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F6X HR Issues

Former Member
Former Member over 5 years ago

Okay that's probably a little harsh, but hear me out... I am just feeling very disappointed with this experience...

I've been an Apple Watch 4 user for quite some time and have been extremely happy with the function and reliability but I thought you know what, I want to get a more serious fitness device since I am getting well, more serious about fitness.

Without getting too much into other Garmin issues like poorly designed and un-intuitive user interfaces, poorly designed and buggy Garmin Connect app, and poor Garmin warranty support (because my F6X is purchased privately even though it was a brand new boxed item - I'm not covered under warranty apparently - sounds like a great way to make excuses to avoid fixing issues with your product as a manufacturer though).

OHR on the F6X is poor. I've been testing it side by side with my Apple Watch S4 for the past 48 hours, and cross referencing with manual HR readings to get a view of which watch has been closer to accurate, and the Apple Watch is far superior in every way when it comes to HR readings, especially in the area of responsiveness. Here are a few examples I've experienced most recently:

  • Hiking up a steep incline for about 20 minutes, heart is beating fast and I am panting. AW reporting 146bpm, Garmin reporting 109bpm and sticks there for the entire incline, manual reading was 140bpm at the time.
  • The rest of the hike the Garmin was hovering around 90-105bpm when the Apple Watch is ramping up and down according to peaks and troughs.
  • Running today things started off really well, Garmin was displaying what AW was displaying, but then halfway though my 10KM run it seems to get stuck at 140bpm while my AW is showing 160bpm. I think hmm maybe my heart just isn't beating that fast and the AW is wrong. Nope! I started pushing myself for a period of 30 seconds and AW hit 174bpm while the Garmin just remained at 140-145bpm. I literally could not believe it.

Here's some photo proof from my Hike the other day. The difference in time/distance on the Garmin was due to me switching from Hike mode to Walk mode to see if the HR would improve (if issue was isolated to Hike app):

Now, I am disappointed for many reasons. 1 - because I really do like this watch and it has a lot of fitness focused features, and 2. because I feel like I am totally being ripped off here, paying so much for an expensive device like a CHUMP, and Garmin cannot even get a simple fundamental feature right which lays the foundations for all the other derived data!

And you know what else? I honestly think most Garmin users don't know any better, many just seem to accept the fact their OHR is useless and turn toward other sensors always touting the same version of the same line "oh but OHR can never be good so I would never use it anyway". Yes, I know OHR is not ever going to be 100% accurate, but guess what? Apple Watch S4 and above is seriously close to it. Don't believe me? Check out DC Rainmakers Review on the AW S4 and read the HR accuracy section:

When you are spending this much of your hard earned cash, you shouldn't be accepting this kind of stuff guys! I don't really know what I expect out of this post but I guess I am just really disgruntled and super disappointed in Garmin. Maybe someone from the team will read and this stuff will finally get through - I am not the only one.

If you want to check out some other information detailing the inaccuracies of the HR sensor of this watch, see this:

Garmin please get it together. Please! I don't want to have to get rid of this watch, but I can't justify spending $1600 on a device that can't do one of the most fundamental capabilities at least consistently if not accurately.

  • 0 over 5 years ago in reply to Former Member

    I fully understand the frustration of people who gets more like random number generator then solid oHR. And I wish there would be something to do about it. In my experience oHR is tricky business and so far I know about no company which would make a really competitive oHR sensor to chest strap. And oHR itself seems very user dependent to me,bot sure whether is has something to do with body and skin constitution or what. 

  • 0 over 5 years ago in reply to Former Member
    I mean the people here that sound defensive or dismissive honestly prove my point about the Garmin.

    some people here simply don't have any issues with the watch. It is simple as that. There isn't a conspiracy theory behind this.

  • 0 over 5 years ago

    The problem is that time has passed waiting for updates etc.. and we can't return the watch to get our money back. The best option for me  because I mostly cycling, is to use it as main device for cycling instead of  buying edge 530 830 or another brand. When I run I use a polar strap anyway. What I would like to get fixed first is the battery life to last as long as possible and secondly for daily heart rate monitoring, to not record fake spikes over >100>200bpm when I have less than 60bpm. I will think it very hard in the future what I'm going to buy when I will have to replace fenix.

  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 5 years ago in reply to Punch

    Sure Punch, I mean I am certainly not saying there aren't people out there with no problems, it's more the fact that there is clearly fundamental software issues which aren't being addressed by Garmin and that is both disappointing and concerning at the same time.

  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 5 years ago in reply to Markyz85

    DC Rainmakers review on Apple Watch 4, go to Heart Rate Accuracy section. Educate yourself.

    https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2018/10/apple-watch-series-4-in-depth-review.html

  • 0 over 5 years ago in reply to Former Member

    it may be software or hardware. It has been noted by some a possible variation in production. 

    Garmin should help you out somehow to resolve these issue or offer a replacement if there is a problem with the hardware of some of the watches

  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 5 years ago in reply to Punch

    Signs are pointing to software however I don't discount it could be hardware. And nope, Garmin are refusing to provide me warranty since it was purchased off eBay and counted as a "private sale" even though the item was boxed, sealed and brand new - I don't really get how that is an excuse to get out of providing warranty for faulty products but whatever I guess?

  • 0 over 5 years ago in reply to Former Member

    How many people come and read this forum at any one time? A few Dozen maybe? How many of these watches have been sold throughout the world? 10’s of Thousands, maybe more? If this HR issue was more problematic, then this forum would be flooded with users complaining.

    I myself, have no issues along with many others. Also, if you want an “accurate” depiction of what your HR is, you will NOT get it via a HR monitor on the wrist. You’ll need to invest in a Chest HRM. Otherwise, use your wrist HR as a guide (which again for me is quite accurate). 

  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 5 years ago in reply to Former Member

    Some people here simply have any issues with the watch, but they are big fanboys ... They can't imagine anyone complaining about Garmin! Despite the HR and running pace we have been back for a few years.

  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 5 years ago in reply to Odie21

    Let's begin with your first comment - initially you said "rinse, wash, repeat" and now it's "If this HR issue was more problematic, then this forum would be flooded with users complaining" - What's your story?

    Secondly, I don't really see how pulling a random number out of a hat is useful or provides any real value add to the conversation, unless you actually know sales figures? Anecdotal guess is that fitness super enthusiasts are a smaller subset of the wider fitness crowd who are happy with items like Apple Watch to do the job.

    Thirdly let me start off by saying I am glad to hear you've had no issues - lucky you. When you do say your wrist is quite accurate for you, what sort of workouts are you doing?