Heart Rate accuracy

[MayurP]

Sense's heart rate accuracy is way off and very unreliable. One day I was able to take my heart rate all the way up to 110-115 bpm while doing a brisk walk. Today I tried my very first elliptical workout and tried real hard and it struggled to measure anything above 99 bpm (I was gasping for air and still didn't log anything meaningful). I have been working out on same elliptical same resistance settings and using apple watch it was quiet consistent and same effort would clock my heart rate between 180-140 based on resistance and would average out at 160 bpm. I am giving up on this half-baked device and is going back. This device definitely not ready for prime-time

Take a look at the attached screenshot for both workouts this doesn't make sense.

 

[Tanya2020]

I did my usual Body Pump workout with Fitbit Sense today, previously I’ve been using Fitbit Ionic for the last 3 years. So with sense I’ve got only 17 active minutes during the entire workout, while with Ionic it was always not less than 50. It’s insane ! Please do something about this watch otherwise I would need to return it 

[Megmegjo]

I'm having the same issue! I love so much about the Sense but I did a workout today that should have been mostly cardio and never even got cardio levels on the tracker! 

[dmiles]

Here is my elliptical workout with my ionic:

 same workout, same machine, same settings, with my sense:

 The spike at 147 is after I got off the machine. Problem? Yea, I’d say it’s a problem. 

[MayurP]

I already returned mine and got Galaxy Watch 3. Look and feels way better. And feels like an actual smart watch rather than a fitness tracker that doesn't even have advertised features

[KCinPA]

I just got my Sense a week ago and am noticing a huge difference between HR and calories burned between the Sense and my old Versa. Same exact workout that my Versa said I burned 450-500 calories and my Sense is stating half that.  My two mile walks show waaaay more calories burned than an intense 45 minute kickboxing session. Very frustrated! 

[caha460]

Exactly the same phenomenon I experience. The only time this thing is accurate is when I'm sitting down or just standing. My HR barely climbs when I'm actually pushing, but then hits 140 when I'm on a walk. This is not just a simple lag issue (as shown in the YouTube video referenced elsewhere); something else is wrong.

I'm sending mine back to Amazon, and replacement is supposed to arrive tomorrow. If the replacement doesn't work, and Fitbit can't help, I will regrettably have to go elsewhere. I don't have much patience left, and unfortunately, it has been a while since I've spoken to someone at Fitbit who is actually helpful.

[SunsetRunner]

@caha460 really interested in whether the replacement works. Please keep us posted 🙏

[caha460]

Junk. That captures it - sadly - at this moment.

I put the replacement on three days ago. Walking to the gym on Sunday, my HR was, once again, off the charts. Then, I started my class, and the HR wouldn't climb, just like before. Then the clock paused because the hair on my arm touched the button (I'm exaggerating, but you get the idea... placement/sensitivity of this button are ill-conceived). I resumed the workout. Then the watch shut itself down and restarted. Very frustrating. I restarted the workout.

After restarting, HR monitoring actually fixed itself. That carried me through yesterday (Monday), and I was happy. This ended abruptly today, however. Today has so far been a repeat of Sunday, but much, much worse. Walk to gym was again elevated. During class, the thing shut down and restarted THREE times, and the stupid button was tripped a couple times.

I have been loyal to Fitbit for 7+ years. I also have endless amounts of data on the app and do believe it's arguably the most comprehensive app of its sort, and so, as disappointed and frustrated as I am, I can't yet pull the trigger on an Apple Watch 6 or Garmin. So (perhaps against my better judgment, though hopefully the right move), Amazon is sending me yet another replacement (side note: amazing customer service, something Fitbit should learn from with their absurd 7-10 business day replacement nonsense). Fingers crossed, though if this one doesn't work, I am done.

[MayurP]

Also after using this device for nearly a week. I can tell the UI wasn't fluid it surely had lags also this device doesn't seem to have a processing power needed to utilize this many sensors/features at the same time. I highly doubt about getting to check some of the metrics on spot like skin temp, SpO2 etc. I clearly felt like not enough power do all that. 

[KCinPA]

I am totally frustrated.  I compared two identical workouts within the last six weeks.  With my Versa my HR average was 135.  With my Sense it was 105.  Same workout and I expected similar readings.   What other numbers are not reliable? 😩

[caha460]

You raise an interesting question about the quality of the data. Based on what I am seeing, it seems confined to HR, as my sleep numbers, step/floor counts, etc. appear in range, but who knows.

The HR issue seems pretty clear, and all I wonder is what Fitbit is/will be doing about it (beyond taking us through the usual troubleshooting playbook). My third (and last Sense, one way or the other) arrives today. I do analyze my data, and seeing an intense workout (split into three because the Sense crashes) look like I was twiddling my thumbs while a walk look like an intense run just doesn't sit well.

[dmiles]

I would say that you have done your homework, and present a fair assessment. Hopefully Fitbit will use the information that you and others present, to fix this product. As for me, I have sent mine back, at my own expense, and am awaiting my refund.

[Crazymama2two]

I regret purchasing this Fitbit. Haven’t had it a month and I hate it and can’t return it

[KCinPA]

I just compared my monthly HR zone minutes. Wow! I was in the hundreds for August and September but have SIXTEEN hours month-to-date October (when I started using my Sense). Nothing has changed. I may go back to my Versa just for accuracy’s sake. Definitely canceling my free Premium trial as I’m not paying for unreliable data.

[SunsetRunner]

Same here. Any cheap fitness tracker would have given me the same performance. Nothing breathtaking here when the HR is worse than Apple 6

[Burkmere]

Same here. the heart rate tracker is accurate when resting, etc. mostly, but did a light walk this morning and it got up to 150 etc. It's not accurate...frustrated....they need to fix this!!!  It sucks!!

[BigRalphN]

You may not be any happier. Forums are full of Heart rate issues with the entire Galaxy Watch series. The new Galaxy Watch suffers Fri. The same issue my Active 2 does. Heart Rate track g on exercises, especially with heavy exertion, will just quit in tbe middle of a workout. I have had my Active 2 for over a year and none if the updates have helped. I came from an Ionic which got better every update but just didn't like my phone. I have since replaced both so I will try the Sense now. And Samsungs latest features are only supported fir their Galaxy class phones, which is never mentioned anywhere and goes against their original clsims. After a lot if complaints they made a site with compatible phones. It's a short list and al ist all out of date phones. So a year later they activate everything and I can't use, ECG or BP. Now there is a workaround for the heart rate issue. Two actually. The first is to buy a third party program called gear Tracker. It has a routine that checks the watch for Heart rate freezes and restarts the sensor. This mostly works but in the summer I saw restarts of 100 times more than once. So haw accurate was my tracking? The other is to remove the watch from your wrist, wipe off the sensor and tbe sweat off your wrist then put it back in. Normally this fixes it. On occasion it takes a reboot. So much for heart rate tracking. The problem with a forum like thus is you only hear from people with issues so it's hard to get a good read on things. I see a video or two mentioning it also. I got my Ionic the week it came out. It had issues with heart rate but they seemed to square it away after a few updates. Unfortunately they never mention prior if they are aware and working on it. I am curious if it works for some. I only walk. Samsung first told you to leave the band so you could slide a finger on it. Now they say wear it at least an inch above the wrist bone and wear it tight. That sort of high and uncomfortable. How is it if you only walk? Is it all types of workouts? This and the reboot issue makes me want to cancel my order but if you count the number of posts, it isn't that many so is it a few or a lot of people. Who knows. I would love to hear more. Have people tried positioning, tightness etc. Heavy sweating? Or just crap. Keep in mind Samsung has bugs as well and it's been a year for them with little or no improvement. By the way, if you are just walking the Samsung will not lock up as often unless it's hit weather. It seems not to like sweat. Yet it works under water so maybe software. I had the original Galaxy Watch first. Horrendous heart rate issues. The Active 2 and new Galaxy tried more sensors. It helped some. But I will kit ever buy a Samsung after a year later adding new requirements not mentioned at purchase. 

[MayurP]

I have got galaxy watch 3 and it doesn't seem to have that many freezes as your active 2 is. I have got flagship galaxy phone so things are more compatible for me and like you said some of their features that might be exclusive to galaxy phone. I have noticed one time heart rate freeze in a period of month so far. 

[carlosgrebe]

Couldn't agree more.  Used Ionic for years, also the Inspire HR to swim.  Never had a problem outside of wearing them out.  I am on my second Sense.  Will give it one more try.