Really unhappy with heart rate monitor

[Burtonjoycered]

I am so disappointed with the heart rate monitoring on my Surge, 2nd device I've had for different reasons, monitoring was just about ok on 1st device but this one is terrible, some really erratic readings.. HR 168 on a dog walk this morning but not even above 100 yesterday in the gym doing a HIIT session, can anyone help? I've reset the device but to no avail.

[SolangeE]

Hello, @Burtonjoycered! Welcome aboard.  Hmmm..Can you please try to change your HR settings to Automatic, on or off, and sync between the changes. Another thing to consider is making sure you are wearing it correctly. Try with placing your tracker higher on your wrist; because blood flow in your arm increases the farther up you go, moving the tracker up a couple inches can be helpful. Also, make sure you're not wearing your tracker too tightly; a tight band restricts blood flow, potentially affecting the heart rate signal. After a short wait, you should see your correct heart rate again.

This and a couple of restarts in a row should get you back on track, let me know!

[Sandshoe]

Hi, I have a Surge that is about a year old. I am 64 and run for enjoyment so heartrate monitoring is more important to me than time. A couple of questions.

Why does the heartrate display vanish when I stop to check my heartrate then restart when I return to running?.

Secondly, can I change the display to show heartrate as the main display item and have time in the scroll data?

[SolangeE]

Hey, @Sandshoe! Welcome aboard!   I'll be happy to help here! Hey, just out of curiosity when you say it vanishes does your Charge HR show "--" instead of heart rate? The reason why I ask is because I also use my Charge HR while spin class and it sometimes shows two dashes but this is caused by the sweat on my arm. I then dry my arm and tracker and then it's working again. I'd recommend using a sweatband. 

Another thing to consider is making sure you are wearing it correctly. Try with placing your tracker higher on your wrist; because blood flow in your arm increases the farther up you go, moving the tracker up a couple inches can be helpful. Also, make sure you're not wearing your tracker too tightly; a tight band restricts blood flow, potentially affecting the heart rate signal. After a short wait, you should see your correct heart rate again. If this reading persists, try changing your Heart Rate setting from "Auto," which means the heart rate tracker is usually active when you're moving, to "On," which means the heart rate tracker is always active. Then, try relaxing your wrist and staying still briefly about 10 seconds, after which you should see an accurate heart rate reading. 

Let me know! 

[Sandshoe]

Thanks for the reply. I didn’t explain the “vanishing” very well. Yes my surge reverts to “--“. I have a sweat band but not tried it yet.
Any comments on my question about changing the main display so that heart rate is dominant?

[JJJ81]

My heart rate also does not show. It displays the -- characters. I have moved it up and down my arm, restarted it and yet it still does not show most of the time. This is also with it turned on so the leds are going all the time.

The fact that sweat gets on it is also not an excuse in my opinion. I have been using Polar and Garmin products for over 10 years, and plenty of sweat gets on the chest bands of them and they work reliably without fail every time.

Does tattoo ink change the sensitivity of the heart rate detector? That is the only thing I can think of that would give this product an excuse as to why it is so poor in this regard. Unless I can be convinced and told how to get this stupid Surge to show the heart rate every time I want it, I'll be taking it back for a refund.

I'm thinking this product really is not ready for the market yet. Perhaps Fitbit should have a chat to Garmin and Polar and ask them how to do it properly!

[SolangeE]

Hello, @Sandshoe! Thanks for the updates! Have you tried your sweat band already? How did that go? 

Sorry I didn't answer your question about the HR. You can not set the Heart rate as your main display at the moment, however you can change the order of the stats you see after the time, on your device settings. 

Hey, @JJJ81, Welcome aboard. Permanent or temporary changes to your skin, such as some tattoos, can also impact heart rate sensor performance. The ink, pattern, and saturation of some tattoos can block light from the sensor, making it difficult to get reliable readings.

Thank you so much for your feedback, it is very important to us, we should definitively try alternatives for these cases, such as a more sensitive reading. 

See you around!