Heart rate monitor measuring/reporting while I am not wearing the watch?

I have installed the 9.02 some 12 hours ago, and so far it is looking good. It is true it takes more time and observation to confirm it is working, but I can't complain at the moment.

I haven't noticed anything else being broken, so I think it is safe enough to update.

8.70 public release, first imression is possitive but it is waiting for reactivating pulse option for about 20seconds or so maybe the actual operating must be so and maybe it tries to be sure if it is pulse or not.  In addition to that gps capture is as fast as it was before 7.20

Upgraded to 902 after having the same issue as others reported.  Seem to have traded one issue for another.  Phantom HR seems fixed, but the other issue I've noticed in the last month is at least the same, if not exacerbated.  A series of sudden movements of the wrist (motioning while talking, washing hands, putting things away in a cupboard) results in a sudden and sustained spike in HR from my normal low 50s to 80's and sometimes over 100 bpm.  Every time i notice this, i hold my wrist level and manually take pulse and it is always around the same low 50's.  And then i will observe the Instinct HR slowly fall back to an accurate reading as i hold my wrist level and steady.  These inaccurate spikes are distorting my daily and long term data, where i hope to recognize trends in long term at-rest HR as I build up my fitness level. 

It's obvious the watch is doing a calculation based on movement to predict HR, rather than simply measuring HR with the optical sensor.  Rebooted watch, stopped/started HR monitoring multiple times, no change. 

I've read the guides on potential causes for erratic HR.  These aren't situations where my wrist or forearm are repeatedly constricting like while lifting weights or rowing (both of which I have observed understandable inaccuracies - i both lift and own a row machine which I consistently use).  This is just some sudden jostling or movement and the HR shoots up to ridiculous values.  Obviously movement is being factored in more heavily than it should be, which makes all the HR readings suspect, except those at complete rest (which I have found to be accurate when comparing with my manual pulse readings).

I went from a mid-level Fibtbit to the Instict hoping for a higher level of accuracy.  Perhaps all the wrist-based measurements should be utilized for very general trends rather than real time fitness measurements?  That's fine, I'll pick up a HR chest strap to utilize during workouts.  Just thought I was getting somewhat close to this with the Instinct.

I did not install the 902 and I have more or less the oposite... my HR reading remains at low value even after 2 minutes on the stairclimbing machine and even feeling the more elevated HR. After I stopped. the HR continues climbing and when I was in reality back at about 80 it peaked at 120... 

perhaps the 902 is overcompensating this...

it seems resolved on my watch !

Does anyone know how do I turn off the heart rate monitor not during activity? The light is constantly on when I am wearing the watch. 

kkung26 said:

The light is constantly on when I am wearing the watch. 

That's intentional. The watch needs to monitor your HR continuosly, ideally 24/7 to acquire your average Resting HR, which is then used for the calculation of Calories burned during an Activity, for the evaluation of Intensity Minutes, and for other purposes. It is also needed for features like Daily Stress, Body Battery, and others. It does not consume much energy, but if you are on a hike where you cannot recharge the watch for several days, you can turn off the HRM manually through the settings.

As trux said, it is intentional, but if you want to disable heart rate monitoring, this is how you do it:

1. Go to: MENU -> Settings -> Sensors & Activities -> Wrist Heart Rate.
2. Change Status to "off"