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Garmin Instinct HR monitor is EXTREMELY inaccurate (basically useless) during any activities when you wave your hands

I use Garmin Instinct for 2 weeks now and I find HR monitor EXTREMELY inaccurate during any kind of activities when you wave your hands (cardio workouts, etc.). As a test I quickly moved my hand with the watch up and down 60 times within a minute and my watch HR reading went from 60 to 120, after I stopped it kept moving up to 140 and then stayed around that level for a while (Garmin even attributed lots of "vigorous intesnity minutes" and "burned calories" to this!). I measured HR manually and it was 70 - as expected. I even used my blood pressure monitor to take a photo with 70 reading on it and 140 reading on Garmin. I found almost IDENTICAL question here 2 years ago and the only answer there was "you should ware your watch tight". I tried it tight, and tried it super-tight - still with the same result. Want to understand - is it a defect with my watch and I shall replace it (I still have 2 weeks for free exchange/refund), or it is a known issue and replacement will be as inaccurate?

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Garmin - Chris over 4 years ago in reply to berezner +1 verified

berezner

The Instinct watch series has been very successful. Which is why there are now so many different versions of the watch released. In the 2+ years since the new series first came out, customer comments…

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0 trux over 4 years ago

The Optical HRM Instinct (and practically all other smartwatches) uses, relies on the optical change of the skin due to the change in blood flow as the heart beats. The watch has no way to differentiate whether the blood flow changes are induced by the arm movement, hence it can easily lead to false signals.

Try adjusting the firmness of the writband - it can help tightenining it, if the optical changes are caused by the watch moving on your wrist, and not really by the blood flow changes. You can also try moving it upper on the forearm, and/or putting it on the inner side of the wrist. If it does not help, attach the watch to your ankle instead of the wrist. Another solution is using a chest belt HRM that (unlike smartwatches) works with electrical signals, and not with optical detection. Replacing Instinct for another unit, or another model won't change anything.

Also, have a look at the support document The Heart Rate Sensor on My Watch Is Not Accurate

0 Former Member over 4 years ago

Mine is useless during any activity except cycling. Even when walking it doesn't track properly! My wife's $140 Fitbit can do that...
Honestly I wish I had kept my Apple Watch, it could track my heart rate under almost any conditions.

0 trux over 4 years ago in reply to Former Member

Mine is useless during any activity except cycling. Even when walking it doesn't track properly!

Mine works pretty reliably under almost any conditions. If yours does not, you may have a defectuous device, or physiology not compatible with the OHR it uses (i.e. peripheral vasoconstriction, too dark or too thick epidermis, ....). If so then either ask the reseller for a replacement, or for a refund and buy a watch that works for you better. Makes no sense keeping the watch if you cannot use it as designed.

0 berezner over 4 years ago

I did more testing, and my conclusion is: MY GARMIN INSTINCT HR READINGS ARE RUBBISH. I can't say if it is because ALL GARMIN INSTINCT HR READINGS ARE RUBBISH? or it's my watch that is defective. I was hoping to get more info from other users, but it didn't hep. I was getting "user error" responses ("you should ware it tight", "read the manual", etc.), statements about "state of the art OHR technology" and my "not compatible with the OHR physiology", etc. Or responces from other people that their GARMIN INSTINCT HR READINGS ARE RUBBISH but they just stick with it. Testing that I did excludes user error or physiological non-compatibility, e.g. I asked my wife to do the same tests that I did - and the results were the same. I read all manuals and tried all level of strap tightness, mowed wath to the inside of the wrist, etc. Didn't try it on my ankle as suggested - I don't ware watches on my legs. I also checked what I thought was suspicious from the very beginning: when I sit at the computer my HR is 50 , and moment I satnd up and walk 10 meters in my house it goes to 75-80 instantly and stays like this for a minute. That didn't make sense - and I verified it manually, and as expected my manually measured HR changed to 55-60 but never to 75-80. And Garmin uses HR variations to define stress, body battery, etc. - so it is all rubbish. So I made a decision to ask for a refund while I still can cas I can't trust my watch HR, it's random numbers generator (I have a feeling that $10 watches that they sell will do better as they probably use better scheduled random numbers generators). Last week I ordered FitBit for my wife - I decided I'll test them for a day once I receive them. If their HR monitor is as bad I'll just settle for the fact that "state of the art OHR technology" IS RUBBISH. If FitBit works OK then there will be a harder question for me: was it MY GARMIN INSTINCT watch that was defective, or ALL GARMIN INSTINCT watches are like this. Frankly very disappointed that instead of just using the watch (that I bought as a replacement for my 10 year old Garmin that fell apart) I need to perform tedious quality control testings myself. For a "state of the art OHR technology" I would expect that someone should have tried Apple, Fitbit, Garmin, Samsung simulteniously (2 watches on one wrist, 2 on another; or even 2 different Garmins!) - that would be a real test. Yet instead of showing that real proof they keep on feeding us with the "state of the art OHR technology" slogans ...

0 trux over 4 years ago in reply to berezner

berezner said:
I would expect that someone should have tried Apple, Fitbit, Garmin, Samsung simulteniously (2 watches on one wrist, 2 on another; or even 2 different Garmins!) - that would be a real test

There are some comparative tests for example here Which Smartwatch has the best heart rate tracking accuracy? and you'll certainly find more of them on Google, YouTube, etc.

If you are unhappy with the Instinct, just get the refund and buy another device. There is no reason to stay unhappy, and having to vent the frustration by offending other users trying to help you.

0 berezner over 4 years ago in reply to trux

Had no intention to offend anyone. Yes, was frustrated with false advertising by manufacturers ans sales ("accurate to 2 heart beats" - in reality it is accurate to 30-40 beats which makes it useless). I did more manual HR testing during low activity times when I expected my HR to be around 60 and Garmin would occasionally show 80 or even 90, and every time actual rate was around 60. Looks like most people tend to accept readings that come out of it and even make decisions on its basis. I also was initially excited with the new for me HR feature and all the new capabilities that should come with it, just to realise later that the accuracy of HR is so bad that it will be totally wrong to rely on it. Did read more on the subject, e.g. this review https://www.wareable.com/garmin/garmin-instinct-review-6827 that basically confirms by comparing watch and chest strap that watch is very inaccurate. In my case watch is only OKish on an hourly average basis (have a feeling that it is OK during sleep time as it stable and low - but I can't check it when I sleep), but as a fine time-scale tool it is useless, as it has extreme erratic noise. Have no idea if other watches have similar problems, but common sense tells me that it should be the same ...

+1 Garmin - Chris over 4 years ago in reply to berezner

berezner

The Instinct watch series has been very successful. Which is why there are now so many different versions of the watch released. In the 2+ years since the new series first came out, customer comments and reviews have been overwhelmingly positive.

I hear customers regularly comparing and having come from wearing other major watch manufacturers with complaints that watch did not work for them. Bottom line, regardless of your company choice, not every fitness and outdoor smart watch will work best for you.

I am sorry the Instinct did not work well for you. It is good that you are returning it to find another watch that works better. This is why there is a return period on a new watch.

We want you happy with the product that you choose. Best of luck finding another watch that works well for you.