Sense Heart Rate not accurate

[Hhasan]

The heart rate on my new is sense is very off, I used another heart rate monitor and measured my pulse using my fingers, and fitbit's measurements are always the outlier. I've seen others complain about this but there's no answer out. I've tried everything from force stopping, restarting, changing heart rate zones to changing the placement. Nothing works. I would appreciate any help, thanks.

Moderator edit: subject for clarity 

[4223LNS]

Thanks for info. Too bad Fitbit Customer Service to explain that to me.

I am sooooo sorry for posting on the incorrect post. Please accept my apology.

Sent from my iPhone

[VeracityV]

I really wish I'd have read these threads before I shelled out the money for this thing... is heart rate/exercise monitoring not the main purpose of these devices? I had a Charge 3 , and it would lose my HR little bits during exercise if I got really sweaty or the band shifted, but this Sense is SO off... my exercise machine and manual check both show HR of 170 where the device shows below zone? Here I am killing myself trying to get in the zone. 

Doing factory reset and trying again as per supports advice but I am certainly not optimisitc at this point.. 

[Guy_]

@VeracityV 

Don't bother with the factory reset it won't make the software work any better than it currently doesn't. And you are more likely to run into other problems.

Inaccurate heart rate is a known flaw in the new watches.

To get around the problem the old Versa displays the heart rate and the Sense with its the beautiful design, great Google Assistant implementation and its other useful features for everything else.

The downside is having to wear 2 watches.

[mauretto77]

Factory reset and the rest change nothing. They have to fix with a new firmware

Moderator edit: personal info removed

[mauretto77]

Yes but I have a ionic and I can’t connect the two watches at the same time. I have to go to the gym with the ionic and than connect the sense and disconnect the ionic every time.

Moderator edit: personal info removed

[Guy_]

Hi Mauro

Create a second account.

That way you only need logout and login. Works quite well.

The pairing happens reasonably well once you get used to it.

My second watch I sync about once a week to collect data.

I wear them both.

[mauretto77]

Sorry but if I create a second account the data from the gym is only collected on the second account with the ionic. They don’t merge together in my global position. Am I right?

Moderator edit: personal info removed

[Guy_]

@mauretto77  You are right. However it may still work.

My secondary Versa, with no notifications or syncing during the week, was charged 4 full days ago and is at 33% battery still.

Is it absolutely necessary to have the results on one account.?

[Sleepstageless]

Absolutely agree. I have had problems with my  sense since I got it. I’ve tried everything suggested, snd more. Can get constant heart reading or do any of the other measurements it claims.  No conclusions with help centre, haven’t heard from then in ages and think they have put my case in too hard basket and given up on me. So I’ve returned my sense three days ago and bought new Apple Watch 6 which is amazing! Does everything and more, exceeds my expectations! Highly recommend

[Sleepstageless]

Return and get an apple 6, I’ve just done that couple days ago and am very happy with it. After all the problems with inaccurate hr readings in sense I’m pleased I changed it

[Guy_]

@SleepstagelessYour frustration is noted but why would anyone buy a watch with a battery that doesn't last a day. You'll spend more time charging it than wearing it!

My Casio lasted 5 years on one battery, now that's a watch, it tells the time and you don't have to remember to charge it.

[mauretto77]

The problem is that on the principal account I have the sense with the routine data and all the history back in years. In the second account I have the ionic with the gym and train data that are essential for the fit level and all the other things that the watch does. You can transfer manually the gym train on the main account but you can count only the calories and length. I can’t find the way out. They are forcing me to give up on Fitbit.

Moderator edit: personal info removed

[Hhasan]

@Guy_  based off some of your comments and what I've read, you seem to have experience with watches. Which watch would you recommend?

[Guy_]

@mauretto77 , yes, it would be great if we got some news from Fitbit. And they made the Sense actually work as it should.

[t.parker]

@Hhasan what are you into? You need sports tracker or activity tracker (two different things), or smartwatch with fitness tracking capabilities? There are hundreds of devices to choose from nowadays and the more specific your requirements are the better choice you are going to make. I went through a number of devices, ended up with Garmin. Parted my ways with Fitbit, Polar and Suunto (various reasons). My Garmin watch has issues with wrist HR from time to time (for example, early morning cardio takes a good few minutes to catch up but this is a limitation of the technology - body temperature and reduces blood flow after waking up) but I use paired chest strap for accuracy. I don't expect OHR to work every time, especially for activities requiring bending wrist and causing forearm pump. If you look for this kind of accuracy get any watch that can pair with external sensor. Nobody forces you to stick with a single brand. We have to pick what works for us and sometimes it is a trial error to gather working gear. I use devices from different brands, Polar HR sensors and bike computer, Garmin watch and speed/cadence bike sensors (to make my "dumb" trainer smarter), Stryd foot pod sensor for running accuracy and running power measurement (worth mentioning Polar Vantage can estimate running power without additional sensor), number of different apps working all together. Fitbit may never fix the HR issue. There is a fix that would win them even more users - allowing to pair external monitors but I don't see it happening. For me, this is a major criteria when I look for a sports watch - how many various sensors I can pair with a watch.

[steveo57]

So if you create two accounts you can still keep all of your data and keep using both and everything just keeps adding up ?  Food database and tracking on everything seamless ?  What about the setup and and syncing of both watches?  Is it seamless to switch back and forth between watches with two accounts?  Can you explain a little better please?

[Guy_]

@steveo57  For two accounts, switching works, it pairs the watch that goes with the account.

Primary account you use all the time with notifications etc.

Secondary account you switch to about once a week, for upload and then switch back.

To switch, logoff Fitbit App, remove from active task list, swipe off the list.

Login in to other account. Pull down refresh, wait a few seconds, go to device page and sync, it generally offers Pair, if not do it again.

After that it uploads any data.

Repeat the process to go back to primary account.

Is working well. If there is a problem, clear cache and force stop between logins but generally not necessary.

NB. If you switch off all reminders on the secondary account, as it's not syncing, battery lasts well.

I use SimpleClockDuo on both watches, as it keeps track of the charges & battery levels and uses dark theme for long battery life on each and runs autonomously, so you can still check hours to move,  etc. As it doesn't need a phone.

During exercises of any type you still have all info visible, time, heart rate, etc. available on secondary watch without any navigation.

Effectively two watches gives you two concurrent views, so minimises navigation, and each become single handed devices, you only need raise your wrist to get the information and don't need to use the other hand to operate the watch.

Lastly if you don't charge both at the same time [though you can] you have a watch that gives you time and heart rate, etc permanently.

Don't forget to set the wrist dominance for each watch.

Hope that's what you wanted to know.

[Guy_]

@HhasanHi, good but difficult question. It very much depends on your needs and the facilities you want, and cost. @t.parker  has explained well the fitness perspective, thanks.

Also the situation changes with updates.

For me, a watch [Apple] you have to charge once or twice a day is a waste of time.While its charging its not measuring your health or giving you notifications. In comparison my Withings [very accurate heart rate, time not easy to read] and Ufit [accurate heart rate, also has blood pressure, though not so accurate, indicative enough, but only cost $38] watches go a month between charges, and my old Casio 5 years!

Currently in the Fitbit range, Versa 2 and up seem to have problems with heart rate, and other issues due to bugs or poor algorithms or even conception. As the poor heart rate was introduced in the Versa 2 with the last update its probably the software.

If the heart rate problem was fixed on all watches the newer watches [Sense, Versa 3] are nicer, have a slightly bigger screen, and useful features, like skin temperature, Google Assistant, fast charge [max around an hour], or add a day in about 10 minutes, same battery life as Versa 2 with SpO2 enabled, but poorer vibrate which can easily go undetected.

Until they messed up the Versa 2 it was probably the better choice, if they fixed the Sense and Versa 3 heart rate and vibrate they would be good choices in the Fitbit range. My Versa oddly seems the only one to have survived the updates and gives a pretty good heart rate.

One really nice feature of the Fitbit Versa and up range is you can design your own watch face or there are thousands to choose from that best suit your needs. When all is working well the Fitbit App is quite good.

As regards the operation the older watches seem to be more reliable to touch, avoid a factory reset though. The new ones are still very new so bugs are not sorted yet.

So it all depends on what is important to you, and what will bother you if its not meeting your needs.

[Guy_]

@steveo57    Of course you can use a second phone or a PC for the second account with the secondary watch attached then no switching will be necessary.

[bobby2478]

@t.parker I disagree. For Fitbit to at least publicly acknowledge there is a problem with HR Accuracy, that is transparency that at least would show they are aware of it, and have engineers actively working on a solution. I would be satisfied if I knew that Fitbit formally acknowledged there is an issue and that they have their engineering team hard at work on a solution for it. Even if a solution is a month or more away, that would at least give me confidence it would be addressed at some point.

Where up until this point Fitbit has been very dodgy about HR accuracy where they haven't formally acknowledged it is even a "problem", they've gone out of their way to try and rationalize or explain why it's crap but not admitting that it wasn't working correctly. That lead me to believe they were taking the stance there was no problem, HR accuracy was just fine, and thus they were not even working on a solution. That would explain why there's been no fix over 4 months after launch.

So I would like to know if Fitbit formally acknowledges that there is an issue with HR accuracy on the Sense/Versa 3, and that they are actively working on a solution. If they acknowledged the issue and that they are pursuing a firmware update to address it, that would give me hope they will get it sorted out eventually. If it's a design flaw with the new PurePulse 2.0 technology and thus isn't fixable then people will rightfully be upset because they got screwed.