Fenix 5 v2.40 : No HR data from Polar H7 ?

So I decided to try to get HR data from my Polar H7 and sure enough it is recognized by the F5 (with a smart bluetooth background!) but then no HR data comes though. I checked that I could get HR data from the H7 on my smartphone so it appears to be working properly. Anyone else have that problem ?

UDPATED 25/03 :

Status of BT Heartrate Monitors :

1. BT Only devices :
- Polar H7 : connects but no HR data comes through
2. Dual ANT+/BT :
- Wahoo TICKR : connects over either ANT+ or BT (seen as Dual BT/ANT+ device by the F5), HR data comes through in both modes
- Cardiosport : connects over either ANT+ or BT (seen as Dual BT/ANT+ device by the F5), HR data comes through in both modes
- Viiiiva : connects only over ANT+ (not seen as as a Dual BT/ANT+ device by the F5), HR data comes through in ANT+

0 jim_m_58 over 8 years ago

I could be 100% wrong as I'm just guessing!

But the way I understand it with Ant+, the HRM, just broadcasts, whether it's connected to 0 or 10 devices. Nothing changes, and when you "pair" a watch, you're just saying "listen for this one".

Maybe with BLE it's more of a point to point thing than just a "listen", where the watch knows about the HRM, but the HRM thinks the data should be sent to your phone and doesn't also send it to the watch?

Like I said, just a wild guess..

0 chong67 over 8 years ago

You can see on this link below DC Rain Maker was able to use a Polar H7 with it.

Scroll 1/3 down and there is a photo.

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2017/01/hands-on-garmins-new-fenix-5-multisport-gps-serieswith-mapping.html

0 webvan over 8 years ago

Yes I get that screen too. Like I wrote it connects fine, it's just that no HR data comes through.

@jim_m_58 - it is indeed a "point to point" connection in the sense that it is exclusive of any other connection unlike ANT+ that can broadcast to several devices at the same time. So you do have to make sure your device (be it a BT chest strap or a BT Loudspeaker) isn't already connected to another device when you want to use it.

0 bellostom over 8 years ago

Has anyone else tried bluetooth connectivity with HR straps other than Garmin's?
I too own a polar H7 and another one from runtastic (both with bluetooth) and are working just fine with my Suunto.

One of the reasons I opted for the new F5 is that they finally decided to support bluetooth and my existing straps would work, without
me needing to spend extra money on an ANT+ strap

0 NeilJonesOnline over 8 years ago

Has anyone else tried bluetooth connectivity with HR straps other than Garmin's?
I too own a polar H7 and another one from runtastic (both with bluetooth) and are working just fine with my Suunto.

One of the reasons I opted for the new F5 is that they finally decided to support bluetooth and my existing straps would work, without
me needing to spend extra money on an ANT+ strap

Yep, works just fine with my Wahoo TICKR. My fenix 5 picks up both the ANT+ and BLE signals from it (they're recognised as two different devices), though I still use ANT+ in preference to BLE because of the "single connection" Bluetooth restriction mentioned above.

0 bellostom over 8 years ago

Yep, works just fine with my Wahoo TICKR. My fenix 5 picks up both the ANT+ and BLE signals from it (they're recognised as two different devices), though I still use ANT+ in preference to BLE because of the "single connection" Bluetooth restriction mentioned above.

Apart from the strap being successfully connected to F5, you see the hr displayed right?
Because the thread opener gets connected but receives no HR data

0 NeilJonesOnline over 8 years ago

Apart from the strap being successfully connected to F5, you see the hr displayed right?
Because the thread opener gets connected but receives no HR data

Yes, I've successfully used it in a number of activities over the past few days, I've even had the ANT+ signal being recorded on my f5 whilst the BLE signal was recorded in Zwift running on my iPad.

0 webvan over 8 years ago

Ah but how do you know it's connected over BT to your F5 ?

I've got a couple of dual ANT+/BT devices and the F5 picks up their ANT+ connection, NOT the BT connection. With the Polar H7 it can only be BT of course and the pairing is different (the "blue background" screen I mentioned initially).

0 timgrose over 8 years ago

> Ah but how do you know it's connected over BT to your F5 ?
Should still appear as connected in Sensors & Accessories.
And then if it is connected, look in the About section.

Being a BLE sensor make sure it is not already paired with an app on your phone (as you mentioned earlier) as BLE sensors can only be paired to one device at a time unlike ANT+ ones.

0 NeilJonesOnline over 8 years ago

Ah but how do you know it's connected over BT to your F5 ?

Fair point - I'm pretty sure when I was playing around a few days ago I was using the BLE data, but I'll try to do some experimenting later for you just to be sure.