Garmin heart rate monitor reading too low. This seems too low to be right.
Garmin heart rate monitor reading too low It also happend yesterday at the beginning of a 10K race. The readings are much too high. But it seems that this, too, the first 8 minutes shows very high values and then returns to normal levels. This seems too low to be right. It is not happening daily but regularly. Apr 2, 2023 · had my garmin HRM dual since Xmas and it’s started to give me some funky readings. Follow the care instructions (Caring for the Heart Rate Monitor). Jun 8, 2024 · Epix (Gen 2). Possible Causes of Erratic Heart Rate Data Improper Wear or Use Cadence Lock: If the electrodes on the strap dry out during an activity, the monitor may lose your heart rate signal. Can’t believe Garmin think this is acceptable on a £900 watch. Both my wife and I have Epix 2 and built-in HR monitor is wildly off during activities, even just a regular run. I usually maintain 160~180 bpm while running, but after running for 2 hours, HR went below 140 and stayed there for about 15 minutes. Sometimes it goes off once in an incident but it can be 2/3 alarms one after the other. Just for fun, like today, I got a reading of 225 bpm for the entire 40 kms of my ride. This problem has rendered the expensive Epix and the great Garmin metrics, basically useless. Wear the device above your wrist bone. If the watch is incorrect in its assessment, go to settings / wrist heart rate / abnormal alerts and set the threshold that you would prefer. (I think this is Dec 12, 2024 · Fighting with a too low heart rate during exercises over the last few months. For more information, see How can I edit sport profiles and training views in . This article delves into the potential causes behind heart rate reading failures on Garmin devices, […] Hello everyone, A few weeks ago I've switched from Samsung Galaxywatch6 to Garmin Epix Gen2 for several reasons. For the last 5-6 months my heart rate strap has been reporting inaccurate data and I don’t know how to fix it. Feb 1, 2022 · When a smart watch alert suggests that person's heart rate is below 40 beats per minute, it could be an error, especially if no symptoms are present. Initially, it read low for the first three minutes, but I tightened the band by one notch, and the Oct 15, 2019 · For about 10 years before I got my instinct I ran with Forerunner 305 with a a chest strap heart rate monitor which is far more accurate than the optical on the Instinct. Extremely Feb 8, 2025 · Garmin wearables are ubiquitous in the fitness and performance tracking space, relying on photoplethysmography (PPG) to estimate heart rate. I hadn’t realised quite how inaccurate my Garmin was until I started using a chest heart rate monitor. g. Comparing with the 305 the Intinct reads accurate at rest and walking but is 30 bpm high for running and 15 or 20 bpm low for strength training. While starting a new workout, the sensor registered the heart rate way too low (50-60 beats off during interval training). Namely reading way high on steady rides (202bpm this evening, and I barely hit 180bpm when I’m going full gas). It starts off fairly innocently with a gentle rise in heart rate (HR). I never saw that when I was young and I use a Garmin Edge 530, pro hrm strap, wheel speed censor, quarq power meter and Garmin remote. For a chest strap I am running an o. Jan 11, 2025 · During sets, my heart rate often shows 80–100 bpm, which is clearly too low. Avoid wearing sunscreen, lotion, and insect repellent under the watch. 23 this week If your heart rate is actually abnormally low, see a doctor. Sep 11, 2024 · Your Garmin heart rate monitor might read low due to poor sensor contact, low battery, or incorrect placement. In this article, I aim to explain some common problems associated with Garmin heart rate monitors. Avoid scratching the heart rate sensor on the back of the device. As of about two weeks ago, the heart rate monitor started reading consistently high on my runs. Find out more here. Aug 29, 2023 · Though Garmin's wrist heart rate monitor technology is advanced, its intrinsic constraints could lead to imprecise heart rate measurements. Another fix is to pause activity, reboot device, and resume activity. The short of it is if you want truly accurate data you should get a chest strap. Feb 28, 2023 · Always using an activity profile on the watch that most closely matches the activity that you are performing helps with heart rate accuracy during the activity and for all day tracking. Nov 25, 2023 · However, numerous first-time buyers and avid Garmin users often ask, “Are Garmin watches accurate for heart rate?” In this article, we explore the accuracy of heart rate tracking on Garmin watches and how to make use of this feature. At the start of some workouts, the heart rate (HR) reads too low initially but then corrects itself as the workout progresses. This technology, while generally robust, can be susceptible to a variety of factors that can lead to inaccurate or absent readings. We both tried to wear watch tighter, looser, up the wrist, down the wrist, everything! Nothing! Interestingly, it records well when not About a week ago I started getting lower overall heart rate readings and a lot of spikes and sudden drops in heart rate that don't correspond to reality. Both HRMs, on all machines, read very low for the first 10 -45 minutes (approx) before getting over themselves and catching up with what my heart is actually doing. I did testing before and was able to replicate and resolve the issue, by toggling the headphones on/off. Here’s what I’ve tried so far: Hi there, I have the Garmin Forerunner-35 for 8 days now, and the first 7 days I was quite happy with the device. 77. I keep having to use my old garmin 245, heart rate more consistent with level of exercise on that model. Having already experienced from my previous watch a fenix 5s in combination with the HRM DUAL strap, I made a 10 km ride while wearing both of these If the heart rate data is erratic or does not appear, you can try these tips. Choose a topic below to learn more about ways to improve heart rate readings as well as factors that can affect it. May 1, 2022 · Anybody else still having same issue. The average is much higher than normal, despite my fatigue not lining up with the readings. Nov 25, 2023 · From inaccurate readings to delays in response, there are various issues that users may face. Often it will report a rate that seems accurate, and then partway through a workout the rate will drop to 60 something. Without getting too deep into the technical side of things, the readings tend to lag, and the inaccuracy of the wrist devices is worse when you're doing short, burst, high intensity exercises. I go to the gym every morning and I can’t think of a single day when I have had an accurate reading. I got the five primarily for open water swimming, but I’ll do without it for the sake of heart rate. Mar 25, 2025 · Garmin watches use a technology called photoplethysmography (PPG). Took into Garmin and they just replaced it so i decided to upgrade, first run with the 965 has the exact same issue. This subreddit is an unofficial, non-affiliated community, run by the users, to embrace and have conversation about the products we love! Garmin - the American, Swiss-domiciled multinational technology company that specializes in GPS technology for automotive, aviation, marine, outdoor, and sports Hi I just finished marathon last week and noticed strange drop of my HR readings during workout. But it could signal a heart problem called bradycardia that has many possible causes. Wait until the icon is solid before starting your May 28, 2020 · Dear All, My Forerunner 245 is experiencing some heart rate sensor issues lately. Clean and dry your arm before putting on the device. For walking, I average around 100-120 bpm which shows correctly when I connect my Bluetooth chest strap to the watch. When I take a walk my heart rate normally doesn't pass 100bpm but lately, the watch is showing values above 140bpm even up to 164bpm. . After a set, sometimes the heart rate increases, but other times it doesn’t change. Wear a cotton shirt or thoroughly wet both sides of the strap. Edit: alternately you can disable the feature from the same menu tree. Reapply water to the electrodes and contact patches (if applicable). Clean and dry your arm before putting on the watch. There is a 'known' issue with the optical heart rate sensor on garmin watches, have a look at garmin forums for posts on the issue. Mar 8, 2021 · Seeing that the oscillometer of my new Fenix 6s pro unfortunately does not give reliable measurements, I bought the HRM PRO strap as well. Jan 15, 2024 · I just switched to the Vivoactive five from my four and I could not be more disappointed with the heart rate reading so low. It is always between 6 - 8am. Yesterday a quite fast run with a average heart rate of ~125 ppm referring the watch which would bei around 155 in reality. What a waste. Garmin and a Cyclops ANT+ strap of the same design, these are the longer plastic strap styles that then have a snap-in elastic band. Any ideas? My fitness has been improving over this time and I’m now running about 30-40 mpw consistently. Also when I am just sitting on the couch, the heart rate as shown on the watch often surpasses 110bpm. These are just temporary fixes. Any tips on sorting it out before I contact garmin? The only things I can think of is that I’ve got it too tight (stop it moving around)/my base layer makes it too tight. The device should be snug but comfortable. I also do brisk/fast walking and the watch is poor there too. One minute 235bpm then 190bpm then 153bpm then up to 244bpm. Heart rate doesn't go above 120s when exercising. Aug 15, 2024 · The idiom “too much of a good thing” remains true in our everyday lives — especially when it comes to heart rate variability (HRV). It got worse with v16. I’ve worn the watch in this position many times now and have never experienced cadence lock. Sep 16, 2023 · Is your Garmin heart rate monitor acting up? Discover effective troubleshooting tips and solutions to fix heart rate issues Garmin Heart Rate Not Working. After watch recovered from strange HR readings, it happened again even though I didn't walked. Ensure the monitor is snug and positioned correctly on your chest. Paid £420 for this watch and I've had it for less than 1 year. You can adjust the watch slightly farther up the wrist, or wear a Garmin heart rate monitor strap for these activity types. Or my base layer Jul 30, 2019 · Hi, is there any way (e. As an indoor cycling instructor my HR average for a 45 mins class using my Fitbit would be around 140bpm, with peaks at 160bpm plus, but having switched to Garmin Venu 2 it only shows average of 90bpm with peaks of 105bpm. May 3, 2024 · The issue is that the HR appears to be too low (around 120 bpm) for around the first 2-10 mins of a run and then spuriously jumps to my usual HR for running pace (around 145-150 bpm). The wrist sensor did a good job regarding the heart rate accuracy (although you need to wait one minute before the FR35 displays an accurate value) But now I suddenly I recently mentioned my resting heart rate to a friend and they seemed pretty alarmed, is it not normal for have a resting heart rate so low? If the heart rate data is erratic or does not appear, you can try these tips. with an app) to set an Alarm for a too low heart rate? I would like to have a notification or a vibration if my heart rate falls under ~50bpm during the day. r/Garmin is the community to discuss and share everything and anything related to Garmin. I use both with my 2 Garmins and the TR App on my Windows tablet. While Garmin’s wrist heart rate monitor technology is state-of-the art, there are inherent limitations with the technology that may cause some of the heart rate readings to be inaccurate. Some health magazine claims that for a non smoker, non fat, active man in his thirties, I should consult a doctor for a resting heart rate above 100. Manually setting the target heart rate zone, baseline heart rate values, body height, body weight and age, and -- if the monitor contains multiple parts -- syncing before engaging in exercise are Sep 28, 2024 · Hey everyone, I've been experiencing some inconsistencies with my HRM-Dual during workouts. How Does the Watch Measure Heart Rate? May 30, 2023 · While you’re here learning how to address issues with your Garmin heart rate monitor, you might also find it helpful to check out our guide on troubleshooting solutions for Peloton heart rate monitor battery, which offers valuable insights into resolving common problems faced by Peloton. I'm sitting in the car driving with a heart rate of 244bpm! Went for a run and I'm getting very high heart rates all over the place. Same problem during indoor bike ride my F7x is reading 70-80bpm while my heart rate is actually 150bpm. Anyone else have really low heart rate readings? When I’m sitting completely at rest my forerunner 235 will occasionally read as low as 36. Since the sensor attempts to measure blood volume alterations, it may be that blood volume alterations may not be exclusively attributed to heart rate shifts. Aug 29, 2022 · I see someone here mentioned a Polar HR monitor. Here are the different heart rate monitoring situations that occurred during the last month There are times when the HR functions perfectly without any hiccups. Wait until the icon is solid before starting I've been using the heart rate monitor that came with the watch on Zwift, and I've had issues with my heart rate being reported as way too low. Tighten the strap on your chest. It can then "lock on" to your running cadence, causing the beats per minute (BPM) reading to incorrectly match your steps per minute. It started intermittently with Software v15. There’s a massive delay in measurement and often heart rate is 40 to 50 beats lower than the chest strap. How Does the Watch Measure Heart Rate? Jan 25, 2024 · I play squash and tennis. Heart rate monitors provide real-time feedback on how hard you're working out-empowering you to make adjustments and reach your fitness goals The Apple Watch heart rate monitor may be accurate in certain cases 0 Enabled Fitness Devices: Clips, Arm & Wristbands - Amazon To make most of your Apple Watch, we recommend downloading third-party Your. 22. I tested it with another heart rate device during running and cycling and I was quite happy with the result. My max heart rate is 171, threshold is 155, resting is 41. The watch monitor shows an average of 80bpm! My resting heart rate is Nov 24, 2025 · Our medical experts vetted the best and most popular watches that monitor heart rate on the market for 2026. There was a significant discrepancy at the beginning of the run until I tightened the watch and one notch. The watch should be snug but comfortable. I don't set the activity before riding as I expected the sensor to simply record HR without having to set the Find your way to better health. I have had issue with low heart rate at beginning of the activity. On the bike, I’ve killed too many of the new style TICKR and Garmin heart straps and have given up on them completely. When are the heart rate issues for the garmin 265 music going to be resolved? Anyone else experiencing this? I have been having issues for the last 2 to 3 months. I didn't change anything about how I'm wearing or using my watch, and I've tried restarting, cleaning the sensor, adjusting the fit (even though this fit has been working fine for months), all Feb 12, 2025 · Venu 2 HR monitor is way too low during intensive exercise. I think it is a software issue rather than my imminent demise. I just updated to v17. May 28, 2024 · I had a 955 which started giving issues a few weeks ago, heart rate in a run would climb slowly then stay static on a very low number then all of a sudden (usually if I paused) shoot up to a more realistic reading. Probably too late to return my watch and I’m sure the warranty issue won’t cover the low heart rate. Okay I expect wrist monitors to be not great with vigorous activity. Wear the watch above your wrist bone. Feb 26, 2025 · Wearing a Garmin sports watch on the inside of the wrist provided reliable heart rate readings while running, even during this sprint workout. Incorrect Orientation: For straps with a removable module the orientation May 24, 2021 · I have both a Garmin and a Wahoo HRM. Those little green (and sometimes red) flashing lights on the back of your watch shine into your skin to detect blood volume changes, which they use to estimate your heart rate. Calibration Your heart rate monitor's readings will be inaccurate, or jump up and down in an erratic fashion, if the calibration of the device is not set correctly. Feb 26, 2025 · Comparison of the heart rate readings between a Garmin Epix Pro Gen 2 watch (worn on the underside of the wrist) and XOSS BBP armband heart rate monitor during a threshold interval workout. I bought the Epix in 2022 and this was never an issue until beginning of feb 2024. I looked at the data today and it read 36-38 for a good hour. Avoid scratching the heart rate sensor on the back of the watch. My actual heart rate would be around a constant ~144bpm whilst running. Avoid wearing sunscreen, lotion, and insect repellent under the device. There's no jump and the values vary during exercise. Now I got a garmin watch 2 months ago and it consistently says my resting heart rate is between 80 and 120, with an average at 105 and it tells me this is too high. I am new to heart rate training in general so trying to settle in a particular zone is almost impossible! I find if i stop running and hold my watch close to the monitor it sorts itself out after 10 seconds or so, but as soon as I start running again in creeps down until settling between 50 - 90. Apr 5, 2024 · Some days it is fine and on other days it records way to low - at least 20 bpm below what it should be. Refer to your owner's manual to determine if your watch is compatible with an HRM strap. Apr 6, 2010 · For those who train with heart rate monitors often, you probably know all too well know the tell-tale sign that your little device is lying to you about your heart rate. My chest strap will give me a reading of 160bpm, as will the gym equipment, whilst my Garmin will say 90bpm. interesting results you are Hey all -- so during my off season of zwift, I paid more attention to my heart rate and noticed that over the course of a few months, my HR was dropping quite a bit (~75bpm at a Max effort) or reading sporadically. Sep 13, 2024 · Based on this, and the topic title “Heart Rate Monitor Battery Low”, I’d guess the text of the notification was “Heart Rate Monitor Battery Low” or something similar to that. How Does the Watch Measure Heart Rate? Troubleshooting Tips for Erratic Heart Rate Data Tips for Missing Running Dynamics Data Replacing the Heart Rate Monitor Battery If you are using the heart rate sensor with a Polar watch and a certain sport profile constantly displays too low heart rate readings, check if you have set the sport profile to display heart rate in percentages of your maximum heart rate or in percentages of your heart rate reserve instead of beats per minute (bpm). While resting, my heart rate occasionally drops to 70 bpm, even though I know it’s at least 120 bpm. If the heart rate data is erratic or does not appear, you can try these tips. Although I've been wearing and testing Garmin watches for a while, I didn't know that it can send an alert if your heart rate goes above or below a certain threshold while you're inactive. I have washed the HRM unit itself but it's still the same. Warm up for 5 to 10 minutes. But while using it, the heart rate sensor didn't work well, I had the same issue described in this post. I’ve been using Garmin products since the edge 500. I don't have a second device to check but If the heart rate data is erratic or does not appear, you can try these tips. HR reading Nov 25, 2022 · For over a year I have been woken from sleep by my alarm telling me my heart rate is too low (below 40). Sometimes it will just sit in the 60s and not move.