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Fenix 7 unusable for tracking workout heart rate; get your stuff fixed, Garmin!

bw
9 months ago

Hey everybody, so this is where we are right now

I'm experiencing severe issues with heart rate tracking during running workouts using the Garmin Fenix 7 paired with a Polar H10 chest strap. I've been facing significant problems lately, where the heart rate readings are unreliable and frequently drop, making the tracking data pretty much useless.

I've tried all the common known steps to get rid of this already, including

  • repairing the sensor multiple times.
  • Restored all settings to default.
  • Reset the watch to factory settings 

Despite these efforts, the issue persists, and it’s becoming frustrating. I’ve attached a screenshot (below) that shows the erratic heart rate data during one of my recent workouts.

  • 0 9 months ago

    Looks like you need to turn Source Switching OFF:

    MENU > Health & Wellness > Heart Rate > Source Switching [Toggle OFF]

    This will prevent your watch from switching from the H10 to the wrist OHR on the watch.

    Also, I'd put a fresh battery in the H10, just to be sure it's still good.

    HTH

  • 0 9 months ago in reply to gaijin

    The automatic source switching is documented to be effective only with Garmin HRMs, but since it was flawed with the first release I directly turned it off.

    edit: if the error source was the automatic source switching, then the OHR would be screwed as f***. I am wearing my watch snug with an elastic band. I'm not even loosing HRV when sleeping

    H10s battery is fresher than ever. Please also see, that the failure is in the middle of the workout, picking up the HR later on again. After experiencing it a couple of times, just for fun of testing I let H10 record the HR to its internal memory, there the recording is without missing a single beat.

    Furthermore, I'm on 17.28 "stable".

    I did try to strike out technical issues as much as possible, at least to the factors I can set.

  • 0 9 months ago in reply to bw
    bw said:

    The automatic source switching is documented to be effective only with Garmin HRMs, but since it was flawed with the first release I directly turned it off.

    edit: if the error source was the automatic source switching, then the OHR would be screwed as f***. I am wearing my watch snug with an elastic band. I'm not even loosing HRV when sleeping

    H10s battery is fresher than ever. Please also see, that the failure is in the middle of the workout, picking up the HR later on again. After experiencing it a couple of times, just for fun of testing I let H10 record the HR to its internal memory, there the recording is without missing a single beat.

    Furthermore, I'm on 17.28 "stable".

    I did try to strike out technical issues as much as possible, at least to the factors I can set.

    OK...

    I also use the Polar H10 with my tactix 7 (and other watches).  I had seen some flaky results with the H10 when I had both the ANT+ and BlueTooth connection options available on my watch.  After I completely removed the BT connection option in the Sensors menu, and only used the ANT+ connection option, my HR recording with the H10 has been rock solid (several months).

    You might want to check that you are using only the ANT+ connection option for the H10, and that the Bluetooth connection option is not just turned OFF, but removed.

    For reference, here's a recovery ride I just finished showing solid HR recording:

    HTH

  • 0 9 months ago in reply to gaijin

    Yeah, rock solid is exactly the performance of Polar in terms of HR that I am used to. This also was the point with my Fenix, but with newer releases this experience changed.

    For my setup, I prefer ANT+ as my exclusive protocol for sensors. I also turned off "automatic discovery".

    I have paired and am using a Polar H10, a Stryd Duo as FootPod and Running Dynamics Pod, and a Suunto Wind Headphone. The power sensor part of the Stryd is registered, but disabled to keep the Fenix from prompting to connect.

    CIQ wise I'm just using the Stryd Zones field, otherwise plain running activity without any additional customisations, navigation or routing at the moment - I am able to run my home turn blindly...

    But speaking of Bluetooth, one thing might have changed; I tried out the GoPro Remote App when it came out. That also tends to remotely wake up the GoPros if scrolling through glances and stuff... I'll get rid of that one and keep observing. But this is more of what I would call - mildly speaking - flaky for a pricy sports watch.

  • 0 9 months ago in reply to gaijin

    And also please note that a successful test run in software or product testing does not prove the absence of bugs because tests only cover known scenarios, and unknown or untested issues may still exist.

    So yes, I do observe that issue and also did not just see it once.

  • 0 9 months ago in reply to bw

    I suggest you give Garmin Support a call on Monday and discuss your issues with them.  I have always found them helpful in person - chat and e-mail, not so much.

    HTH

  • 0 9 months ago

    You also could have a broken H10 bluetooth, inner memory save doesn't tell how the connection works. I have used H10 several years without a single problem.

  • 0 9 months ago in reply to bw
    bw said:
    And also please note that a successful test run in software or product testing does not prove the absence of bugs because tests only cover known scenarios, and unknown or untested issues may still exist.

    Using my H10 with other equipment doesn't show dropouts. And coincidentally when things start to go wrong other external stuff behaves weird - headphones, phone connection, running dynamics etc. you know, that other stuff from my setup

  • 0 9 months ago in reply to bw

    Sounds like your Garmin has a bad BT, contact Garmin support.

  • 0 9 months ago in reply to Wolfindal

    Exclusively using ANT+ ^^

    but will give them a call on monday