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Heat Rate way off.

Former Member
Former Member over 4 years ago

Hello there,

Today I bought a Fenix 6 Sapphire edition and decided to try it against my Fitbit Charge 3 to see how accurate the heart rate monitor is.

I'm not only surprised but also dissapointed to see how off the reading in the F6 is. I've tried my Fitbit many times against the Tickr I use for cycling and is pretty accurate, but the F6 is reporting around 20 to 30 bpm more and just goes up and down for no reason while not in activity.

So, the thing is: Should I expect a fix for this or should I just return it? I've been reading a ton here in the forums and it doesn't appear to be a solution for this problem.

Any advice? Thanks.

  • 0 over 4 years ago

    I used Fitbit for many years, but switched to Garmin for the possibility to connect a chest strap during exercise plus tons of other advantages. 

    Being a much heftier watch, Fenix 6 is not that accurate when you exercise, due to the "jiggling" at your wrist. Use it with an external HR product or just return it.

    In the "everyday" use, it is accurate enough, just as a Fitbit is, at least in my case. The only thing I miss about a Fitbit product is the sleep monitoring and that is it.

  • 0 over 4 years ago

    Search the forum, there are tons of treads about heart rate. As Raul77 say, get a strap for use in workouts, and if you not can live with that, claim a refund, not expect any «fix» for this.

  • 0 over 4 years ago in reply to Raul77
    Raul77 said:
    Being a much heftier watch, Fenix 6 is not that accurate when you exercise, due to the "jiggling" at your wrist. Use it with an external HR product or just return it.

    Yes, bigger and heavier watches are more subject to movement on your wrist, which can allow external light to enter the sensors in a rhythmic way (cadence lock). However, before reaching for the RMA or an external HRM, it is worth experimenting with band positioning and placement. The watch should be positioned on the fleshy part of the wrist well away from the wrist bone (this is a fair bit higher than most people are used to wearing a watch), and the band should be snug - I find I have to have the Fenix 6 band 1-2 notches tighter for accurate HR while running than I do for 24/7 monitor

    I do use a chest strap for interval running, but for steady state runs I find the OHR pretty good (provided I remember to tighten it).

  • 0 over 4 years ago

    I dont think fix will come, i sure hope so, but if they even cant admit that there is a problem...

  • 0 over 4 years ago in reply to Raul77
    Raul77 said:
    it is accurate enough, just as a Fitbit is,

    Maybe for you, not for me. And mine definitely was never as accurate as my Fitbit before. I’m very happy I got rid of my F6 Pro, heart rate tracking is just a mess. Has been reported for months and will probably never be fixed.

  • 0 over 4 years ago in reply to Raul77

    My F6x pro Solar is, like many other F6 crap    O U T S I D E  of activities in resting situations or when walking or doing something else.

    I came from Forerunner 735 XT, Fenix 5 plus and now have a random number generator with the F6x pro solar. Within activities, when I use the chest strap it is ok. but with out it is crap too.

    The F6x pro solar is as bad as possible with WHR measurement

    So ALL HR based metrics measured with WHR  outside of activities  with wearing a chest strap are simply crap !

  • 0 over 4 years ago in reply to Richy

    Only solution is to get rid of your Garmin. They never acknowledged the HR problem and will never fix it. At least not until the Fenix 6 plus or 7 series is here. Should be a month or 2 max.

  • 0 over 4 years ago

    Welcome to the club. I have the same problem. They didn't accept mine for exchange.