Polar FT40 acting odd?

Eve1972

I bought the Polar FT40 about 3 weeks ago and it has been working great. I rinse it out after every workout and throw it in the wash every 3-4 days. Today after I finished my workout I noticed it said my top heart rate was 216. I am 100% sure my heart rate did NOT go to 216. The highest I ever get is 190 and I can barely breath at that rate.

Has anyone had this problem or know what may be causing it? I always wet the electrodes and the strap is tight and just under my breasts, any help would be greatly appreciated!

tam120

It has happened to me and my friend, (mine is 4 years old) both Polar, but we don't know why it happens either. She now wears the chest strap below her sports bra and says that helps. They also tend to lose the heart rate sometimes too.

Debinapril

I don't think it is confined to Polar FT40 but maybe Polar HRMs in general. I had this problem for about a month. Did everything I could think of to solve the problem - washed strap, changed batteries & nothing helped. I got very frustrated and even bought a cheap replacement, I assumed the Polar was picking up interference from somewhere. Anyway I have gone back to using my Polar and it's working perfectly OK again. A strange episode and not uncommon (I now discover). If you do find out what causes the problem I would love to know. Good luck.

Eve1972

Hmm, a mystery then I see! It's especially annoying because it obviously screws up my calories burned, but I tend to glance at it like every 5 minutes when I am working out and never seen it at 216, so it couldn't have been there long. Guess I'll just keep an eye on it and bring it back if it keeps happening since it is still under warranty. Thanks for the comments!