Not impressed with the sense

[Bethybai]

I got this watch for Christmas and I've had more complaints than anything already. I used to have a cheap less than $100 watch that was more accurate with step count and HR monitoring. While exercising at the gym the last 2 days i noticed on the treadmill there has been a difference of 10-50 bpm for HR. I tried wiping the sensors and my arm, I make sure it's at least 1 finger tip from my wrist bone and I also tried the 2 finger tips just in case. It also doesn't auto recognize my workouts as exercise. I have to manual start every exercise I do which gets annoying when you're already 6-10 minutes into your exercise before you remember you have to manually start it or your data won't be stored properly.

The steps are almost to 100 from me going from my bedroom to the bathroom which I've counted very small steps at only 40.

The battery life is supposed to be quite long but I've never had it last more than 2 days without needing to be charged and it most definitely take way longer than a shower to charge it. I see in the forums that you basically need to have every function on this watch turned off in order to get that 6 day life but what is the purpose of buying this $300 watch if I can't use anything on it to get the battery life that is advertised.

The sleep detection is not very good either. Last night I woke up at 4 am for a bathroom run and went back to sleep until 7 am. It did not auto detect that I went back to sleep and I had to manually update it. 

Not sure if I just have a defective watch or not but it really doesn't seem so because everyone is having these issues. Just very disappointed in this as I've always heard great stuff about fitbit and have always wanted one. Now I just want to find another brand that better suits my needs and has a decent battery life.

[Gr4ndp4]

Hi, @Bethybai welcome to the community, Let me see if I can point you to information about the issues you raise.

How accurate are Fitbit devices? , How do I track heart rate with my Fitbit device? , address steps and HR. This third-party article talks about step accuracy (it's not just Fitbit) How to make your fitness tracker count steps more accurately - The Verge 

How do I track my sleep with my Fitbit device? provides in-depth advice and guidance on tracking your sleep. You will have noted you will need to have been sleeping for about an hour before it recognises you are sleeping.

Check the auto recognize settings in your Fitbit app on your phone. From the today screen touch your icon in the top left corner >Activity & wellness>exercise. Touch each exercise under auto-recognised exercises ensure the slider is on, set the longer than time and save. return to the today screen & sync.

You will find much more information in the manual and on Youtube in videos like this channel which you will find is worth exploring.

I hope this is helpful.

Cheers

[TommyIzzo]

@Bethybai If you search a bit, you'll find the low heart rate during exercise is a well known issue for over a year. No updates other that Fitbit stating they are aware of the issue and may not have a solution soon. You'd have to decide for yourself if that factor is important enough to keep it or not. A resolution is looking unlikely. I got a refund. Two threads about this have been locked recently.