Polar Ft4

afoz1990
afoz1990 Posts: 89 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hey all!! I got my Polar FT4 mid-end of September. I follow the instructions for use and care, get it pretty wet before use, rinse after use and wash and air dry for care. Now I have no clue if it's the strap/electrodes or the connector thing you put on the strap but today during my workout it would just completely stop registering for a few seconds and go to 00 and then shoot up to like 245 for a few seconds. What I am wondering is if this has happened to anyone else? How did you fix it? I love my HRM! But not if it's going to do that and not be accurate!! Help!

Thanks much!

Replies

  • Keiras_Mom
    Keiras_Mom Posts: 844 Member
    Mine hasn't done that. I wonder if it may be time to change your battery?
  • afoz1990
    afoz1990 Posts: 89 Member
    Mine hasn't done that. I wonder if it may be time to change your battery?

    Do you know how much use or how soon that you normally need to change it on average? It just seems so soon!! But I use it almost every day so maybe?
  • Heather_Rider
    Heather_Rider Posts: 1,159 Member
    Mine hasn't done that. I wonder if it may be time to change your battery?

    Do you know how much use or how soon that you normally need to change it on average? It just seems so soon!! But I use it almost every day so maybe?

    I dont personally own one, but have done MAD research on them because this is the brand i want to purchase. Contact Polar. This particular brand had a defective strap and you will need to purchase a new one, providing the battery isnt the issue, which is what lead the others to contact Polar (when the battery replacement didnt work)

    Good luck!
  • yussef71
    yussef71 Posts: 13
    250 hours per battery for the Polar H7. So anywhere near that and that could be if they are similar?
  • chrissilini
    chrissilini Posts: 77 Member
    I've had the same problem. What a pain! I would rinse mine after use but never put it into the wash. I kept having problems and decided to through it in the wash like they recommend after every 5 uses. Haven't had a problem since. I use mine everyday and have had it since March. Haven't changed the battery yet.
  • mcpjan
    mcpjan Posts: 76 Member
    I have been using my PF4 almost everyday since early July and had no issues with it. I agree you should contact Polar about it as it is still under warranty.
  • kimama01
    kimama01 Posts: 28 Member
    I would contact Polar or the place where you bought it. I've had mine for a few months and it hasn't done that... well not yet at least.
  • Chenoachem
    Chenoachem Posts: 1,758 Member
    I have had the Polar Ft2 and the FT60. I have fought with both of them for years. This happens randomly with both. With my FT60 it got so bad Polar replace both the chest strap and the watch. Next time I am going to go with a Garmin. But give Polar a call. One thing I can say is that they do have wonderful customer service.

    Good Luck.
  • elijhasmomma
    elijhasmomma Posts: 270 Member
    I have the Polar F4 and it has worked like a charm for me (knock on wood). I got mine mid-end of September (2012) and it has never given me any problems thus far. I received the watch the monitor, the strap, and they even sent me an extra strap in a completely seperate case free of charge...so I guess I would just change my strap to the other one. I use mine pretty much every single day as well for anything from 30mins - 3.5 hours at a time. I LOVE IT. Check out your warranty and give Polar a ring or look on their website and see if you can find some help there, maybe an online chat service can save you a phone call. Good luck :)
  • pinkraynedropjacki
    pinkraynedropjacki Posts: 3,027 Member
    It's a problem with them & NOT the need for a battery change at all. MY FT4 & FT60 both do that & both started doing that in a month of buying them....... brand new.

    My FT4 started to piss me off doing it so that was why I went broke to buy the FT60.... then that started doing it about 2 weeks after I got it. It even loses signal completely sometimes & will stay like that for at least 10 mins. Makes it hard to know how much I've burnt while running.

    I wash it every day, rinse it off as soon as I take it off & and then every 2nd day it goes in the wash & air dried every day. It still does it.

    Under warranty yes..... but they told me it has to be something I am doing. Yeah...... I'm wearing it.
  • KAA1982
    KAA1982 Posts: 90 Member
    Try changing the battery. While you may have purchased it 2 months ago you don't know how old the actual HRM is or how old the battery inside it is.

    Let me know if you have luck getting the battery out of the actual sensor. I've been having one h3ll of a time (got mine in May) just opening the battery compartment

    If changing it does not work call them.
  • Andybeth
    Andybeth Posts: 18 Member
    I have the same problem with mine. I even got new a new strap from Polar when I sent mine in and they said the contacts were bad. But this was the third strap I'd tried in less than one year. Replaced batteries twice and nothing helped. Polar did change the batteries for free and sent the new strap but it still doesn't work. The soft strap just does not work on my body. I have a FT7 with coded t31 hard strap that does not cause a problem and has been going for well over a year. I just do not trust my FT40 to work when I need the data. The FT7 does not give me all the info the FT40 did but it is better than nothing. My doctor has had the same problem with the soft strap so I guess peoples bodies react differently. I will look into the garmin when I need a replacement.
  • afoz1990
    afoz1990 Posts: 89 Member
    Thanks guys!!! I'm going to wash it once more, try it in the morning and if it's still freaking out I will contact customer service like you all said! I'm sad to hear how many people this has happened to, it got such great reviews!! But happy that you all had the knowledge to give your advice :wink:

    Hopefully get this figured out soon so I can get accurate results again!
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    I've had mine lose contact and had to tighten the strap and I have one sports bra that if I put it over the transmitter it seems to not be able to keep contact. Otherwise my battery in the watch lasted about 18 months with almost daily use and my transmitter is still going strong without a battery change. You should always take the transmitter off the strap and store them separately for better battery life.

Categories