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New 165 - Awful activity HR information - Faulty?

Morning all,

Moved over from an Apple Watch a week ago to the 165, mainly use the device for outdoor running.

I’ve noticed some ‘issues’ with my activity BPM, wanting to focus on zone training has made it nearly impossible with the watch so far.

The best way to describe the issues is in 2 parts:

1) When starting an activity it’s as if it takes the watch 5-10 minutes to give me a (what I would consider) accurate BPM for me - the BPM just seems too low. After a while the watch will jump maybe 20/30 beats.

2) It seems to fluctuate maybe 10-20% throughout an activity (mainly decreases), or it just doesn’t update for a long period.

Note also I have tried a few adjustable to the strap, it’s never loose and is always pressed to the wrist.

Do I have a faulty watch? Has anyone experienced this issue before and knows a work around? It’s such a solid watch in other areas but I’m considering returning to Apple as I never had such issues with initial tracking or delayed information on HR.

  • Same Watch, Same Problem, Garmin eta gg

  • same watch same problem. I sent my watch back and am waiting for my new one. (online store so needs a few days)

    Always had a Garmin watch and never had any problems. As soon as I get my new watch I will try it. If the new watch has the same problem, Garmin should release a software update to solve the problem.

  • Its a FW issue impacting many devices see the various forums

  • I have been having the same problems, most recently yesterday.

    I got on a treadmill. In less than 60 seconds, my heart rate showed at jumping from 70 to 150! Mind you the treadmill was set for 2.0 miles per hour. I tried slowing down, and building up slowly.  It took 8 minutes for the heart rate show by my 165 watch to roughly match the built-in HRM on the treadmill.  Also, I was wearing a three lead EKG halter monitor. Its readings matched the HR shown on the treadmill.

    All performance measures are off, since the HR numbers on the 165 are very inaccurate.

    How do I get this watch repaired / replaced??

  • update: today I did a first run with my new FR165 (the store replaced it for a brand new one) the HR was correct and everything was working perfectly. I am happy that I switched my watch for a new one. (The new watch has also the latest update)

  • All, 

    Please see my response on measurement HR is now very bad

    I'm locking this thread so we can keep the topic under one thread. Thank you!