Custom heart rate going back to zero

[Stian_od]

My custom max heart rate is going back to zero by itself, also custom min-max.

and then turns itself off.

tried restarting phone/Fitbit, logging out and deleting the app.

it is this way on another one too.

my max heart rate showing for a second and then go back to zero.. and then turns off.

Anyone know the problem?

[NRB_Jeff]

Works now.  Thank you.

[Schnorkel]

Update: good news and bad news

Good news: I got the app to work again by uninstalling and reinstalling it.

Bad news: The Custom Max Heart Rate function is still broken. At the risk of being repetitive: That (to me) very basic function worked fine until it was broken earlier this year by one of your updates. Is it too much to ask that your code writers go back and review what they broke and fix it? Is anyone at your company even still looking at this problem? You are losing customers!

Now the app doesn’t work at all!

i just updated to the latest version of the app (3.28) on my iPhone. When I start the app, all I get is a white screen with the word "fitbit" at the top. Nothing more. I have done a hard restart of the phone and tried to use the app repeatedly, with the same result.

What is wrong with your people? Your app was fully functional until sometime this spring, then your "improvements" killed the Custom Max Heart Rate function, and now this.
‘I’ve had my ionic too long to take back to the store, so I’m stuck with it. I’m ready to follow my wife’s example and do what I had advised her to do: get a Garmin.

[Liliacea]

Same problem here. @KateFitbit what is Fitbit doing to correct this issue? A large Norwegian metastudy shows that about 40-50% of a population has a maxHR that is at least 1 standard deviaton away from the dreaded 220-age equation, and hence 40-50% of your customers are receiving rubbish data.

[Walker_AB]

I am using the 3.28 version of the app on a 1+ phone and my heart beats have gone to all 0.

[Schnorkel]

This is getting stranger by the day!

First of all, to get that out of the way, I still cannot set a Custom Max Heart Rate.

1) I just came back from a bike ride and my zones seemed a bit off. I checked the settings, and the zones had shifted.I had made no inputs or changes to the settings.

2) I reset to my actual birth year (I had been using another date so that my Max Heart Rate would give me the correct zones; I use a different formula from your 2220-age) and they seemed more normal (the low end of Cardio was what it should be but the high end was a bit lower).

3) I was prompted for a firmware update on my Ionic, which I performed.

4> When I again looked at my zones for the ride, I found that the entire ride was rated as "below zones." (see attached screenshot).

What on earth is going on? Until this spring, everything was working normally, than after an app update (I have an iPhone) I could no longer set a Custom Max Heart Rate; it kept going back to Zero.

Please beg your software people to get on this and fix the problem they created. I am getting ready to retire the Ionic and buy a Garmin as my wife did recently, after I advised her not to buy a fitbit.

[gi_gina]

I have had this issue since Tuesday, September 1st.

[gi_gina]

 

[Schnorkel]

The problem is growing stranger and stranger.

Background info: Yes, I have the latest versions of iOS, fitbit app and Ionic firmware.

This odd behavior with the zones also started on Sept. 1 for me. It showed my Cardio Zone now as 118-137, rather than the 118-143 it showed before, which was calculated according to their formula posted at https://blog.fitbit.com/heart-rate-zones/

Today, the app again changed my Cardio Zone, to 117-136.

On exploring  the help files in the app, I note that it now claims to calculate the zones according to "heart rate reserve", a number derived by subtracting one's resting heart rate from one's maximum heart rate. In my case, it claims my resting heart rate is 71.

I challenge the Ionic's arbitrary reading of my resting heart rate. Using another device, my first-thing-in-the-morning resting rate is usually about 53-58. However, while using the app, I have seen it record heart rates as high as 168 BPM while I had the Ionic off my wrist, when it should have been reading 0. In fact, it is usually not on my wrist, as I wear it only for my exercise sessions.

This is not acceptable. My Ionic is slowly becoming less and less useful, all due to software changes by the company this year. Since nobody is apparently working on fixing the problem, and updates seem to make things worse, could fitbit please just allow us to download and install an older version?

I am fed up and am already looking for a replacement fitness band. It will not be a fitbit product

[JaneStaple]

The Kervonen calculations and zones based on heart rate reserve is actually well substantiated. 

your problem with the resting heart rate is (as Fitbit describes) that the resting heart rate is most accurate when you wear the device to sleep. If all you do is slap it on when you exercise it can’t learn your true resting heart rate. 

Not that there isn’t room to improve (there is!), but your problem with the resting heart rate is based on how you are using it. 

[Schnorkel]

Thank you. I understand you mean well, but I am not disputing the theory here. My main point is that I should be able to set manual parameters on the device based on my knowledge and experience so that I can intelligently use it to further my fitness training. The app was already broken (by the company, mind you) in that I could no longer manually set my maximum heart rate. Now the zones dance all over the place based on its latest whim about what my resting heart rate might be based on, among other things, "readings" when I’m not wearing the Ionic.
My wife’s Garmin allows her to set her maximum heart rate and define the zones. It doesn’t give her false heartbeat readings when she takes it off. It just works, like my Ionic used to.
The fitbit system is broken. Fitbit could fix it but seems to have lost interest. Maybe their marketers fantasize that I’ll upgrade to a newer, more expensive fitbit model when I get tired of being jerked around like this.
Not a chance.

[Schnorkel]

Thank you. I understand you mean well, but I am not disputing the theory here. My main point is that I should be able to set manual parameters on the device based on my knowledge and experience so that I can intelligently use it to further my fitness training. The app was already broken (by the company, mind you) in that I could no longer manually set my maximum heart rate. Now the zones dance all over the place based on its latest whim about what my resting heart rate might be based on, among other things, "readings" when I’m not wearing the Ionic.
My wife’s Garmin allows her to set her maximum heart rate and define the zones. It doesn’t give her false heartbeat readings when she takes it off. It just works, like my Ionic used to.
The fitbit system is broken. Fitbit could fix it but seems to have lost interest. Maybe their marketers fantasize that I’ll upgrade to a newer, more expensive fitbit model when I get tired of being jerked around like this.
Not a chance.

[MrMarv]

In release 3.29, installed today, it is still broken for me - - - however, the ability to change it in the Web Dashboard's Settings page is working again - for how long is anyone's guess.

The ability to change it, especially with the Heart Rate Reserve zone formula now in place, is even more important for individuals with heart conditions that are taking BETA Blockers. The maximum heart rate for those individuals should be 80% of the standard value. In my case, as a 68 year old approximately 120 instead of 152.

I verified this after a visit to my cardiologist this morning after he stated "BETA Blockers act like a regulator to keep the heart rate down". He was happy to see me hitting high 90s and low 100s in my treadmill sessions, saying that was the best range for me and to not go above 110 for any length of time.

Subsequent searches on the web resulted in many supporting documents pointing out the "80% rule", including Harvard Medical School in the Harvard Health Letter in November of last year.

[Hamms]

Mine is doing it also. It goes back to 0 every time I try to change it. Also after I did the new update ( which I absolutely hate) my new cardio rate is 11 higher than it should be!  That’s why I’m trying to customize. 

[Hamms]

It is not resolved. And I’m trying to customize mine due to the new update on the versa 2. It has my cardio heart rate 11 higher than it should be for my age!  I absolutely hate this new update

[MrMarv]

@Hamms -

First off - the ability to change your max heart rate, while not working within the app, has started to work in the web settings page accessible from the web dashboard. I changed mine yesterday in the settings page, sync'd my Versa 2 and it is still effective today.

The Versa 2 firmware update brought into play a new formula for computing heart rate zones - the Heart Rate Reserve method.

The Heart Rate Zone calculations have moved from the Traditional formula which are straight fixed percentages (50, 70 and 85%) of your Max Heart Rate which is defined as subtracting your age from 220. For me, as a 68 year old male, my Max Heart Rate is 152. Traditional zone values for me are shown in the first data row below.

The new formula being used by many FitBit devices, including the Versa 2 as of the latest release, use a value called Heart Rate Reserve. Subtracting your resting heart rate from your max heart rate results in that reserve.

40% of the reserve is added to your resting heart rate to establish the beginning of the Fat Burn Zone.

60% of the reserve s added to your resting heart rate to establish the beginning of the Cardio Zone.

85% of the reserve s added to your resting heart rate to establish the beginning of the Peak Zone.

The new Heart Rate Reserve formula zones for me are shown in the second data row below.

Actually, my Max Heart Rate is 120 (80% of traditional max) because I take Beta Blockers that throttle down my heart rate even during exercise. This was confirmed with my Cardiologist yesterday during my biannual office visit and is discussed in the Harvard Medical School Harvard Health Letter from November of last year. My heart rate zones utilizing the Heart Rate Reserve formula and using my redefined Max Heart Rate is represented by the third data line below.

[Andoo]

Just updated the software (I think on 9/1) on my Versa 2, now I can’t set custom heart rates. It keeps switching back to zero. The max heart rate also is not calculated properly. When will a patch be available? A lot folks use custom and max heart rates for their workouts. 

[MrMarv]

@Andoo -

On the web dashboard go to your settings page. You can set it there and once you save the setting and sync your device it will take.

I did it yesterday just after the firmware update and updating the iOS app to version 3.29.

Good luck and welcome to the boards.

[Andoo]

Thank you MrMarv!! It worked. Have a good evening,

Andoo

[Hamms]

It worked for me also! Thank you 😊

Sent from my iPhone

[MrMarv]

@Andoo  and @Hamms -

Good to hear.