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Garmin says the Venu's HR readings are not to be taken seriously

Former Member
Former Member

I have been working with a few Garmin customer service reps regarding the wildly inaccurate heart-rate readings out of the Venu series of devices. As of the last email, "John" from Garmin product support stated that the Venu's HR readings are not meant to be used for anything that would require accurate data. I asked him in response if the HR capabilities of the watch were more of a novelty than something of any real use and he re-stated that the HR readings are not to be used for anything that requires accurate data. 

Meanwhile, the Venu's page on garmin.com reads as follows:
The optical wrist heart rate (HR) monitor for Garmin wearables is a valuable tool that can provide an accurate estimation of the user’s heart rate at any given point in time. 

I feel terribly misled by Garmin on this issue. The watch is quite clearly sold with an emphasis on the ability to use HR tracking during your workouts to gauge effort and burn, but now Garmin is walking back those claims and essentially saying that the readings are not accurate nor should be used with any serious intent. 

If you feel the same, please PM me. Maybe we can spin up a class action suit. This is deceptive advertising.

  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 4 years ago

    That's interesting i've used my Venu during very strenuous workouts paired with my Whoop band just for giggles and it has literally been within 1-2 bpm 90% of the time, only time it's really fluctuated is when it's abruptly been rotated on my wrist or moved because of a workout.  

  • The customer service rep is correct.  No optical sensor is accurate enough to be used for critical measurements.  Garmin's sensors and algorithms are better than most and the Venu is close to or on par with the Apple Watch, which is the benchmark for optical heart rate sensors.

    I don't understand why you are "terribly misled" by Garmin.  The purpose of the watch is to provide general guidance on how you are performing, including your heart rate.  Garmin appears to provide a closer approximation than most competitors.  But the measurements are limited by the state of technology and are not on par with proper lab tests.  Thus the comment from the rep about critical accuracy.

  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 4 years ago in reply to 4757287

    Just to clarify the statement apple is in no way shape or form the 'Benchmark" for optical heart rate sensors.  The only way you are really going to get accurate data for the most part is with a chest strap. 

  • Even the fenix 6 series uses the same OHR module

  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 4 years ago in reply to Former Member

    Mine has been off by 30-50, yes fifty bpm. 

  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 4 years ago in reply to 4757287

    Terribly misled because Garmin is saying that the 25-50 bpm mine has been off during strenuous workouts is normal. Nobody is asking a wrist watch to provide medical-grade readings. Don't be daft. What anyone should reasonably expect is for the watch to provide readings that are in the ballpark and accurate enough to make use of.

    Garmin has said that the watch's readings should not be made use of for health / workout tracking, which is contrary to their sales literature. Here - taken directly from the Venu's sales page on Garmin: The optical wrist heart rate (HR) monitor for Garmin wearables is a valuable tool that can provide an accurate estimation of the user’s heart rate at any given point in time. 

    So given what the Garmin rep said today, how can you NOT feel misled?

  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 4 years ago in reply to Former Member

    That blows my mind, i have NEVER had a device that far off, even a cheap chinese one i bought on ebay for giggles years ago wasn't THAT bad.. sounds like a defective device honestly 

  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 4 years ago in reply to Former Member

    Second one with this issue. They swapped out the first one due to the same issue. Its not firmware - it is software. This was not the case when I bought the device about 8 months ago. After a firmware update, the HR tracking went to hell.

    From today's workout. Constant, sustained effort. When it showed 120 bpm, by chest strap read 168. This entire workout had an average BPM of 154 from my chest strap. The Venu was 133. Using the Venu for any sort of reliable and reasonable data to measure effort and performance is simply not possible. Garmin says as much themselves. 

  • Or defective placement...  There's a lot of variables, and any can cause a short term way out of whack reading.  I've had a bunch of fitness watches, from Garmin, Suunto, Polar,including many of each manufacturer's subsets,  Apple, and even the new Galaxy 3 watch from Samsung.  ALL of them have their little quirks, and if you're looking for a medical grade type heart rate during exercise, for whatever reason, don't rely on Optical.  Get a good chest strap, deal with the discomfort, and gloat in your accuracy.  Otherwise, if you don't like hooking up to an actual electrical impulse type heart rate monitor, use the optical on the watch, or if you're mad at your watch, check out the Polar OH1.

    Trust me when I say that none of them are perfect.  I've got a big pile of money that I've given away proving that point.