Wrong heart rate monitor during training

Mightbe you're right that OHR has issues with all manufacturers.

But the point is that currently the HR jumps from 120 to 160 in just a second. I have used several devices from other manufacturers before and I roughly know my HR during sports without a sensor and I have never experienced such a fatal jump with another device before (devices I have used are for example miband 2, galaxy watch 4, garmin vivoactive 3).

And finally, even if you use a chest strap you will encounter those problems with the new algorithm because it combines OHR wrong data with the nice chest strap data.

An one more point to consider is the OHR sensor is used for all further metrics like HR variability, resting HR and so on. If the sensor is not reliable all the nice garmin metrics are all useless. So why should anyone buy an 800€ watch for such useless metrics. In this case my old 150 € galaxy 4 watch will do even better. 

So that's the point why I can't understand garmin is not taking this problem serious since 6 months where I have the watch! It's kind of unfair customer treatment and I really hope that garmin will lose a lot of customers for this behavior. I will definitely not buy again any garmin device for the rest of my life!

Thanks for chiming in! 

I am not referring to what manufacturers state on their website (regarding product performance or limitations), I'm simply stating that actual usage reviews place other manufacturers much higher on the OHR performance chart. And we are discussing top-tier, flagship devices here. Why even allow training with OHR in the software if it's this buggy/limited. Just bundle the watch with a chest strap when selling and let serious users decide if they want to train with a strap or not.

I actually care about my training data and I use a chest strap (HRM PRO PLUS, which comes with its own host of problems. I'm on my second one since the first died after only 2 weeks), and have used HRM TRI, HRM RUN, HRM SWIM in the past. 

But sometimes I forget the strap home when going out to train, and you can't tell me displaying 160BPM (OHR) 5 minutes into my base run is OK by any terms, when I only hit that BPM when doing sprints or sometimes on threshold runs. 

Also, I am not trying to belittle anyone - what I'm simply trying to state is that you're ACTUALLY training (demanding physical exercise, not a jog in the park with your dog) and using the DATA recorded during training and rest/sleep (OHR) with most Garmin devices, it becomes apparent pretty quick that the watch lags behind on accuracy. the figures are sometimes (I agree not always) BALLPARK, while other sports watches from different manufacturers (sometimes cheaper) place much higher in accuracy scores with "hands-on" testing by athletes / data scientists. You just need to do your own research and can discover this very easily. 

All good. I completely get the frustration. I base my marathon training purely on pace and barely look at my heart rate (as the heart rate in my opinoon has no real value, too many influences that make it useless for workouts, just my personal opinion ;-) ). Nevertheless, I'm wearing a chest strap to follow long term trends during a trainning cycle, I would never ever rely on wrist heart rate for that.

Based on what you are saying I wouldn't think twice to change to a more reliable brand. Isn't that the solution for everyone who needs reliable wrist heart rate and doesn't want to wear a chest strap? Again, this thread is over two years old so it seems the issues are there from the beginning.

BTW: my OHR for all-day usage works quite fine, no issues whatsoever.

Philip, why are you on a forum thread specific to those experiencing issues with the HR data, if you do not have any problems yourself? Please stop wasting everyone’s time if this doesn’t even impact you. Find something better to do rather than trolling people who are trying to find a solution to a problem (regardless of whether you think it’s a problem or not). Garmin themselves have recognised that there is an issue, and they are trying to sort it, so I don’t think there is any need to try and convince users that they are making a fuss out of nothing! You aren’t being helpful in any way. 

schmjoe said:

this thread is over two years old so it seems the issues are there from the beginning.

Not the same issues. Somewhere along the line in last 6-7 months, new HR issues arose, which affect newer Garmin watches. This thread is just one of many on OHR issues, but if you look at the big picture you see pattern. It is not coincidence that users of differrent watches started having same HR issues at about the same period in time (and they did not have those problems before). The issue is not inherent OHR limitation but something that Garmin broke and still did not fix.

Yes, I can confirm that. It is not the "normal" ("limited") behaviour, which I had previouly and also in my former Fenix3, Fenix 5s, Fenix 6pro...

So the big question to Garmin is if they are working on this big issue at all, if they are not interested at all, if they are working on it and they have a rough time schedule or if they don't care at all?

Would be really nice to get an official update from Garmin on that after half a year!

Thanks!

Adrian s said:

there are manufacturers that have their OHR on point (need I even mention Apple?).

A friend of mine with apple watch.

I don't know how he is wearing it but he got similar issues in many runs and i hope that he tried to change how he wears it 

I'm really curious to check an apple watch sooner or later but i don't expect anything better or worst to be honest.

OHR is just an estimation of HR and if i affect the blood flow near the wrist i can't understand how one manufacturer should be able to guess it, correctly, and another not.

Before Garmin, i used a Fitbit and their forum was full of similar issues and that's when i decided to take an arm optical sensor and then later i went with the chest strap when i started to do "serious" intervals.

I know that i'm not useful for the topic but my guess is that they changed a bit the algorithm and that's making it work better with some people and worst with others.

I don't run much without the chest strap but doing HIIT/gym i definitely don't notice big sudden changes like in the previous examples. Out of curiosity i'll try to see what happens with one of my next easy runs. 

An example from Fitbit Sense 2

Another person with apple watch

Vizi said:

this thread is over two years old so it seems the issues are there from the beginning.

Not the same issues.

It might not be the exact same issue but it is clearly related to OHR problems that have  been reported over many years and remain extant.

Vizi said:

The issue is not inherent OHR limitation but something that Garmin broke and still did not fix.

Yes it is inherent OHR limitation. Why else would a two year old thread have relevance currently? Despite what some users insist, problems with OHR are not new and have persisted for years on all models and will likely be experienced by some users in the future.

8374040 said:

Philip, why are you on a forum thread specific to those experiencing issues with the HR data, if you do not have any problems yourself?

Because I feel it is important that newer users be clearly aware of the long-standing nature of the problems with OHR that do change with each iteration of the software or sensor that Garmin make, and will continue to do so. Should these forums be only for users with problems? 

I bought a 935 about a year after they were released (held off because I preferred, and still do prefer the square shape of the earlier watch). It's a pity the 935 threads are not available because I was one amongst many decrying the performance of the early generation OHR. Despite what some naysayers say and think, and would like to have others believe, there has been significant improvement with OHR software and sensor across the board. But let me say again - OHR will never work 100% of the time for 100% of the users of the watch. The sooner users accept that the better. But that should not stop people from working with Garmin to improve OHR. Any user with a problem with OHR at any time should contact Garmin Support directly. By all means post in a forum thread but also contact Gamrin Support directly.

Garmin Bug said:

So the big question to Garmin is if they are working on this big issue at all, if they are not interested at all, if they are working on it and they have a rough time schedule or if they don't care at all?

Actually there are several questions here

• 1. Yes Garmin are working on it as is evident from their statements with specific relevant to several versions of software, even in this thread.
• 2. Clearly Garmin are interested as there have been improvements to sensor technology over the many years since OHR was first incorporated in a watch.
• 3. Clearly Garmin are working on it - well, as long posters choose to accept the posts from Garmin are true.
• 4. The one thing Garmin cannot give is a time schedule to fix something that cannot be fixed for everyone. 
• 5. I believe Garmin do care.

Then it's good for you that you still believe Garmin. After all bugs I've experienced with my Epix Pro and my negative experience with garmins customer support I can't believe them until they fixed all those issues, and it's half a year now. And those issues are relevant to me because they destroy all training metrics!

To OHR:

Let's assume OHR is really such unreliable for ALL manufacturers. Why the he'll has Garmin changed the measurements with chest strap so that it combines the OHR with the chest strap measurements in that way that the unreliable OHR values can sometimes override the better chest strap values as some users have reported here?

And to possible solution of this problem: No, it's not a solution to turn this feature off with start and on with end of every activity! If one forgets to switch back it destroys all training metrics again because nothing is measured unless you wear your chest strap all day.

So, if OHR is so unreliable there should be an option to only deactivate the OHR sensor for ALL activities if chest strap is worn (like it was before). Or Garmin should has left it as it was so that chest strap measurements always override the OHR and the OHR is deactivated if chest strap is worn.

So, this software change is unbelievable if OHR is such unreliable!