5 are often problematic with heart rate accuracy--especially in some training scenarios--for example when running or aerobics.  All optical heart-rate-sensors, no matter what brand, suffer from these limitations.  

I found the Sense gave very accurate results when measuring sleep heart rate and sedentary heart rate.  I compared these to those of medical equipment I use and they are remarkably similar.

The problems start when I start exercising.  The Ionic was a little more accurate than the Sense during exercise involving arm movements and interval training--but it also often reported the wrong heart rate intermittently.  This is also true with the Apple Watch and Garmin.

Having accurate HR during exercise is vital for me, so I started using the MAF+ earplugs that include HR and HRV.  They give  ECG-like results and are way more reliable than all the watches I own including the Apple Watch. No wrist monitor can offer the accuracy of a strap or in-ear monitors.

I have no commercial affiliation with MAF earbuds from the philmaffetone site.

Finally, I must give FitBit support the credit they deserve.  I reached out to support about the issues I am experiencing and they, after sending me the usually automated replies, took the matter seriously.  After escalating the issue to a higher level, the replies were laser-focused and personal.  I even received a phone call and spoke with a helpful fellow.  

My advice to anyone experiencing issues is to be polite and courteous, even though you may be frustrated and angry.  Hurling abuse at anyone has never helped solve any issues.  Those who are polite, patient--but firm, will get a better response. 

I think Fitbit offers the best fitness app available for my needs, there is nothing like it--and I have tried all of them.  The Fitbit Sense is a lovely watch and it brings features and options that I find helpful-- I am glad I bought it.  All that needs to happen is a firmware update that corrects some of the current issues.

[Mattcor15]

All I’ve managed to get is automated rubbish. What did they say exactly on the heart rate issue?

Get Outlook for iOS

[alex-w]

At this moment they are asking me about my usage and when I notice the errors in readings.  I am communicating with a supervisor.   I suggest you ask that your matter be escalated to a supervisor.   Good luck.

[SwissChris]

Will there be a fix soon for that issue? My Fitbit Sense shows 100 bps max at a HIIT training, when in reality it was more than 155 maybe even 160 bps.

[Mattcor15]

>From the responses I’ve been given they don’t have a clue. Just get a garmin like I’ve done and you can link it to a heart rate strap like myzone. All same stats, way better accuracy I’ve found already

Get Outlook for iOS

[JoeM4]

Love my Sense, but like others, the heart rate tracking is a huge disappointment.  That is my only complaint, but a big one.  My cardio circuit training days include, treadmill, spin cycle, and rowing.  The treadmill HR measurements are relativity ok.  With cycling the HR is problematic,  dropping considerably (while by Polar HR monitor shows my HR increasing). While rowing,  the Sense shows the HR in the 80s, while the Polar is in the 140 range.   I've tried all the suggestion with changing locations on the arm, switching arms, inside of wrist, putting a sweat bank on it, etc.,  but nothing is working.   The only consolation is that I know my Sense is not a defective one, as everyone else has the same issue.   Please Fix - its affecting your market share. 

Long Time Fit Bit Customer

[alex-w]

Hi Mattcor15

No mate, I prefer my Sense to the Garmin and the FitBit app is much more useful for my needs—it is unique.

I am certain that the new owner (Google).will bring many smart innovations to FitBit.   It is true that the old company was not listening to their customers and nearly went bust as a result.  Besides, I use the MAF+ earbuds with HR and HRV during exercise they are ECG accurate and provide an excellent sound as a bonus.  

The Sense fills all my other needs perfectly it is really a brilliant piece of technology with a few firmware issues that Google will fix for sure.

[cwilliams01]

I agree with AlexW 

I love my Sense and the FitBit App the FitBit App has all the features I want.  The Sense has quite a few glitches in the firmware, one of the prominent ones being the often incorrect and unreliable HR reporting.. These glitches are common with all new digital hardware. 

Goggle's immense resources and coding skills will fix these and hopefully end the ridiculous and outrageous Premium subscriptions to see the data that the Sense produces.

Please Google fix it

[duddyangel]

Alex-w

Same here I am not about to give up my Sense and the FitBit app.  I am a long time FitBit user because it offers a true fitness watch and app.  I just want a Firmware update that addresses the problems listed here.  And yes Carolyin01 the Premium subscription imposed to see basic and essential data must go.

[steveo57]

The lag is as bad or worse than described. Notwithstanding the lag (the watch seems to be about 20-30 beats low) all the active zone minutes that are below the cardio level over the whole workout.  Example :  If you do 30 minute workout at an actual cardio heart rate of 135 bpm which gives 2X active zone minutes that gives you 60 AZM and also adds double the calorie burn rate which calculates the amount of food you can eat to maintain your weight.  When the amount of calculation is -20 or -30 AZM you are showing in the fat burn zone or none which is 1X or no active zone minutes and calories are less so the food section is low on the amount of calories you should be able to eat.  This is frustrating and depressing because I know I am getting more but also dangerous because I try to get in the cardio zone and I am really at 155 to 170 BPM and also maybe mot eating enough food because that calculation is being calculated in the fat burn or none range.  Please fix the algorithm or the watch sensors

[MarkNus]

See your own community posts

[YojanaFitbit]

Hi @MarkNus, thanks for explaining why you would like to have the option to see a better heart rate reading while exercising. I've moved it into a similar request. I think that a lot of users would like to have this option on their Fitbit devices.You can learn more about how Fitbit decides what suggestions get released in our FAQs.

[radzieus]

This is NOT just a "short-interval" issue. My HR will go up and stay up 165-185 during a workout. I wouldn't even mind if there were a lag. I get 175 on my chest strap and 106 on my Sense. Not even close. No matter where I wear it, I've tried every wrist location and tightness.