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HR monitoring accuracy - unacceptable

AlexCh
over 6 years ago
Hi everyone

Despite the numerous reviews citing reasonable HR monitoring performance on the Vivosport, I have been unable to get accurate measurements with the device when exercising.

The device showed a maximum heart rate of 132 bpm using passive monitoring during a 2km erg sprint test completed in 6 minutes 42 seconds. For those unfamiliar with the erg machine, this is a maximum effort sprint test which should push you close to your maximum heart rate. I am 26 years old in good health - unfortunately 132 bpm is not even remotely accurate.

I subsequently tested the device using the indoor 'cardio activity' mode during a 1 hour steady state erg (rate 20, 2:02/500m avg split) as I read that the device may struggle to pick up rapid increases in HR. This exercise was completed at 100% effort and again left me at the limits of my physical capability. The device recorded a maximum heart rate of 114 bpm and average of 87 bpm. Immediately post activity, the device displayed a heart rate of around 50 bpm during my warm down when I was still struggling to catch my breath - 11 bpm lower than my supposed average resting heart rate recorded by the device.

I would be very interested to hear whether anyone has managed to get decent readings from their Vivosport, and whether they had to change anything to do so?

The fact that it could not pick up a realistic heart rate over a 1 hour period is incredibly disappointing. At present, the performance is so bad that I feel the device is either faulty or simply does not work as advertised. For anyone considering purchasing the Vivosport for its HR monitoring capabilities, I would advise against until something improves.

Cheers

A
  • 0 over 5 years ago
    I got a Vivosport a couple of months ago because I am trying to improve my cardio conditioning. Unfortunately it has not been helpful and could be dangerous if I actually believed the readings . My heart rate readings have been consistently strange. If I go up a flight of stairs my heart rate reads much higher (say 20 bpm) than I get by taking my pulse. When I walk on the treadmill using a chest strap my heart rate by the Vivo is typically low (90 -100) when the chest strap is reading 120 -135. After some period of time ranging from 10 minute to 20 minutes the Vivo suddenly jumps to the chest strap heart rate and tracks it reasonably well. The same thing happens with brisk outdoor walks where the Vivo is obviously very low for at least 10 minutes and then suddenly locks on after 10 minutes or more. I have tried shaving my wrist with no improvement. I have tried moving the Vivo up and down, tightening and loosening, and even switching wrists while walking to see if I can get it to lock in.
    It's inconsistency is very strange.

    It seems to be OK when sitting on the couch for a while or walking around the house.


    Same here.
    Exactly the same situation.
    BTW, I thought that I could connect a Garmin chest strap because both support ANT+. I guess I was wrong, since the Vivosmart only transmits data.
  • 0 over 5 years ago
    I got the same problem. Yesterday I did my first weight training and squats, and my heart rate was never above 90-100 even I had the feeling that my heart would explode one or two times.
    That's pretty sad, to be honest. I knew that HIIT and weightlifting aren't easy for a wrist HR tracker, but I expected a bit more.

    Next time I'm going to compare the Vivosport with the Polar OH1.
    And maybe I'm trying to shave my skin directly under the tracker like the other guy.

    A bit sad that Garmin isn't even responding to this thread for ten months.
  • 0 over 5 years ago
    Shaved my skin under the tracker and wore it really tight.

    Those two things really helped.

    Did another weight training session today, also with squats and some deadlifts and other stuff.
    • The "Vivosport" registered a max HF of 133bpm and an average heart rate of 103bpm.
    • The "Polar OH 1" registered a max HF of 150bpm and an average heart rate of 112bpm.
  • 0 over 5 years ago
    There are a lot of variables that can affect optical heart rate accuracy. I have provided the article below from our Support Center website that gives more recommendations on how to improve the accuracy:
    https://support.garmin.com/en-US/?faq=xQwjQjzUew4BF1GYcusE59&productID=574602&tab=topics&topicTag=region_heartrate

    Please keep in mind there are limitations of the optical heart rate sensor that can affect readings. I see that many users on this thread have tried multiple troubleshooting steps, I recommend to contact your local Product Support at support.garmin.com. There may be additional troubleshooting we can try or if needed, we can gather the appropriate information to get this escalated.
  • 0 over 5 years ago
    I can understand an optical heart rate monitor having limited accuracy. What I find unacceptable is the device having NO accuracy. For example, I do intense, 30 minute high intensity bike rides on my indoor trainer daily. When I am finished, I am drenched in sweat, and I am gasping for air. Most of the time, my vivosport shows my heart rate never leaving the double digits. This is extreme inaccuracy to the point of complete uselessness. 30 minutes of complete inaccuracy during exercise is unacceptable for any device marketed as a fitness tracker, and the problem is obvious when the vivosport is compared to most other similar products on the market including similar devices made by Garmin. I have not yet contacted support due to the experiences of others on this forum showing that this is not an issue of a single faulty device. I have been hoping that the problem would be addressed by Garmin with a software update for the past 10 months of owning the device. However, I will take your advice and get in contact with support anyway to at least make my experiences known.

    A multitude of users have reported on this forum that their vivosport reads 20+ BPM low while performing activities. Many of these users report the device reading extremely low BPM for the first 10+ minutes of an activity before suddenly jumping up and reading correctly. The commonality of these issues does not suggest that the device being worn improperly. Instead, it suggests a problem with the design and/or operation of the device.
  • 0 over 5 years ago
    my experience based on low speed runnings tracking of 50' each using Vivosport and heart chest strap monitor: you have to wear the Vivosport as for the manual (The device should be snug but comfortable, and it should not move while running or exercising) and wait about 10 minutes, after this the readings are about the same of the chest strap
  • 0 over 5 years ago

    It took over 25 minutes to start reading properly on today's ride. Bummer.
  • 0 over 5 years ago
    I have had my Vivosport for over three months. I am over 70 and had some tachicardia issues and decided to start regular exercise. Unfortunately the Garmin is very erratic and not very useful except for step monitoring and that type of information.

    When I walk briskly outdoors or on a treadmill it behaves exactly as Space Cowboy and others have indicated. I wear an accurate chest strap on the treadmill and work my way up to around 130 bpm in about five minutes and then remain at that heart rate, The Vivosport seems to go quickly to around 100 bpm and then stay at that rate for between 15 to 20+ minutes before it suddenly jumps and locks on to my actual heart rate of around 130. Very strange.

    Conversely, if I walk up a flight of stairs it grossly overshoot my actual heart rate that I determine by taking my pulse.

    I have tried cleaning it, shaving my wrist, and trying different positions and different tightness and even switching wrists while on the treadmill to try to wake it up and make it lock on.

    Obviously many Vivosports have this problematic behavior, My question is are there any Garmin devices that work better?
  • 0 over 5 years ago
    OK, I just did another treadmill run with chest strap. I freshly shaved my wrist, This time I cranked up speed quickly to 135 (I am old and this is max recommended exercise HR by Cardiologist). I was in activity mode. The Vivo read about 98, this time for 16 minutes, and then locked on. Once locked on it tracked very close =/- 2 to 5 for the next 15 minutes, asI varied my HR down and up. Once I got lower than 110 it started to sag behind.

    My theory: wrist pulse actually overshoots at the start of any exertion as I've noticed going up stairs quickly and so Garmin has added some type of damping that locks down the overshoot for a certain period of time and that damping time is way too long on the Vivosport! Maybe it is a firmware error. If they do have damping they should let the user adjust it on Garmin Connect.


    In the off chance that GARMIN actually reads this and still supports this product PLEASE allow the Vivo to measure VO2 max INDOORS like you do with the less expensive Vivoactive models. It is very frustrating that it can't do this. I have nowhere decent to walk outdoors. Of course it would also need to have accurate HR but I think that requires a certain long warmup indoor or outdoors.
  • 0 over 5 years ago
    Very much the same thing. For the first 20 minutes or so of a work out its recording 30 to 40% less than actual. I have tried shaving my wrist, alternating band position, all to no avail. Lost faith in garmins optical heart rate sensors