Epix Heart rate reading way too low

It is ridiculous. This expensive watch is now useless. (Epic gen 2) because of this issue. Unable to track training load. Thus training status, recovery etc all useless metrics.  My friends have switched back to Apple. I might have to do the same. And Garmin is in denial about the problem. 

Adding my woes to this. Exactly the same issue as the OP. I was wearing a whoop band for all the affected activities (all running) and the Epix (which was previously almost identical to the whoop) is now recording 20-40 bpm lower. As others have said, it throws off everything, not just Garmin metrics but also Strack "progress" (for those of us who use that too). So incredibly annoying. In the uk I can only find a phone number and I'm not wild about that phone call - does anyone have the product support email address?

One small thing, I think the first time it happened was when I used a preloaded workout that l'd planned (rather than just hitting "go" as I normally would). Can't imagine that makes any difference but adding in here just in case it helps anyone.

milney100 said:

One small thing, I think the first time it happened was when I used a preloaded workout that l'd planned (rather than just hitting "go" as I normally would). Can't imagine that makes any difference but adding in here just in case it helps anyone.

I used Garmin Coach training plan, self-paced plan, my own customized workout, and just activity.  Issue can occur on all of these.

I went back and checked all my running activities for the past 2 months.  There were cases that I didn't realize.  There is some trend.  In some cases, low HR occurred in first 8 minutes, and then HR increased or recovered after that.  In other cases, the recovery occurs around 18 minutes.   So there seems to be some cycling that is occurring every 8 minutes, possibly where the HR data or sensor is getting reset.

On v 15.77, I had around 11 incidents in over 50 activities.  On v16.22, it basically occurs 80-100% of time.  There were some Easy runs where my HR was probably in 120-130 and reading was 110, so I cannot definitively say there was issue.  Right now, I'm using Vivoactive 4 and Epix (Gen 2) at same time.  So I'm basically just restarting my Epix within 2-3 minutes, when I see Vivoactive 4 HR is at 130-140, and Epix (Gen 2) is still at 100-110. 

And restarting or soft-reset the Epix before activity doesn't help.  Must restart Epix after activity has started.

A disaster to have bought this *** for 1149€!!! Can't wait for the new Apple Watch 3 and garmin will be my first and last *** *** watch experience

Normal that ecg is still not approved in Europe sensor completely next to the plate

D00M said:

I went back and checked all my running activities for the past 2 months.  There were cases that I didn't realize.  There is some trend.  In some cases, low HR occurred in first 8 minutes, and then HR increased or recovered after that.  In other cases, the recovery occurs around 18 minutes.   So there seems to be some cycling that is occurring every 8 minutes, possibly where the HR data or sensor is getting reset.

On v 15.77, I had around 11 incidents in over 50 activities.  On v16.22, it basically occurs 80-100% of time.  There were some Easy runs where my HR was probably in 120-130 and reading was 110, so I cannot definitively say there was issue.  Right now, I'm using Vivoactive 4 and Epix (Gen 2) at same time.  So I'm basically just restarting my Epix within 2-3 minutes, when I see Vivoactive 4 HR is at 130-140, and Epix (Gen 2) is still at 100-110. 

And restarting or soft-reset the Epix before activity doesn't help.  Must restart Epix after activity has started.

Since I run every day, this is affecting me daily and on every run.  I did a bunch of troubleshooting myself.

I did hard reset (wipe all data), and then restored my settings.  Still same problem. So something in my setting or customization cause conflict.

Then I did a hard reset; sync with phone; and made no other customization or changes.  I did 2 runs without any issue.  Just within 1st minute, Epix (Gen 2) HR reading matches Vivoactive 4, within +/- 3 bpm. At least I know the default settings work.

Now the question is what is causing this conflict.  It can be corrupted settings, settings customization conflict, etc.  If it is corrupted settings (such during firmware update), then if I continue to set up my Epix like before, then it should be OK.  On the other hand, if issue is caused by some conflict with customized setting or usage, then it is possible whatever customization I did or will do (watch face, apps, glances, data screen, auto lap, music, etc), the conflict can occur again. 

I plan to just install must-haves first: watch face, glances, and Spotify music.  Ensure issue does not exist.  Then gradually change customized settings: activity data screens, auto lap settings, etc. 

What a pain!  Garmin needs to get it's firmware/software update and testing in shape.  Unacceptable.

Re DOOM. I've found exactly the same pattern, with HR resetting itself after some time, which I've never determined precisely. Also, it seems much worse with 16.22 (all the time) than previous firmwares (occasionally). I restart it but even then, it takes a few more minutes before HR becomes accurate. It would be nice if Scottie would let the Captain know we have a problem.

Keeps us posted. You may identify it before Garmin does.

7017726 said:

Keeps us posted. You may identify it before Garmin does.

Summary: I believe I found the culprit.  The conflict has to do with earphones/headphones and/or bluetooth.  I cannot say if it is this is the root cause on all devices.  On my device, I can resolve the issue 100% of the time, and I can duplicate or cause the issue to occur around 80% of time.

• When Garmin's earphone is "Connected", issue occurs 100% of time.
• When I stop the music and put my earphones into the case, then Garmin's earphone status is "Not Connected", issue can still occur.  This is when I say I can duplicate the issue 80% of time.  Couple times low HR issue did not occur in this mode.
• When I change Garmin's earphone set up status to "Off", then issue is immediately resolved, 100% of time.

If you notice the low HR after starting activity: Pause the activity.  Go into Settings > Sensors & Accessories > (select earphone) > Status > Off.  Then Resume activity.  Then check if your HR recovers.

Details:

As mentioned before, I did a hard reset and just paired the watch to my phone, without any additional changes.  I run without my phone.  Issue seemed to be resolved.

Then I did some additional normal setup (added 3 watch faces, 2 glances, spotify app, spotify playlist, and paired 2 earphones).  My normal routine is start my music playlist first and then start run activity.  Low HR issue returned.

As engineer and ex-employee at Cupertino company that is synonymous with a fruit, I just put my engineering hat on.  I worked on phones and tablet, never on watch.  HR sensor is hardware based.  The only other hardware based changes I made is paring to the phone and adding the bluetooth earphone.  I don't run with my phone.  So I started my troubleshooting with the earphone.  I just got lucky or guessed right. 

I test this by wearing Epix (Gen 2) on 1 hand, and Vivoactive 4 on other hand.  I start a Run on both watches.  Get my HR up to 130 bpm on Vivoactive 4.  Compare vs Epix.  Pause the activity.  Toggle the Earphone status between On versus Off.  Walk for a minute until my HR is down to <110.  Resume activity.  Run until my HR is up to 130 bpm on Vivoactive 4.  Check again.  Repeat.

Here is example of one of my tests.  You can see high pace/low HR, then high pace/high HR, then high pace/low HR, etc.  Only thing I changed on the watch is toggling the earphone status.  When Epix's earphone is "Connected" or in "Not Connected" mode, Epix is consistently at 100-110 bpm, 20 bpms lower than Vivoactive 4's.  When Epix's earphone is "Off", Epix data is same as Vivoactive.

I have tested this with 2 different earphones: Samsung Buds2 and Apple Airpods Pro.  Both earphones exhibit identical behavior.

Also, I do not run with my phone.  If the issue is bluetooth itself, it is possible connected phone can also be a factor.  I did not test that.

I have the same issue. Low HR for the first 3-18 minutes. HR stays stationary on around 100-115 bpm and then jumps up by 20-40 bpm after 3-18 minutes within 10sec. I was able to return the Watch and get my money back. For me after 10 years of Garmin, its time to move to an other brand. This is ridiculous. They lost an custumer.