Sense heart rate sensor not accurate

[arturmeireles]

My post is one of many that was posted before about inaccurate heart sensor from fitbit sense. What's going on Fitbit?! are you not going to correct it or what?!? It's been almost 6 months since the release of the Sense and still thousands of complains from Sense owners. I bought the Sense yesterday and I was shocked to see that my heart beat was away of during my afternoon workout. I'm returning it today!!! Just for you guys to see, look at the picture and compare my workout today with the workouts from yesterday with Charge 4. The Sense does not even count zone minutes!

 

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject, updated label and formatting

[Craigside]

Hi

I’ve had 2 new Sense devices over past few weeks. I returned the 2nd for full refund yesterday.

The Sense HR monitor is way off, it doesn’t give any meaningful data. There are lots of people with same issue.

If you want useful HR data you will have to get a different model. Sad but true. Good luck!

[arturmeireles]

It's such a HUGE shame that Fitbit knows the issue for sure but it seems it doesn't care because nothing was done till now. If nothing was done in 6 months since Sense launch , I doubt will do something to fix it in the future. BTW I'm very impressed that only few people complain about the inaccurate heart sensor. That's SOOOOO weird!!!!

[GregoryO]

Yes, I'm having the same problem with my new Fitbit Sense - its heart rate/calorie burn doesn't seem accurate compared to my previous Ionic.  Looks like there is nothing to do - other than to return my Sense & go back to my Ionic.  

Any other recommendations? 

[arturmeireles]

I just found this post and I did what was suggested. Tomorrow I will see how my heart beat will be during my workout. Hopefully it will solve. Let's see. Here is the link https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Sense/Sense-HR-issues-resolved-%EF%B8%8F/m-p/4533285

[GregoryO]

Thanks for sharing - I just went to try to change the Heart Rate Zones as described in the post you found. For some reason - when I type in the 200 Custom Max HR.  And the Upper/Lower Limits it blanks out after typing it.  

Did you have that same problem?  I even closed the app & restarted my iphone but the problem keeps happening so I can't update the custom zones.  

Also let me know if this solved for you in your workout tomorrow.  Thank you!

[arturmeireles]

For some reason the app has some kind of a bug it seems so as it is said on the post, you have to change the heart zone on the fitbit dashboard on the web browser. I did it and it worked. Log out from the fitbit app first and then go to the dashboard and after log in again on the app. Try it

[GregoryO]

Thank you - I missed that.  I just was able to adjust the HR zones in the Web Dashboard. 

I will let you know what results I have after tomorrow's work out.  Thank you again! 

[Rich_Laue]

Have you looked at what affects the heart rate? 

As for Accuracy, online reviewers seem to disagree, at least to a sense. Usually it is on tge periods of average. 

[GregoryO]

I tried the custom heart rate zone yesterday, didn't seem to much better.  Will try one more time tomorrow in more workout.  

Looks like I'll most likely return the Sense & revert back to my Ionic.  

[Mateos]

I am sorry but the HR issues of the Sense have been proven by many testers such as DC Rainmaker, DesFit, Bright, the Run Testers and The Quantified scientist on Youtube and many of us users have demonstrated the issue as well with valid comparisons. I have tested my device against my previous Ionic, the Charge 3 and an OH1 strap.  All I can say is that HR tracking is a hot mess and no accurate data is coming from the Sense. It is somewhat better when doing steady state cardio ecercises, but even then the variance is simply too big. When performing strength training a variance of 30 to 40 hbpm is not unusual. This makes the Sense pointless as an activity tracker. 
What frustrates me at this pont is that Fitbit does not even react to these complaints. Not even an acknowledgement of the issue. I like everything about the Sense and my previous devices, but this HR issue is just unacceptable. Fitbit should not ignore loyal customers and act like the device is working fine.  
I have trusted Fitbit to solve the issue so I have kept my Sense, but I am not so sure now.  I sincerely hope Fitbit is able to solve this issue of an otherwise perfect watch. 

[SunsetRunner]

My SENSE started registering my heart beats/minute (HBM) at 100-110 while I was sitting and has registered Z time today as 110. To find out what was happening to me I measured my HBM using a finger tip pulse oxi meter (96- 61) and a blood pressure cuff monitor (128/60/57). Their readings were fairly consistent at approximately 60 BPM.  Even when weight lifting my HR average for the month was (103 avg - 136 highest). The Fitbit just started acting like this today. Has anyone else seen something like this?

[SunsetRunner]

So here is what I did to resolve the problem:

1 select picture in upper left corner

2. select Sense and go to bottom of screen.

3. Select “remove this sense”

4. Reinstall sense

[Lassitup]

Has the same issue! Took mine back and got Apple Watch 6!

[SunsetRunner]

I just got a new Sense thinking my Versa 2 had malfunctioned. From searching through the forums, I have found out that the new firmware update they pushed to the Versa 2 had caused the heart rate sensor to be incorrect by quite a bit. Seems the Sense has the same thing...SINCE JUNE 2020. 

[steveo57]

If you do this does all of your historical data return exactly like it was ? Does this actually improve anything?  My problem is actually the opposite.  My heart rate registers low for activities (measured against other sources) causing me to not get into fat burn or cardio active zones (when I really am) which also cause wrong numbers of calories burned which affects the amounts of food I can eat to stay in under my calorie intake per day. I wish they would fix the problem instead of paying expensive gurus to advise us to stay calm.  I would calm down if they would just fix the problem.

[SunsetRunner]

I have purchased an Apple 6 because of the SENSE heartbeat problems. I will really miss the FITBIT as after 5 years finding data was second nature. I will keep the Sense for traveling because the Apple requires two charging periods a day to record 24/7. The Sense HB Monitor data return is so unlike the two previous FITBITs I had.  I do not know if it is more sensitive but sleep HB data goes from 90 - 40 , stays there for an hour and then shoots back up. During exercise I liked the FITBIT because I could monitor the heart rate with ease.  This is important because I learned to make sure I rested between weights or slowed down during spinning. You will find out that after you LEARN TO BREATHE CORRECTLY during exercise, you heartbeat range will drop precipitously.

[SunsetRunner]

1. Fitbit heart rate at 101 bpm - fingertip pulse oximeter 67 - SPO2 on watch 93 - SPO2 on oximeter 97 - I am glad that I do not have heart problems or this would send me to the doctors.. Today, I loaded the a patch, but nothing has changed... FITBIT you worked so good before you moved to google...

[dgorham98]

I'll add my voice to this thread as my Sense reports nonsensical heart rate numbers. The Sense is typically 30-40+ bpm lower than my chest-strap Garmin. That's a HUGE discrepancy, but it's just downright embarrassing that after busting my **ahem** on a particular Strava cycling segment, my Sense indicates that I didn't even make it into the Fat Burn heart rate zone with a max of 87bpm! Meanwhile, Garmin is indicating a range from the 140s to 150s. Fitbit, if you're reading this, I'm happy to provide outputs from both Fitbit and Garmin for comparison. I've been using my Sense for only about a week, but I'm hoping a fix is rolled out soon. I've been a Fitbit user since 2014. My previous device, a Charge 4, kept pace with the Garmin and was never more than 3-4 bpm difference, maybe even only 2-3 bpm difference!

[Cedarpup]

Just got my Fitbit a month ago.  The heart rate in a workout is about 20 bpm lower than my Garmin watch and strap.   However when I am sitting or not moving my wrist it is the same.  

I wondered if this was more of a mechanical issue and not a software issue.  I cross country ski and my wrist is constantly changing its contact with the devise.   I thought about shaving the hairs off my wrist or making my wrist wet.   Sometimes the strap doesn’t work if it isn’t properly placed or my skin is too dry.   

Fitbit did recommend moving the watch higher up your arm but with no explanation.  

ideas?