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Are you all happy with the FR 265 HR readings ?!? Even with latest software update?

Thibaud J

HR reading during effort.

Readings seems too low to me during efforts and exercises, especially compared to the 745 I had before.

  • 0

    Happy with the 265 optical HR?! Well I'm way back on release 21.20 and it has the problem of needing about 8 minutes into an exercise before the HR reading suddenly jumps and reads relatively the same as my FR245. Rumor is that some release prior to 21.20 made the optical HR perform acceptable but I'm not privy to what that release is and Gramin doesn't let you go back in releases anyway. I track the releases, read the comments which is not necessarily an indicator of universal problems but I've yet to see a release acclaimed for it's success in curing the optical HR woes. Garmin support will tell you a chest strap is the solution..huh, I bought a watch with an upgraded optical HR that now requires a chest strap to yield results as good as my 2 generations older watch.

    What a win that would be if this post leads to universal praise for some new release.

    If you still have the FR745 have you tried wearing them both at the same time to compare readings?

  • 0

    Dont do high intensity cardio, youre just putting your body in chronic stress and raising cortisol which is a major contributor to muscle loss since the body relies on your muscle tissue during high cortisol spikes.

  • 0 in reply to gxgene1

    I do not have my FR 745 anymore, but if i run with the 265 and chest strap (Garmin), it records +20 bpm (same as the 745 without chest strap) compared with no strap (too low bpm, i know from experience).

    Successive updates do not rectify that, 265 always too low and unreliable. Very disappointing from Garmin, which i normally appreciate a lot.

    My older 645 and 745 had much more accurate readings than newer 265... Disappointed

  • 0 in reply to Thibaud J

    The sensor generation changed in the x55 series and carried forward into the x65 series, There is a lot I like about the 265, the display being one of them but the Optical HR not being reliable and Garmin's policy of not letting a user revert to an older software release that might actually work is full on bunk.

    If Garmin abandons the 265 without making the optical HR work at least as well as the x45 series it will be open season on what company sells me the next performance watch. 

  • 0

    Just for the sake of knowing I went back to the 1st pages of the 265 forum and on page 47, over 2 years back there is a complaint about the HR sensor reading low on the 1st activity but correcting on the 2nd activity. Welcome to the Microsoft Vista upgrade from XP and have a nice day.

  • 0

    I don't think "happy" is quite the right word, but I'm content with it now that I feel like I have a good understanding of how it behaves.

    Basically, the optical HR needs between 8 and 15 minutes to settle. If you have Performance Condition enabled, the beep and notification for that will tell you when you can begin to trust the HR readings. Before that, it will be about 20 bpm low.

    As a white guy with light body hair and no tattoos, the optical HR should have an easy go of it on my arm. However, blood circulation isn't great in my arms when I'm running, so that's a down side. If it's cold, the circulation problem is noticeably worse and the HR reading takes longer to settle. I'll also need to tighten my watch band 3 notches on a cold day to make the watch stop moving around. On a hot day, one notch tighter is enough.

    I have a Polar H9 strap that I got back when I had a Forerunner 45. The 45 was much worse for cadence lock (HR reading too high) than the 265. It didn't need the "settle time" like the 265 does, so IDK which is actually better. I'll often use the HR strap if I'm doing intervals. For easy runs, the optical sensor gets the job done.

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