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BT HR strap questions
- Thread starter Long Run Nick
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Good to know. Maybe the issue is more with the Polar H7 than with how the AW works. Too bad I'm invested in the Polar ecosystem with straps and stuff.
Maybe the Ticklr transmitter is compatible with the Polar straps.
EDIT - I just did some research and it seems that the TICKR is not compatible with the Polar straps, but they are compatible with the Garmin straps ... mostly.
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Tickr no go for me. Had it paired. Left the house. Saw weird way too high HR, check Watch settings as I ran showed not paired I realized I hadn't tightened my AW because I thought my HR would come from the HR strap. Checked the strap, it unclipped. Yikes! Been running with HR straps since Polar put them out back in the early 90's and never had it unclip
I have decided the wrist HT is ok for most of my running. When I want to race/ train hard I will use my Garmin and ant+ HR strap. Glad is working for some of you.
I have the Polar H7, paired once, never had any problems with it. When I put the strap on, I look at the BT settings and the device is connected. Off I go.
I have the H7. Paired it once and it works every time with no phone.
It did confuse me with its message in Bluetooth settings when I first tried to pair it. It said something like "not connected" and I needed to tap the device under "health devices" to finish pairing.
Can either or both of you check to see what verison of firmware and software your Polar H7 is running? I'm wondering if my problem is because I need an update. Mine is running firmware 1.4.0 and software H7 3.1.0
Thanks.
Sure. How do you check it? My watch gives no info about it.
My H7 is a few years old so I'm doubting that's your issue.
Thanks man. The way you check it is to go into the Health app on the iPhone and go through the HR data. Find a reading that has the BT symbol and click it.
Here's a few screenshots.
Ok, I paired the Polar with my iPhone, it turns out it's an H6, still don't know how or where to get firmware revision. When it's connected to my AW, it's NOT paired with the iPhone. I do carry the iPhone, for the stuff I listen to when I work out, but the strap is not paired or connected to the iPhone, it is to the AW.
As long as your AW is paired with the iPhone, all of the HR data is stored on the iPhone.
Just go to the Health app, select Heart Rate, Show All Data. Then pick a day and time where you used the Polar. Find a reading that has the Bluetooth logo and click it.
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Interesting that your firmware version is much earlier than mine. I did just buy this sensor. I wonder if the older firmware(s) work better than the new.
@ftaok, I knew that. But since I have the AW, all the readings show the AW, not the BT link. That's consistent with the Polar being connected to the AW and the data coming back to the iPhone from the AW, not the Polar. From your images, it looks like the Polar is pairing and connecting to the iPhone, not the AW because it is showing the BT icon as the source, not the AW. Just to get the version, I had to pair to my iPhone, as the iPhone didn't know anything about the strap any more because I told the iPhone to forget the strap when I paired the strap with the AW. The strap can, according to Polar, only connect to ONE BT device, and I didn't want it to stick with the iPhone because I plan to get BT earbuds and quit taking the iPhone with me at all. Just the watch, strap and ear buds.
Even if the BT strap is paired with the Apple watch, the data will pass to the iPhone. I think depending on the screen you're on in the health app, it can show at being from BT or the AW. If the data originated from the polar, it'll report as such.
I went back and looked again. I know I have an H6, but the principle should be the same. I put my watch on this morning when I go up. It immediately started recording, and has sent to Health, my heart rate and shows the watch icon on the data. Then when I connected the strap it still showed the results from the AW. So far so good. But then, at the moment I started my workout on the AW (stationary bike today), the source flipped to BT icon and stayed there until I stopped the workout 45 minutes later. Note that the strap was on before and after the actual recorded workout but the data showed as coming from the AW, not BT. Then as soon as the workout started, and ceasing at the instant I ended the workout on the AW, the icon flipped to BT not AW. Thinking about it, what seems to be happening is that HR is reported to Health on the iPhone all the time the watch is detecting a heart rate, no matter the source (AW or strap), but as soon as a Workout is started on the AW, the data is shown as BT, not AW. In my case, it cannot be a direct connection between the strap and iPhone because the iPhone isn't paired at all with the iPhone.
Not sure what all that means, but it is curious behavior. The good news, if it works that way, is that you can examine JUST the workout data if you start the workout on the AW and don't pair any HR detection to the iPhone, just the AW.
Not sure what all that means, but it is curious behavior. The good news, if it works that way, is that you can examine JUST the workout data if you start the workout on the AW and don't pair any HR detection to the iPhone, just the AW.
Exactly. That's the same behavior I have my gear. My issue is that my H7 doesn't connect reliably with my iPhone. I have to play around with it to get it to connect. Haven't figured out the proper sequence, but I think I have to make sure my BT headphones aren't connected first.
But I don't have the H6 paired with the iPhone at all. So the reliability of that connection is immaterial. If what I think is happening is true, the strap is always connected to the AW. In your case, if your headphones are connected to the iPhone and the strap to the AW, the two should not compete. Or maybe I'm misunderstanding what you are seeing?
I appreciate your help, but we're really on different pages here. I think I'm probably not being clear on what my issue is.
My main problem is that my Polar H7 doesn't connect easily to my Apple Watch. Certainly not as easily as you and BorderOn describe as your experience. In my situation, I rarely just put the strap on and it automatically connects. I typically have to do some work to get it to connect. Many times, it includes disconnecting my BT headphones and "forgetting" the H7 so that it can re-pair to the watch.
I was suspecting that the firmware on the H7 might be the problem, so that's why I asked you and BorderOn if you could check your firmware and software versions. That's where the iPhone comes into play. Because HR data is not stored on the watch, you have to go to the iphone to see the data on the recording device. It doesn't matter if the strap was connected to the AW or the iphone, the data all gets stored in the Health app.
Incidentally, the H7 pairs with the iPhone very easily. It's behaves like any other BT device I pair. It's only the AW that I'm having trouble with pairing/connecting.
Yep, understood that. Have you considered that maybe the culprit is the headset, not the strap? You can test that by forgetting the headset and just pairing the strap. If that works well, the strap is cleared. If it still won't connect reliably I'd say contact Polar and ask them for advice/replacement. If you re-pair the headset and the problem returns, you have a compatibility conflict and will need to make some decisions on what is more important to you. I know that's not a great position to be in, but it is what it is.
I have considered that the headset could be the problem, but I probably need to do some more playing around. Like I said, it's hard to figure out what the the issue is because it seems so inconsistent. Sometimes it connects right away, even when I do have the headphones already connected.
It's really weird.
Are you moistening the electrodes when you put on the strap? The H7 will not transmit unless it detects a heartbeat.
Once it has been paired, that should be the major factor other than accidentally linking up with another nearby device.
Not sure what else to suggest other than contacting Polar to see if they have any suggestions or know of any issues with Apple Watch. Mine has been stable with all the devices with which it has been paired - iPhone, iPod Nano, Watch as well as non BT Polar compatible treadmills and the like. Hope you get it figured out and can get back to working out and not worrying about the gadgetry.
Sent the Tickr back to Amazon and foolishly ordered the Polar H7. Will check it out with my AW2 Nike edition. Again, what is the definition of insanity?
sending back something that doesn't work with your setup and then buying something that works the same way but most people seem to say has even more issues?