Suunto Smart Heart Rate Belt keeps losing connection to the watch

LapaS

@Calando said:

@LapaS Correct, for a guarantee-replaced device you get no new guarantee (just the remaining time - 1y guarantee, if you get a replacement after 8 months, the replacement will have 4 months of guarantee).

Try another HR strap - two of my colleagues are using the Polar H10 and never faced any problems (they have Polar and Garmin watches). My H10 also still works perfectly with my Race 2 (see above). Another advantage of the H10 - replacement straps are more than 30% cheaper than the Suunto ones.

In the meantime, I am unfortunately pretty much convinced that @sindavide was correct in his post above.

I asked Suunto about warranty and since my original sensor was bought under a year ago they said warranty should cover the replacement device. So the device is now going to Suunto repair. Anyway my wife had a Polar H10 sensor lying around that had not been used for a while. I bought a new strap for that. At first the sensor was not connecting to anything (phone, watch) but then I saw a discussion on H10 issues where someone suggested putting a small piece of cardboard under the battery (clearly the battery was not touching the connectors). After this connection worked perfectly. Also tested one workout with H10 & Suunto Vertical. Connection worked perfectly throughout the whole session. It would still be good to have also the Suunto sensor working since I need that for workouts where I can’t use a watch.

Marcelo Mönch

A special price combination between the Suunto Vertical 2 and the Coospo HW9 creates a high-level set with excellent value for money. You get maximum reliability in reading your workouts without having to spend a fortune on sensors from more expensive brands. I explain why this pair works so well and what guarantees the accuracy you are looking for: Why this pair is reliable. Arm Optical Sensor Accuracy: The Coospo HW9 uses a modern optical sensor that detects blood flow in the forearm or bicep. It is a region with much less interference from sudden movements and tremors than the wrist, which eliminates those “peaks” or false drops in heart rate. Shooting Reading Speed (Intervals): While the wrist sensors of any watch suffer from a delay (lag) in understanding that your intensity has increased in shooting workouts, the HW9 responds almost in real time. It is the closest you will get to the accuracy of a chest strap, but with the comfort of a wristband. Supreme Battery Savings: The Suunto Vertical 2 is already famous for its monstrous battery. When pairing the Coospo HW9, the watch turns off the rear green wrist reading LEDs. This drastically reduces the watch’s energy consumption during workouts, further extending its battery life on trails and ultras.

Suunto’s Bluetooth protocol talks very well with Coospo chips. Once paired, the chance of signal drop during the run is practically zero.

I used Polar for a long time and I don’t spend with them anymore.

sindavide

@elbee
Could the watch firmware. I never had any issues before the last update.
By the way, i got a new suunto smart sensor, and it occasionally dosconnecta - the watch does not show hr - albeit for not long

Calando

@Marcelo-Mönch Does this work with the Suunto ZoneSense? I think that ZoneSense requires a chest strap since it needs HRV data which cannot be provided reliably from an OHR !?

Marcelo Mönch

@Calando Why is a chest strap necessary? Beat-by-beat data: ZoneSense uses a proprietary physiological algorithm (DDFA) that analyzes Heart Rate Variability (HRV) to determine stress and intensity levels.
Optical limitations: Optical sensors (OHR) cannot reliably measure RR intervals (the exact time between heartbeats) while you are in motion. They are only accurate for this metric when you are at complete rest, such as during sleep.
When pairing a chest strap, your watch will automatically disable the optical wrist monitor to ensure the data source provides the necessary accuracy for functionality.

2b2bff

@Marcelo-Mönch said:

When pairing a chest strap, your watch will automatically disable the optical wrist monitor to ensure the data source provides the necessary accuracy for functionality.

It will disable the optical sensor of the watch, but not for the reasons you stated. Suunto just can’t work with multiple sources. On the plus side the disabled sensor will save you a bit of battery…

Sixeela29

Ça va faire un an que j’ai ce problème là.
Ça a commencé avec ma ceinture Polar H9.
Suite à ça j’ai pris une ceinture Suunto neuve et même problème. Je suis très déçu que Suunto n’est jamais résolu le problème …

Ecki D.

Same here with the 9PP after the last firmware update. Since then it happens regularly and as it isn’t reliable anymore I stopped using it regularly.
Anyone tried to go back to another earlier FW?

Kevin Major

Is there any movement on this issue, or is Suunto just sweeping it under the rug?

I went on a 5 hour bike ride today, and the first 30 minutes of my heart rate was measured. Upon completion of the ride, none of the data was synced.

The battery was replaced two weeks ago and still reports 100%, the old battery reported 80%, but after ongoing problems I changed it to eliminate a variable.

The fact that there is no way to force a reconnection to a bluetooth device during an activity is a serious problem. The same thing happened with my favero power meter pedals. I stopped for 20 minutes, the bluetooth turned off, and I couldn’t reconnect it. Thankfully I am able to change the sleep setting for the pedals and haven’t had an issue with them since.

I know this is the Race S board, but I’m on the Ocean and having the exact same issue.

Ocean 2.51.28

elbee

@Kevin-Major

Suunto support told me not to expect a firmware update with a fix very soon.

And personally I don’t think it will be ever be solved. From the conversations I had with suunto support I don’t get the impression they are actually working it.