235 Sensor Hub software (WHR) version 2.50

First I hope that someone from Garmin is monitoring these forums.

I have had my 235 for a month now and I have enjoyed using it. It has tracked my HR well during outdoor and indoor runs. The problems I have are when I am doing the "other" activity. I have been doing p90x3 and the HR will get stuck on 66. When I stop and adjust (tighten the wrist strap) the HR will stay the same or start to track downward. If I power cycle the watch the HR will begin to track correctly in the 140s to 160s. I have not noticed the watch getting stuck on the 66HR or having inaccurate readings unless I am in the "other" activity. I hope this information helps with problem solving. It would be great to not have to power cycle the watch every time I workout with the "other" activity.

I too do P90X series workouts and Insanity also. I've found that with HIIT type workouts it's best to pair with a chest strap for a more accurate reading. There's too much arm movement and dramatic fluctuations in the heart rate for those type of workouts for the OHRM to be very accurate. That being said, you sound as if you have a unique situation going on. Others have had the 66 lock, but it's across the board with all their activities. I believe you're the first to post an issue with the 66 lock when using a certain activity. I'm not sure what's going on there.

Hmmmm, maybe think it's developed new bugs with 2.50.

Just had a steady swim of 4 laps, and when I finished looked at the HRM to see if it had come to life (didn't set activity), and it hadn't. So pressed the HRM widget, and it showed 82, then in the space of about 30secs went down to 72, then shot up to 154, then settled on 98, which would have been about right.

Are others experiencing this yo-yo effect?

Hmmmm, maybe think it's developed new bugs with 2.50.

Just had a steady swim of 4 laps, and when I finished looked at the HRM to see if it had come to life (didn't set activity), and it hadn't. So pressed the HRM widget, and it showed 82, then in the space of about 30secs went down to 72, then shot up to 154, then settled on 98, which would have been about right.

Are others experiencing this yo-yo effect?

Is that because it is still wet? Presume it doesn't actually "work" in the water for HR?

Is that because it is still wet? Presume it doesn't actually "work" in the water for HR?

Yeah the pool is not a great place to be testing the HRM. I tried recording a pool activity with very mixed results. It's not really meant to be reliable in water because it distorts the reading. Perhaps the next generation.

Just got my son a 235. Do I skip the update and just use old version? Seems you guys are posting issues.

Yo yo heart rate

Hmmmm, maybe think it's developed new bugs with 2.50.

Just had a steady swim of 4 laps, and when I finished looked at the HRM to see if it had come to life (didn't set activity), and it hadn't. So pressed the HRM widget, and it showed 82, then in the space of about 30secs went down to 72, then shot up to 154, then settled on 98, which would have been about right.

Are others experiencing this yo-yo effect?

I've had this too. The HR is slow to adjust once an activity is started. The other day I was running and it hit 194. Since I'm not dead, I'm pretty sure that was wrong. It didn't last long and it settled back to the mid 150s, which would have been right at that point in time.

My last two runs since the update have been pretty poor. Cadence lock/crossover issue quite apparent in the 2nd run

First was a cool down run. High HR from the outset. Even stopping dead did not fix it. It eventually righted itself but not before moving the watch to every conceivable position on my arm. At first I though it was cadence lock, but the two values did not quite match for portions of the run. I have no idea whats going on here but my HR should have been 151 or so max for this effort. From 10 mins on its ok but the start is rubbish:

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1023536772

The second run was an easy 10 mile run today. HR all over the place for significant portions of the run. GPS tracking not great and pace tracking not great either for small portions of the run. These were city streets, but the buildings were only 3 stories at most. I've run in these areas before and mot had these problems. I have GPS and GLONASS on. So for even a steady even paced run the HR is acting up. For reference today was a mild, breezy day and it wasn't raining - about 11 deg C:

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1026330424

I'll definitely be sending this watch back now. I have an RMA number, but I'm undecided as to whether or not to ask them not to send a replacement 235, but get a 230 instead. The convenience of the built in OHRM is outweighed by its unreliability when running. For some of runs I might as well have had no HR monitor. If I have to resort to using a strap the I might as well ditch the OHRM and get the difference in cost bak.

Just got my son a 235. Do I skip the update and just use old version? Seems you guys are posting issues.

The 3.30 update seems to work just fine.
The problem lies with the newest heart rate (WHR) update, ie: 2.50. I would recommend using the previous version of the WHR. My problems started after I downloaded the newest 2.50 update. The "locked" 66bpm reading, and the heart rate dropping to the low 40s. This doesn't happen during a workout, only when I'm sitting down is when I notice the significant drop.

4090

Is that because it is still wet? Presume it doesn't actually "work" in the water for HR?

Could be Tim, although I was testing when I was out of the water and drying off on the side.

My last two runs since the update have been pretty poor. Cadence lock/crossover issue quite apparent in the 2nd run

First was a cool down run. High HR from the outset. Even stopping dead did not fix it. It eventually righted itself but not before moving the watch to every conceivable position on my arm. At first I though it was cadence lock, but the two values did not quite match for portions of the run. I have no idea whats going on here but my HR should have been 151 or so max for this effort. From 10 mins on its ok but the start is rubbish:

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1023536772

The second run was an easy 10 mile run today. HR all over the place for significant portions of the run. GPS tracking not great and pace tracking not great either for small portions of the run. These were city streets, but the buildings were only 3 stories at most. I've run in these areas before and mot had these problems. I have GPS and GLONASS on. So for even a steady even paced run the HR is acting up. For reference today was a mild, breezy day and it wasn't raining - about 11 deg C:


https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1026330424

I'll definitely be sending this watch back now. I have an RMA number, but I'm undecided as to whether or not to ask them not to send a replacement 235, but get a 230 instead. The convenience of the built in OHRM is outweighed by its unreliability when running. For some of runs I might as well have had no HR monitor. If I have to resort to using a strap the I might as well ditch the OHRM and get the difference in cost bak.

Its so odd reading all of these posts. My HR was stuck at 66. It fixed itself or something about a week ago. Who knows how.. I swim in this a lot and the HR is not reliable, but its not the device. The fact is you just cannot get a proper measurement under water as water seeps between the skin and the sensor. The HR works fine for runs for me so long as water/sweat does not build underneath the sensor. I had a 78 minute run yesterday and it read it perfectly. I did have a indoor cycling last Thursday where it messed up a lot. Then, Saturday, when I did my indoor cycling- I made sure I wiped my arm to keep the sweat from building up too much. The HR worked fine then. No issues running. Even with a strap, when it gets wet - it stops working right. They have software issues at Garmin with this and some of this sounds like a defective product or sensor..