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Disabling heart rate broadcasting (to save battery power)

MOMOTM
7 months ago

Hi!

I have tried to disable heart rate broadcasting in every thinkable way but the setting doesn't stay saved. It seems to change but when I get back to it later it is on again and again. I don't need this setting and to my knowledge it steals expensive battery power. According to user manual it should be changed via activity. I have tried that numerous times. I only use wrist heart rate sensor.

Top Replies

  • 7 months ago in reply to 5135968 +1 verified

    Hello

    Broadcast HR should be off by default in both the HR sensor menu, as well as in the activity settings. If you enabled Broadast HR in your activity settings, and have another device paired…

All Replies

  • 0 7 months ago

    Not sure if you did not misunderstand the feature. The HR broadcasting serves to broadcast the HR measured by your wrist OHR sensor to other devices, and by default it is always off. There is no need for disabling it, unless you have previously enabled it in the activity profile settings.

  • 0 7 months ago in reply to trux

    Thx for the answer. I think I have understood it right and I think that user should see it as off if he sets it off. I have never enabled it but it was enabled by default for running activity at least. Just checked it again and the setting is On (doesn't stay Off). I think it should stay Off if I set it Off even it weren't functional with setting On! Firmware 18.90 (was like this before too). Could someone verify my findings?

  • 0 7 months ago in reply to MOMOTM

    I use hr broadcasting a lot with indoor rowing, so I know how it works. It is off in running by default on my Enduro 3, and it stays in the state I switch it into. So, no problems with this here.

    Btw, current software is 11.90 (not 18.90)?!?

  • 0 7 months ago in reply to PSteinlech

    Sorry, yes 11.90. I checked this further: I changed the setting Off (Run activity), then QUIT Run activity settings TILL I see just basic clock then went back to Run activity settings and Broadcasting is always On.

  • 0 7 months ago in reply to MOMOTM

    I just checked my Run and Trail Run activities and both are Off (the default, I never use this feature). i am on 11.89 firmware

    I wonder why it is different for you?

  • +1 7 months ago in reply to 5135968

    Hello

    Broadcast HR should be off by default in both the HR sensor menu, as well as in the activity settings. If you enabled Broadast HR in your activity settings, and have another device paired, the HR will Broadcast HR automatically each time you use this activity. 

    Aside from having this enabled in the activity settings, or manually selecting to Broadcast HR to enable this before starting your activity, this should be off. If you are not seeing this is the case, I would like to collect specifics of this issue. I will reach out to you via Private Message to discuss this further. 

  • 0 7 months ago in reply to Garmin-Laurie

    Thank you for your answer! I investigated this a bit more and found out that I had enabled 'Extended' power mode for Run (instead of 'Normal'). That causes for some unknown reason Broadcast HR to be enabled even I explicitly turned it off. Try it yourself and I m pretty sure it will the same in your watch. I have "everything" shut off in Extended mode so it seems to behave strangely. I changed 'Run' activity power mode to 'Normal' and now Broadcast HR stays off. I think we should be able to have 'Extended', too (with HR Broadcast permanently Off) and even some custom power mode but I noticed that custom power modes can't be used in Activities. That is strange, too. Btw I don't have any paired devices to be used as HR Broadcast receivers.

  • 0 7 months ago in reply to MOMOTM

    I cannot reproduce that. In my run activity settings I went to Watch Settings/Power/Manager/Activity Power Modes/Extended and started a run activity.

    i then ran a bluetooth scanner to try to locate a broadcast HR but there was none.

    Also cannot reproduce going to Activity Options/Power Mode/Extended and no external broadcast either

    Very odd!

  • 0 7 months ago in reply to 5135968

    Thank you for your scanning observation! Maybe the setting 'On' just means that it actually works only in case there exist paired devices turned on. But still I think we should be able to explicitly turn 'Off' any HR Broadcast activity in any case; paired turned on devices exist or not. And HR broadcast can be via bluetooth or/and? ANT.

  • 0 7 months ago in reply to MOMOTM

    Maybe the setting 'On' just means that it actually works only in case there exist paired devices turned on

    I don't think so, bc there's a tangible difference between having Broadcast HR enabled or not, even if no device is receiving.

    When Broadcast HR is enabled, your watch is discoverable as an HR sensor (via ANT+ or bluetooth), when disabled, it's not. There's no way for other devices to pair with your watch as an HR sensor unless Broadcast HR is turned on.

    So it isn't the kind of feature where it having it enabled and not using it is the same as having it disabled. You need to enable it to set it up in the first place (so other devices can pair with your watch as an HR sensor), and enabling it has a tangible effect on other devices around you. Garmins will prompt the user to pair with auto-detected sensors by default, so we can imagine there's a reason Broadcast HR wouldn't be on by default: nobody would want to go to a race or group run/ride, and have other ppl be automatically prompted to pair with their watch as an HR sensor.

    I can also imagine there would be battery life implications to constantly advertising your watch as an HR sensor over ANT+ and Bluetooth.

    Anyway, if you have a friend that owns a Garmin, you can try to see if their watch can discover your device as an external HR sensor, when it's in the buggy state you described. (I would explicitly go into the sensors menu and manually search for sensors, in case the prompt doesn't automatically pop up.)