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HR accuracy issues

Is there anyone else having issues with HR readings?
I noticed that my HR was "stuck" during workouts, and would never get any higher than ~100.

I've tried wearing the watch in maybe 10 different ways, other arm, removed all sweat, tightened the strap, etc.. nothing worked.
All software is up to date.

I had a friend nearby who has a FR 235 and that watch reported HR 142 while mine was displaying 101. I think that's different enough to say that it's not working.
It sometimes work , and sometimes not. Can't make head nor tails of it... ciq.forums.garmin.com/.../1480558.jpg
  • I’m with you on this, my 245 is great during runs but when I try to circuit train to my HR zones it barely gets to 100. Frustrating especially that I’m in the process of getting over a running injury. 

    Any updates?

    Thanks. 

  • Similar, my 245 is great during runs but when I try to circuit train it barely gets to 100. Frustrating especially that I’m in the process of getting over a running injury and would like to zone train to help stay in shape for when I can start running again. 

    If anyone has a fix would be appreciated  

    Thanks. 

  • I can only echo what has already been said; the accuracy is great during runs, but during badminton, squash, tennis and weightlifting workouts it becomes very unstable for me. It has a hard time to go above 100 bpm even when I'm giving it my all with the weights and feel my heart  is beating way more than 100bpm...    

    Would be great to see some response from Garmin on this thread.

  • I have found this recommendation from Suunto which suggests how to get better HR accuracy, I can say that the placement of the watch during activity is really important and it makes a huge difference in terms of accuracy and response of HR readouts, at least for me it really works:
    https://www.suunto.com/Content-pages/what-should-you-know-about-wrist-heart-rate2/

  • I have a 245 and have exactly the same issues as described: HR fine for continuous activities such as running, but for interval training it just doesn't pick it up and runs far too slow. HR 165 while running but same effort on shuttles and star jumps it's around 60 or 90. I have done everything suggested: adjusted the position on my arm, shaved the hairs off, changed the tension on the strap-nothing. I had a 235 with the same sensor and never had a problem over two years. I agree with Jantje and others this feels like a software problem rather than a physical problem with the watch. Garmin tec people, can you look at this please? Paul 

  • Indeed  i can give almost the exact date this started happening and I think it was associated with a software update: 26 August

  • Yes I agree the latest firmware has broken the HR on this. It was working perfectly before. Garmin need to look into it

  • Software update patch for the sensor downloaded a couple of days ago and the problems with the HR sensor for circuit training seems to have been fixed 

  • I’m very disappointed with my new 245, the heartrate accuracy is truly shocking. My now broken 235 was much better.

     I’ve got a box of pulse oximeters to test it against; my wife is in the medical profession, so I’m confident that I know what my actual HR is

    My issue is repeatable, the heart rate displayed by the 245 is about 40bpm lower than actual. I normally use the watch to broadcast HR to my Garmin 1030 bike unit.

     I’ve just tried a work around, after reading the Garmin blurb about HR sampling during an activity, I’ve set HR to broadcast during an activity. I then start an activity; floor stepping for example, and then go on a bike ride. This seems to do the trick; I get a more accurate HR reading.

    What a pain!