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Heart Rate Accuracy Issues with Fenix 8

Coureur FR
5 months ago

Hello everyone,

I recently purchased a Fenix 8, and I’ve been experiencing significant issues with heart rate accuracy while running. The heart rate detected by the watch is much lower compared to both my previous watch (Fenix 6 Pro) and my chest strap readings.

Here are some specific observations:

During my regular runs, my average heart rate should be around 150 bpm, but my Fenix 8 never goes above 130 bpm.

During interval sessions, my heart rate should reach around 180 bpm, but the Fenix 8 still does not exceed 130 bpm.

I have tried tightening the strap to improve sensor contact, but it made no difference.

I’m very disappointed, especially since my Fenix 6 Pro was much more accurate, usually within ±10 bpm of my chest strap readings.

Has anyone else experienced similar issues? Are there any settings or troubleshooting steps that might help improve the heart rate accuracy?

Thanks for your help!

  • 0 3 months ago in reply to patten67

    I'm giving Garmin the benefit of the doubt.  I suspect this will get fixed in a future update, and fortunately, I don't normally use my fenix 8 for high HR (cycling for me) activities.  It's my emergency backup for when my chest strap battery dies or has other issues.  Also, this issue must not have been present when DC Rainmaker did his thorough review of the fenix 8.  His rest results did not show it.  I also don't think mine did it when I first got it.  For people who *do* use this sensor for high HR activities, I feel for you, and hopefully it'll get resolved quickly.  I would recommend making a formal support ticket with Garmin if you haven't already.

  • 0 3 months ago

    I have Enduro3. I ran a chest strap and measured along with wrist sensor for a day hike. Result was pretty much beat for beat.  If you’re seeing an issue pre likely you have faulty watch. The software works fine as far as I can see. If you have a chest strap I recommend doing a comparison. 

  • 0 3 months ago in reply to RosscoP

    I also achieved good results with the OHR. Here's a screenshot from Fitfileviewer.com comparing the HRM Run to the OHR on a Fenix 8 47mm AMOLED, using a snug-fit ultrafit strap. HRM Run VS OHR

    I also play tennis and that is another story, but I will say the pulse on average is in the same ballpark.

  • 0 3 months ago in reply to patten67
    patten67 said:
    I have not heard of any other Garmin watches having the same problem.

    Range of other Garmin watches have been having problem of inaccurately low HR during workouts for more than a year (Fenix 7, Epix, forerunner 255,255,955,965,Venu 3).

    So it is not only Fenix 8 issue, and it is not likely that it will be fixed any time soon since this topic is constantly being avoided by Garmin representatives here in forum.

  • 0 3 months ago in reply to Vizi

    Oh man, that's just plain awful...
    Meanwhile, today I installed yet another update, 15.22. I can only hope they'll finally solve the problem at some major update.

  • 0 3 months ago in reply to beckererik_

    Same for me. Did 30 runs where i compared the watch vs chest strap - used rainmakerdc analyze tool and the watch was spot on 95% of the time. When it was off it was only 1-3 bpm and never more than that. Impressive results as it actually beats my apple Watch ulta on accuracy when it comes to running.

    Weight lifting on the other hand is where is get really poor results with Garmin 

    Its Sad to see people down vote you just because your experience is different and have great results.

  • 0 3 months ago in reply to entify
    entify said:
    Its Sad to see people down vote you just because your experience is different and have great results

    My experience is similar to yours. It's accurate to the point on trail runs where I no longer wear a strap.

    I still wear a strap when mountain biking as the jostling of the watch on the wrist leads to poor results, but that's understandable.

    Most folks on here are angry and they're looking to vent. They're not really looking for solutions or to hear of opposing experiences.

  • 0 3 months ago

    I can only speculate, just like OHR in general has been from the early implementations, YMMV applies: everyone's skin, arm width, etc is different.

    for me, each generation has gotten better. Elevate2 was awful for even just walking around town and would have tons of cadence lock issues, Elevate 3 handled every day HR better, but I'd still get cadence lock issues pretty frequently (higher than expected HR). Elevate 4 was the first that worked overall well. taht being said, every 3-4 runs, I would get a drop in HR (about 10 bpm) that wouldn't return until I stopped running. usually happened 4-5miles into a run, sometimes later.  Elevate 5 is similar to 4, but I've only had the depressed HR happen once in 11 runs so far on the Fenix. on a couple other occasions, it dipped, but it righted itself after 1-2 minutes.

  • 0 3 months ago

    I am coming back on this, with walking activity...I walk fast, doing a brisk walk, and my heart rate is 65 bpm? Even when I sit on the couch I don't have 65 beats per minute. And this is totally weird, because I remember having 86 to 96 beats while brisk walking before. I have no idea if it a firmware issue. I am on firmware 13.35 (not beta)