Race 2 heart rate issues
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@Daniel-Thomas cycling is always hit or miss due to arm tension/grip etc. Frequently discussed here.
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Hi everyone.
I got the very same issue as the others. Interestingly enough I bought the watch this week on Monday, did a setup, firmware update, and literally every activity has wrong HR readings.
The watch is struggling during first minutes during activities but that’s not all.
I was thinking ok, there is cold outside or smth and that’s why the HR is not quite catched , but no, even running at home for couple of minutes seems a struggle for the watch.
Btw. when I don’t do any activity and then let’s say I’ll quickly climb some stairs to the point where normally my arm band is showing up 130-140 and I am feeling tired, the watch is showing up 90-100 which is so weird.
I am thinking of returning it, as I still have an opportunity to do so.
I’ll try to reset the watch again, but I don’t expect any fireworks. -
@piotras I see poor HR too
https://forum.suunto.com/topic/14698/new-race-2-heart-rate-awful-distances-too-short
Can’t comment on earlier firmware as watch updated itself out of the box
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C cumbrian-runner referenced this topic on
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@cumbrian-runner hi, yeah, I have the newest firmware as well.
I did a hard reset and did a 5km test run, and compared the activity with my old garmin forerunner 255 + polar verity sense arm band.
Looks much better now, there are some wobbles here and there (like showing up 10bpm higher in around 18minutes), but overall it is pretty good (162 to 163 bpm average).
My 5km run:

Climbing the stairs still not quite good, the HR is updated to proper values only after i stop for a while, and yes I had the watch pretty tight on my wrist and a bit above the bone.
And to indicate what was going on before hard reset, one of my walks:

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@piotras I tried a factory reset as well, and did get better. Still odd that the Vertical 2 is still more consistent for me across the board with same sensors.
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Hello,
Have the same problem, HR stuck at 110 BPM during the first 20 minutes of running, then suddenly goes up to 165 bpm which is the correct reading. It was working better before the last firmware.
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Hi everyone,
I am experiencing similar issues on my Suunto Race since a few weeks. The heart rate is often too low (so far only observed while running), sometimes there are sudden jumps after a while. When using an external heart rate sensor, it works.
What you should do if you experience the same: Contact Suunto Support!
Only then they will now about it. I did this and they told me they are currently not aware of such an issue, but will investigate. They also asked me to upload my log files via the mobile app and will check them. The more people report this, the higher chance that this gets fixed soon.
You can find their support chat directly on www.suunto.com by clicking on ‘Support’ at the top and then using the chat on the bottom right.
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Hi, I have been dealing with the stuck heart rate for a couple of months. Factory reset and firmware updates did not help in my case (currently version 2.53.42). I’ve followed the General guidance from Suunto on this topic, like ensure proper fit and placement, keep firmware updated, no tattoos, etc.
For example, today, during a common nordic walking session, the heart rate persisted around 90bpm although the actual value was higher. Only when I stopped (and triggered a decrease) the watch caught up with the reality. On the picture you can see the HR spike when the speed becomes 0.

This is not a singular case. In fact, whenever, I climb a hill or increase the velocity, causing a significant HR increase, the watch misses this and keeps staying at the lower level for minutes.
I therefore confirm @piotras comment that one has to stop for a while so that the watch provides accurate HR measurements.
The question is: when will Suunto finally acknowledge this problem and provide a timeline for a fix?
It’s nice and good that we get new features with every update, but everything seems just a card castle if the device fails to fulfill its primary purpose (measuring the HR), most of the other functionalities rely on.
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@radum is this using an external monitor or the OHR on the watch? Seems a case of cadence locking, typical with nordic walking and poles
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@radum I experience the same with walking.
HR is around 90 BPM on straight road, then I start climb uphill and even I feel that the HR goes up, the watch still shows values around 90 BPM. Usually it is enough to stop for a while until watch recognizes increased HR and after that it seems as the OHR works ok.
It may be some kind of cadence lock but even I tried to tighten the strap, move watch on the hand, it behaves the same. Mostly just the pause for a while helps the watch to recognize increased HR.