HRM Pro Plus not connecting after battery change

Hi All,

After over a year of using my HRM Pro Plus, yesterday I had a notification that the battery was low. Today I've replaced the battery and it hasn't connected again. Removed from FR255, tried to add again - no luck. The same with Garmin Connect - after removing from the app and Bluetooth devices on iPhone, it's not visible any longer. Tried to put the old battery back, but the same - still invisible. Also I've tried the trick with the polarity change, but no effect as well. Any other suggestions except throwing that crap into the trash? After the last few months of problems with FR255 firmware and now this - I'm very close to destroying all that Garmin crap and moving to Polar.

  • try another quality battery. I had issues with some bought cheap as those had been already empty or did not deliver the Voltage ...

  • Same happened to me a few weeks ago on a HRM Pro strap. Changed the battery just after warrantee ended, never turned on again... Tried multiple brand names batteries, tried resetting the strap by putting the battery upside down... The strap just never turned on even though it worked fine for 2 years. 

    If the reset with polarity change did not work, well, consider it dead I suppose. Garmin support won't help, I just created a post mentioning the horrible support experience I had regarding this subject before seeing your post about the issue. The number of reports like ours is mind-blowing on these straps. Next one will be a Polar for me, I have enough running dynamics with my Epix Pro, paying such a premium to get left-right balance and having a dead strap on battery replacement is clearly not worth it.

  • Are you sure that battery hasn't any contact problem? the polarity is correct? the battery is charged? the problem maybe is that battery is not connected, try to adjust metal contact near battery or use a little alluminium foil down or on the board.

    Do you wet the sensor when you wear the hrm?

  • Hrm pro plus is a waist of money.

    Had same after just 7 month.. after 1st battery replacement.

  • Sorry, but if it was after 7 months, it is still in guarantee.

    You can contact support.garmin.com and they will help you out (They did two times, when I had problems with a HRM strap).
    You know, technical gadgets can have problems and failures, yes. There will always be a percentage of that and from my experience, Garmin support is very quick with sending replacements, no questions asked, when still in guarantee period.

    So saying it is a WASTE (!) of money but not being able to contact support is... kind of silly.

  • In my case, lost of questions asked, nothing resolved.

    Of course i contacted support.
    I lost warranty paper (my bad). I have bank transaction info, Garmin connect data (basically shows purchase, and the period of use). Non of this is worth a thing. No digital warranty copy, no way to get recovery even if they see its their product, with all serial numbers and cods. Shows that buying from a Garmin store is more of a disadvantage compared to online.

    For example my cycling mate had same type of issue with wahoo strap, all he had to do was send a purchase screenshot, new one was on the way.

    You cant waste 130 euros in a more silly way

  • Sometimes people bend little metal strips when they replace coin cell batteries. Did it myself last week with a Tempe sensor.
    Those strips are often the conductor and if you bend them out of contact, no electricity is provided.

    On the „old“ HRM Pro, killing the rubber seal while changing battery was also a user error often done, this should be gone with the plus version.

    If you look out for these two things, the HRM Pro / HRM Pro Plus pods are very reliable and the strap itself will disintegrate after a few years of use like any strap. Every buyer has to decide if he wants a HRM with a non exchangeable strap.

    Those straps are not a waist of money like Onecycle states. And if he would have saved his invoice/receipt after purchasing it, I would bet Garmin would have replaced his strap.

    Garmins Track record for replacing items in 2 years after purchase for me:

    - Fenix 3 because of faulty barometer (they had problems with pool water, later this chip was deactivated while pool swimming because of this)

    - 2x Forerunner 945 because of failing buttons

    - HRM Pro wich was disintegrating. It was before it was even 2 years in the market so no proof of purchase was needed

    - HRM Pro Plus wich was disintegrating within 2 years

    - Epix Gen 2 because of failing buttons

    - Edge 830 because of failing barometer

    - Edge 1040 because of broken USB port (to be honest, I now believe it was the cheap cable I used at that time)

    - my wife’s Forerunner 265 after she had a crack in the display. There was a first production run problem with the display Glas and her serial number matched that batch. I think she bupped it into the stucco of our staircase and it cracked afterwards overnight but shouldn’t after such a bump.

    - rubber bands of the Varia seat post mount after I had to recover it twice after rides.

    All Forerunners, the Epix, both Edges I could pay a deposit up front to get the replacement device before they had my faulty one. Both HRMs they send out with and accompanying email that it would be disabled within 30 days but there is no such a mechanism in the HRMs. They didn’t stop to work after that 30 days but still produced rubbish data because of the lose electrodes.
    I think that this is now possible if you have a watch or bike computer and they don’t want it back.

    If I write down that list, I didn’t have a single day in the last 5,5 years where I couldn’t record because of Garmins service.

  • OK, sorry to hear.
    I have completely different experience with Garmin Support (Germany).

    My HRM Dual Strap electrodes came off after just 10 months or so and I asked them for a strap replacement (and gave them serial number from the start). They said that the shop where I bought it would be responsible in the first place (correct), but anyway for customer satisfaction they will provide me a link for the Garmin shop anyway, where I will get it for free.
    I thought, the strap, but instead it was a whole new HRM Dual, including the unit itself.
    They did not ask for pictures or anything, also not for a warranty paper or purchase bill or whatsoever.

    Second time I had the same problem with the electrodes on a HRM Pro, also before 1 year was over. Same, I wrote them and gave them the serial number and they provided me a link to the Garmin store where I could order a new HRM Pro Plus for free. Also no questions asked.

    Anyway, sorry that your HRM Pro died and good luck with whatever you use now.

  • Both HRMs they send out with and accompanying email that it would be disabled within 30 days but there is no such a mechanism in the HRMs. They didn’t stop to work after that 30 days but still produced rubbish data because of the lose electrodes.

    Maybe it would have been deactivated on Garmin Connect (remember, it can be registered as standalone device).

    In my case I did not wait for that, I de-registered my HRM Pro with the faulty electrodes myself, but kept it as sensor via ANT+. Used some super glue on the electrodes (at that time, it was only starting to losen), which gave me another year or even longer of using it, until I really had to switch to the replacement strip.

    Every buyer has to decide if he wants a HRM with a non exchangeable strap.

    True, that is a real downside.