Versa 4 Inaccurate Heart Rate?

[HorribleSquid]

I went on a bike ride today and according to my Versa 4 Fitbit I burned hardly any calories. Supposedly my average heart rate for the 46 min ride was 87 and my calories burned was 209. I used to have a Versa 2 and the calories burned for a similar ride would be double of what the Versa 4 says. I even put my stats into an online fitness calculator and that came up with 509 calories burned. 😞

Is something wrong with my watch? Are all Versa 4's terrible with heart rate? Are any of the new Fitbit's more accurate with heart rate or are all fitness trackers trash?

[Guy_ · Accepted solution]

Hi @HorribleSquid - the Versa 2 uses an older technology Heart Rate sensor and has a more reliable heart rate detection when moving, and hence calories are more accurate.

[Triletics]

@HorribleSquid When cycling, Sense 2 and Versa 4 do a terrible job (not coming even remotely close to the real heart rate) and nothing can be done about it. I tried many times with no success.

[Daz_Lad]

Same issue here, but with gym workouts instead of cycling. It's fine when at rest or even on a walk, but as soon as you do anything with some intensity, the HR accuracy falls off a cliff. According to my versa, my heart rate today reached a peak of 113 bpm... this was sat down 10mins after the workout ended!? During the workout (and it was a tough one), it was supposedly around 94bpm. This was usually about 120 bpm on my versa 2. Support can't do anything to help as it's a hardware issue like @Guy_ said.

For a supposed "upgrade" from a Versa 2, it's pathetic. I'm looking at getting something else as the HR is one of the main reasons I use the watch. It syncs to my Vitality life insurance, so when my workouts aren't recorded as above 60% max HR, I don't get activity points and my premiums go up. Anyone got any suggestions? Garmin Venu 2?

[Guy_]

Hi @Daz_Lad - thanks for the feedback, I haven't seen any problems with the the Garmin Venu 2 Plus which is a nice every day watch with 10 day battery life and most features one needs.

They also have more expensive sports dedicated watches if need be. The advantage is you can also connect external monitors on some.

[HorribleSquid]

Pathetic is exactly correct. After doing more research and reading the other posts on this thread I returned my Versa 4 and got a Garmin Venu Sq (Target had a real good sale). At first I wasn't sure about it but after having it for a few days I love it. If I had a bigger budget, I would have gone with the Venu 2 or Venu Sq 2 but only because the display is an AMOLED vs LED. The Venu Sq just isn't quite as bright or crisp as I would like but still has all the features I need. The Garmin app took a bit to get used to as well. It feels more data and stats driven where Fitbit is a little more user friendly/pretty to look at. 

[Triletics]

@HorribleSquid there are some advantages of LED displays (transflective) - always-on mode pretty much for free, much better visibility in bright sunlight and minimal power consumption (lot longer battery life). Doing lots of outdoor activities, with LED you don't need a backlight at all during daylight which makes the battery last a lot longer (think long all-day or even multiday hikes). That's why until now I buy sports watches with transflective displays. It doesn't look so bright and crispy but defeats AMOLED in other areas. Well... it depends on individual needs though 🙂