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HRM-Pro Plus has become difficult to connect

VeloSteve
4 months ago

I have an HRM-Pro Plus which is about 13 months old.  I have used it many times, but maintained it well. 

For most of that time it was a pleasure to use.  Just turn on the Garmin 830 bike computer, or a 3rd party rowing machine, or an app on my phone and it would connect almost instantly.

For the last few weeks that has changed.  Perhaps 1/3 of the time it connects normally.  The rest of the time it doesn't connect.  I usually end up having to remove the strap from the device's software, power cycle, and re-add it.  Sometimes even that is sluggish and takes more than one try.

Once I get it connected the strap works perfectly for the rest of the ride, hike, or row.  This suggests that the battery and contacts are probably okay.  The body contacts look like new, as does the inside of the battery compartment - no sign of water intrusion.

I have tried many things.  The battery reports over 50%.  I have removed and replaced it.  I have tried turning off my phone's Bluetooth in case there was some conflict.  I have removed the strap and put it back on.  I have power cycled the 830 or other device.  Most of that seems to make no difference, even short term.  None of it has solved the problem.

How can I get back to the smooth experience I had before?

I'm actually thinking of pulling out one of my old straps and just living with the reduced functionality.  I have been using heart rate straps for decades, including Garmin, Polar and off-brand names.  I don't recall one ever failing before, certainly not within the first 5 years, until my son gave me an HRM-Dual, which bricked completely in less than a year.  Now this HRM-Pro Plus is giving trouble.  Maybe simple and cheap is the way to go for reliability.

  • 0 1 month ago in reply to 6066278

    Have you tried to unpair and re-pair. There was a change to the way teh connections work due to some legislation change and I also found it didn't connect straight away so I did a re-pair and it sorted it.

  • 0 2 days ago in reply to S.M.R.

    Meant to reply sooner, but I actualy did all three things, reset, unpair/repair, and replaced strap battery. Didn't imediately work, but a week later it was working again and connects automatically.

  • 0 1 day ago

    Adding yet another dissatisfied user with a variation on the theme - for me, the HRM-PRO+ connects, for a handful of seconds it appears a connection exists (even though the actual HR displayed is way low), then disconnects, and that sequence repeats ad-naseum.

    What I can add to this thread is the knowledge that it is something in the strap itself - its not a watch or software version problem. I know this because I was using the strap with a Peloton Bike+ today which was displaying the numerous disconnects.  While the Peloton displayed the connect and disconnect events of the struggle, [as well as the battery charge of 85%], I started an activitity on my EPIX-2 to see if it could get heart rate from the strap and quickly observed that no, the watch flickered in and out of connections the same as the Peloton. This is a new thing for me; I've been using the HRM-Pro+ multiple times per week with multiple devices capturing its outputs for over a year.

    The only thing I can guess is that water got inside when I washed the strap it last week. There's no visible water, but I'm leaving it open to see if the situation improves after I give it a chance to dry.  Its supposed to be water-resistant, even for swimming, and I never submerge it when I clean it.

    And in closing, why is there no category for HRM-PRO[+] under "Sports and Fitness"?  The Index S2 device is there.