Sense HR after update

[LucyT-B]

My sense HR tracker has had its ups and downs but seemed to be working very efficiently throughout July and August. I then complete the update in September and since it has been SO off on my HR. Working out sweating loads and my HR shows 50-80bpm. Any help? Or how I can reverse the update?

[SonicMojo]

Lucy

Mine seemed to be really good too (purchased my Sense in late August) but like many others in the last few weeks - something has changed and not for the better. Assuming that firmware is to blame - but I cannot remember if/when something new came down to my Sense

For what it's worth - I am running 44.128.5.49 currently. It would be interesting to see what everyone else has and if we are all seeing the same thing.

My current workouts have shown that my Sense is wayyyyy off - in terms of "catching up" to my real heart rate - which I can easily feel is pounding during specific runs and HITT type training.

Sonic.

[Guy_]

Hi @SonicMojo -  Am using Android Fitbit App 3.44 and firmware 44.128.5.38. So no new problems that others are experiencing. Same old ones though.

[LucyT-B]

It’s ridiculous they should just recall them all and resend ones with the same sensors as the ionic because they work fine! 

[Guy_]

Hi @LucyT-B -  So does the original Versa.

However, it's more likely to be a software problem than a watch problem.

[SonicMojo]

I am not so certain - this one feels "firmware" related - which of course is "software" based to a certain extent - but if the actual hardware sensor components on the Sense are unable to deliver what we really need (second by second accurate HR display) then no amount of software changes will be able to overcome this.

Think along the lines of what happened a few years ago with the Intel CPUs (Spectre and Meltdown) became big news - there were piles of  "workarounds" that could be applied (which just slowed a typical PC down) but the root issue was in within the CPU itself - and no amount of software smarts could really fix the problem - only mitigate it. 

Given that Fitbit should have tons of developers at their disposal - if this was software - they would have solved it by now. That is why the Apple Watch most likely rules this space now - they have developed hardware sensors that really work.

Sonic.

[MarkMM]

I agree with @SonicMojo . If it was just software, you'd think they'd have figured it out in a year. 

[Guy_]

As the problem in this topic occurred after the firmware update, it is software.

Like the floor count that was fine, and then became ridiculous after an update.

The fact that the original and more recent HR problem has not been addressed is the issue.

The watch is capable of giving VERY accurate HR results, and proves it works. It's the filter for any movement that is not working.

[SonicMojo]

@Guy_ 

Are you implying that the Sense once DID actually work as designed (accurate second by second HR display)?

No one has ever actually confirmed (on these forums anyway) that the Sense has ever worked 100% effectively with it's HR sensing or display.

It makes no sense to me (or their business model) that Fitbit would take something that was 100% working (if it ever really was) and then make it not work. And then take heat on it for over a year?

If this device HAS actually been 100% on HR - I am curious as to when that might have been as I have not seen anything like this since I purchased my new Sense in late August 2021. I probably missed the good days (if there were any 🙂

If this is actually the case - you would think that Fitbit would be smart enough to revert back to whatever their software was doing right and leave it alone. 

However the canned responses from the Support team (especially marking this as Resolved) makes me feel like there is much more to this issue ( more complex) - perhaps to the point I was making earlier - the hardware may have real limitations that cannot be overcome via firmware. This is very common for a lot of todays tech.

Sonic

[MarkMM]

My was never good, but it did possibly get worse. For example, walking hard and swinging arms, all below fat burn. Couldn't hit 100 BPM. It's been mostly turned off lately, but more recently testing, can't hit 90 BPM. So it may have dropped 10 more BPM with the update. 

[Guy_]

Hi, As far as can be ascertained from posts there were always problems with the Sense HR since release in September 2020 when it came out, however, if you are stationery for a minute or so it CAN give very accurate readings.[Which is probably good for the night time measurements]

The point is if you are moving its probably not going to be accurate. Today mine was showing 140 when it should have been 69 [taken with 2 other non Fitbit instruments which gave an identical and consistent reading, and an original Versa was also close]. When stationery they all concur.

From the reports on this site it seems the last update has made it worse. Which begs the question if it can be made worse, perhaps it could be made better?

If the hardware and software is capable of sometimes producing accurate results, it also begs the question why not all the time?

While there could be a limitation in the hardware, it would seem odd that it is capable of giving good results sometimes and at other times grossly over reading by double or under reading, depending on the activity and the watch.

[SonicMojo]

@Guy_ 

I think you nailed it with this:

"While there could be a limitation in the hardware, it would seem odd that it is capable of giving good results sometimes and at other times grossly over reading by double or under reading, depending on the activity and the watch."

The more I read and gather intel from other users - this is the basic Fitbit company line - something like this: The Sense features awesome HR monitoring (in only certain situations under certain conditions). They build in just enough to be able to market the thing and have it report  "reasonable" HR stats when you happen to look at it.

That's great for Joe Average - who again - probably does not care about his health in the same way we do and could care even less if the numbers are actually accurate when he looks at his device.

Again - justttttt good enough. And perhaps that something "we" need to think about when considering tech like this - is good enough actually good enough? Or is it not. I have definitely been left with a less than stellar taste in my mouth with this new Sense. I was very excited to get it and put it through it's paces and I really felt like this time I might have something really good. But it seems it's just good enough.

But having Fitbit support act like Zuckerberg with Facebook by apologizing over and over and saying they continue to "work on it" - instead of saying the truth (maybe this device simply CANNOT display HR correctly - ever) - really frosts my corn.

For them - like all the others - it's about profit vs actually delivering on a product that might actually works as designed. I will be very interested to see how that new Apple Watch handles my HR as I head toward Oct 28 and my return on this Sense.

Sonic

[m-umar]

Just search this forum for threads about HR and see you're not alone. You're  @SonicMojo  the lucky one if you can get the money back but there are lot of us here with HR issues and without this choice.

[SonicMojo]

All

Did another monitoring series early this morning with my standard cardio routine - which is 20 on the treadmill, 5 on the Jacobs Ladder and 15 on the rowing machine. I made sure the Sense was 100% charged when I started today and adjusted the strap to be at notch 3 instead of my usual 4. And then watched it like a hawk for the duration.

Oddly the treadmill portion of the workout seemed to be weirdly bang on for some reason today. My HR ramped up normally and stayed in a decent 125 zone for the entire 20. Got off the TM and rested for two minutes before Jacobs Ladder - watching my HR ramp down normally to about 107.

During the JL portion I quickly ramped thru Fat Burn to Cardio to Peak (157-161) and stayed there for 5 - the Sense seemed to keep up - but started to notice the sweatier I got - the less accurate the Sense was. I wrapped JL and the Sense kept displaying my Peak for about a good 3-4 minutes AFTER I stepped off - then it finally started to ramp down. Another two minute break and it took the full 2 minutes to settle down.

When I finally hit the rowing machine - the Sense took about 1-2 minutes to ramp back up and then stayed in the high Cardio zone for the 15 minutes. 

But after I was done rowing - kept watching the Sense and even when I cleared the machine, took off the bathroom to splash my face with water and generally dry off - the Sense kept telling me I was still at 157 BPM. It stayed like this even when I left the gym and on my way to the car.

So all in all - yeah - this is a bit of a disaster. But I am starting to think this device may actually be keyed to "possibly" track HR sorta right in just a few specific scenarios like the treadmill. It was very odd to see it actually stay with me - kinda correctly - BUT only for a step based treadmill type thing.

As soon as I started rolling into more esoteric exercises - it seemed to completely lose sync with reality. 

Looking forward to hearing about anyone else's experience.

Sonic.