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Inaccurate Heart Rate During Cycling Workouts Since 1.0.1

B

Bob190

macrumors 6502
Original poster
May 21, 2015
447
164
Here is a comparison of my HR rate during this mornings 35 mile ride. The blue line was recorded with my Garmin 800 and Wahoo Tickr chest strap, the red line with the Apple Watch. As you can see, the AW had a tough acquiring and reading my heart rate during much of the first half of the ride. It basically said "measuring" during most of the first half of the ride. It did seem to get better as the ride went on. It seemed to track much better with the chest strap prior to the update...
 

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No but I will try to pull one together ... I have the data. It is a bit of manual process due to the ridiculous nature of the Apple Health app ... There just is at any easy way to export the data.

One observation I forgot to make about the chart I posted above. It seemed the AW had the most difficulty acquiring and maintaining my HR during the section of the ride where there were a lot of steep rollers. Places where your descending down a 10% grade, then a few seconds later you are ascending a 10% grade. During these sections my heart may be in the 80s during free wheeling the descents, then quickly rise to 160 or more as you are climbing the steep grades.

It is almost as if there is some algorithm that throws out readings that change by a certain % from one five second interval to the next. Could just be a coincidence, but the area with the most dropouts was exactly as I describe above.
 
I created an account just to add my experiences with the AW HR sensor when cycling/spinning post 1.1. I sadly don't have experience pre 1.1.



Similar problems when directly comparing AW HR to my polar FT7 & strap while spinning:
  1. Very frequently AW HR was significantly lower then FT7 HR ( ~90 vs. ~160)
  2. Displayed 'measuring' for extended periods of time (often this was while also displayed the lower HR)
  3. When looking at the AW HR data (within Health App), there are multiple ENTIRE minutes missing from the HR data (up to 4 minutes at a time) throughout the workout. (compare this other times using the activity tracking app and the AW produces 9-12 lines of data PER MINUTE!!!)

End of Workout stats: (sorry i don't have the Polar FlowLink accessory)
  1. Work out duration identical on both devices within 5 seconds
  2. Polar FT 7: Calories 843, Avg HR 159
  3. AW (indoor cycle): Calories 636 (541 + 95 resting), Avg HR 157


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Bob190 said:
It seemed the AW had the most difficulty acquiring and maintaining my HR during the section of the ride where there were a lot of steep rollers....During these sections my heart may be in the 80s during free wheeling the descents, then quickly rise to 160 or more as you are climbing the steep grades.
Click to expand...

My results were from a spin class; resulting in large swings of HR as well.


Did your Health App data also have the 'holes' in it that mine did? Additionally after 1.1 my watch seems to be double reporting HR every 10 minutes (known 'bug' in 1.1) is yours doing the same?
 
Yep ... Saw durations of 3 or 4 minutes with no readings. This was during the "measuring" times. Didn't see the double data though.
 
OK, so the suspense was killing me. I had to go back and pull together another chart .. this time from 5/18 before the 1.0.1. update. As you can see, the AW and the Wahoo Tickr chest strap tracked nearly perfectly as I suspected and observed during my ride.

I don't understand why Apple can't just come out and say ... we effed it up with 1.0.1, but we are working on a fix that will be out shortly. That at least would give me some hope. But with Apple saying nothing, it makes me believe they don't see an issue where one clearly exists.
 

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Here is a side be side comparing the charts on bike rides of similar distance and terrain before and after the update:
 

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Bob190 said:
Here is a side be side comparing the charts on bike rides of similar distance and terrain before and after the update:
Click to expand...

Thanks for sharing this info. I hope you are sending this to Apple.

I wish there was a way to go back to 1.0.0
 
BD1 said:
Thanks for sharing this info. I hope you are sending this to Apple.

I wish there was a way to go back to 1.0.0
Click to expand...

No problem .. and yes I did send it to Apple. Not sure they are listening though unfortunately. Seems every one that calls support to report issues with the HR monitor is told by the rep that this is the first they (Apple) has heard of the issue ... sigh.
 
Bob190 said:
Here is a comparison of my HR rate during this mornings 35 mile ride. The blue line was recorded with my Garmin 800 and Wahoo Tickr chest strap, the red line with the Apple Watch. As you can see, the AW had a tough acquiring and reading my heart rate during much of the first half of the ride. It basically said "measuring" during most of the first half of the ride. It did seem to get better as the ride went on. It seemed to track much better with the chest strap prior to the update...
Click to expand...

Try to wear the watch 3 fingers away from your wristbone while riding.
 
While not cycling, I just did about 30 minutes on my rowing machine. With quick glances, the apple watch was about 2-3 beats off from my Wahoo chest strap. The most annoying part was that in the last 2 minutes of the workout, where I tried to go full out, at a point where I assume my wrist was most sweaty, the Apple Watch bottomed out at 80bpm where my Wahoo strap was nearly 170bpm.
 
lchlch said:
Try to wear the watch 3 fingers away from your wristbone while riding.
Click to expand...

Thanks but I don't think that is the issue. It was worn exactly the same way in both of the charts I posted above.

The only thing that has changed is the OS version.
 
Bob190 said:
No problem .. and yes I did send it to Apple. Not sure they are listening though unfortunately. Seems every one that calls support to report issues with the HR monitor is told by the rep that this is the first they (Apple) has heard of the issue ... sigh.
Click to expand...

There's an email address, I don't remember what it is but I'm sure someone will. You should send your bug reports there. What I assume happens is that they get forwarded to the engineers who look into it. However, phone support isn't really expecting to deal with bug reports, so it will end up in your call notes, but depending on how many calls that rep is taking at that time it may just get stuffed in a pile. Plus, as you said the phone reps aren't looking at active bugs so they're not going to have any idea what you're talking about.
 
Bob190 said:
Thanks but I don't think that is the issue. It was worn exactly the same way in both of the charts I posted above.

The only thing that has changed is the OS version.
Click to expand...

I was just trying to help you get more accurate results.

There is more blood flow as you move away from your wrist bone, which helps improve accuracy of optical based hrm. It's the same case for mio, Fitbit, and others.
 
lchlch said:
I was just trying to help you get more accurate results.

There is more blood flow as you move away from your wrist bone, which helps improve accuracy of optical based hrm. It's the same case for mio, Fitbit, and others.
Click to expand...

Yep ... I have a lot of experience with optical HRMs and I agree. I have owned a Basis B1, Basis Peak, TomTom Cardio, and the AW. The problem with doing that for me is it tends to slip down during a run or ride to a spot closer to the wrist bone and you are left with a loose fit.

My early experience with AW was great as it clearly was the most accurate of any optical HRM I have owned. That changed with the 1.0.1 update however and now it is totally inaccurate.
 
Mine is inaccurate when riding. I have the riding workout on.

I glance at my watch and I'm doing 134bpm. I look 30 seconds later and it's 60bpm, then 131bpm

At the end of the ride my average is 101bpm which is utter tripe. If the heart rate is off I guess all the other associated fitness data is fictional too.

My sports watch is on tight.
 
So this is basically what I saw on the AW throughout my 2+ hour bike ride this morning. When I went back and looked at the HR data in the Health app I see many gaps of 3 minutes or longer and some minutes with just 1 or 2 readings. In workout mode the watch is supposed to take a reading every 5 seconds ... You can see by the screen grab I was in "Outdoor Cycle".

I am thoroughly disappointed in Apple .. first for messing something up that was working fine prior to the update and secondly not acknowledging that there is an issue.

Again, this behavior only began after the 1.0.1 update.
 

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Bob190 said:
So this is basically what I saw on the AW throughout my 2+ hour bike ride this morning. When I went back and looked at the HR data in the Health app I see many gaps of 3 minutes or longer and some minutes with just 1 or 2 readings. In workout mode the watch is supposed to take a reading every 5 seconds ... You can see by the screen grab I was in "Outdoor Cycle".

I am thoroughly disappointed in Apple .. first for messing something up that was working fine prior to the update and secondly not acknowledging that there is an issue.

Again, this behavior only began after the 1.0.1 update.
Click to expand...

So, what is the best course of action? My HR is also sporadic and inconsistent--going as long as several hours between readings. This is all after the update. Should we be making cases with Apple Care and/or Genius Bar appointments. If they cannot "fix" the HR issue--dont they need to replace our watch?
 
opill said:
So, what is the best course of action? My HR is also sporadic and inconsistent--going as long as several hours between readings. This is all after the update. Should we be making cases with Apple Care and/or Genius Bar appointments. If they cannot "fix" the HR issue--dont they need to replace our watch?
Click to expand...

Best course of action is to submit feedback:

https://www.apple.com/feedback/watch.html

Use as much detail as possible and cross your fingers for 1.0.2.
 
mbhoy said:
Best course of action is to submit feedback:

https://www.apple.com/feedback/watch.html

Use as much detail as possible and cross your fingers for 1.0.2.
Click to expand...

I would think making a case with Apple Care or having a Genius look at it would raise more flags seeing as this is a major feature of the product. If my iPhone didn't send or receive texts, I would not "cross my fingers." Make it a problem for them--not us.

If I had any cosmetic damage--I would definitely use this as an opportunity to have it replaced.
 
opill said:
I would think making a case with Apple Care or having a Genius look at it would raise more flags seeing as this is a major feature of the product. If my iPhone didn't send or receive texts, I would not "cross my fingers." Make it a problem for them--not us.
Click to expand...

Going all the way down to the Apple Shop, parking up and waiting in line for a genius appointment, only to get a replacement watch with exactly the same issue, and having to set it all up again from scratch is a problem for me, not them. The guy who issues the replacement is at work anyway, it's never going to get any higher than him, and absolutely nothing is gained from doing it?

Quickly dropping the dev team an email isn't a problem for me, it takes 2 minutes. If a few others do it and they quickly notice it, which I'm pretty sure they already will have given how many news sites are covering it - that's a problem for them. A problem they'll fix soon, I'm sure. Your watch was fine a couple of days ago and it'll be fine again in time.
 
I was going to ask how you graphed all the HR data from the Apple Watch, if you had exported it somehow. That's quite impressive if you did it manually from the Health app.

I went for a 2+ hour ride this morning. Average HR was 135bpm, which is in line with what I would get on my other watch and chest strap for this route. Scrolling back through the data in the Health app and I definitely see multiple recorded points every minute.

It is weird though, as since 1.0.1 I have noticed that the usual HR measurement that's collected every 10 minutes hasn't been occurring anymore. Definitely some sort of a bug there.
 
profets said:
I was going to ask how you graphed all the HR data from the Apple Watch, if you had exported it somehow. That's quite impressive if you did it manually from the Health app.

I went for a 2+ hour ride this morning. Average HR was 135bpm, which is in line with what I would get on my other watch and chest strap for this route. Scrolling back through the data in the Health app and I definitely see multiple recorded points every minute.

It is weird though, as since 1.0.1 I have noticed that the usual HR measurement that's collected every 10 minutes hasn't been occurring anymore. Definitely some sort of a bug there.
Click to expand...

It was done manually in Excel unfortunately since Apple didn't see fit to giving us a usable to export "our" own data.

My average HR on rides is really close to what is measured by my Wahoo chest strap too, but the devil is in the details. Apple is basically just discarding the 5s readings where it fails to get a HR rate during a workout and only averaging the good ratings. If you go into the Health app you should always see 12 readings each minute at 5 second intervals, if your not, then it isn't working as it should.

I just expected better for a $500 watch.
 
Bob190 said:
It was done manually in Excel unfortunately since Apple didn't see fit to giving us a usable to export "our" own data.

My average HR on rides is really close to what is measured by my Wahoo chest strap too, but the devil is in the details. Apple is basically just discarding the 5s readings where it fails to get a HR rate during a workout and only averaging the good ratings. If you go into the Health app you should always see 12 readings each minute at 5 second intervals, if your not, then it isn't working as it should.

I just expected better for a $500 watch.
Click to expand...

I share your frustration. I was actually very pleased (and surprised) at how well the 1.0.0 version tracked my HR during different types of workouts and while resting. I have a lot of experience with chest and wrist HR monitors and really didn't think apple would get it right with the initial release. But they did but now completely messed it up on the first update. Ridiculous.

I am hopeful that they can fix it since it worked well previously.
 
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