Polar FT4 brand new-- not working. (please any advice!)

lsilly15
lsilly15 Posts: 137 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I just bought my polar ft4 last night and went straight to the gym. I set it up, watered the strap and put it on tight and off i went. When i went to sync for my heart rate, it kept coming up 00. Why is it not reading my heart rate? Ive tried to take it off and put it back on, re-wet it. Not sure what to do from here!
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Replies

  • kristinlc88
    kristinlc88 Posts: 63 Member
    I'm having the exact same problem! I tried everything, and it would say 50 sometimes and then 00 most of the time...
  • JasonsSoulMate
    JasonsSoulMate Posts: 115 Member
    SNAP!! I got mine yesterday, put it on about 2 hours ago while doig housework. It's stopped after 1 hour 26 min
  • TrailRunner61
    TrailRunner61 Posts: 2,505 Member
    I've never had a problem with mine and I've had it over a year and, my husband also has one and no problems.. Maybe take it back?
  • Guamybear
    Guamybear Posts: 1,061 Member
    I have the FT7 and it has done that a couple times but once I push the transmitter to my chest manually it seems to pick it up.. not sure if the snaps weren't getting the connection or not but it worked.
  • FitForLife81
    FitForLife81 Posts: 372 Member
    Mine has done it a few times I just re-wet the strap and put it back on and then it is fine!
  • lovelee79
    lovelee79 Posts: 362
    I've never had a problem with my FT4 and I've had mine over a year.
  • tuck1jl
    tuck1jl Posts: 55 Member
    I have the FT60 and sometimes it does that if the battery is low. I have read mutliple places that if the battery is old & doesnt have th proper charge the strap & watch can't connect. I would change out the battery. When I first got mine I couldn't even do the fitness test. Come to find out my strap was bad. The service center replaced it for free. Since then it works great until the batteries get low.

    if that doesn't work you do have a warrenty call Polar & have them help.

    Ps I have also noted the strap has to be rather tight to get a good reading. That might help:)
  • JasonsSoulMate
    JasonsSoulMate Posts: 115 Member
    I've never had a problem with mine and I've had it over a year and, my husband also has one and no problems.. Maybe take it back?

    Not an easy thing when you live in remote places and have to rely on posting it to the other end of the country.
  • kristinlc88
    kristinlc88 Posts: 63 Member
    Can you get it TOO wet? That's what I've been afraid of. If not, I'm just going to put it under the running water until I know it's good and wet.
  • SammyKatt13
    SammyKatt13 Posts: 124 Member
    The only time mine has done that is when I've put the little snap on transmitter on upside down.
  • chelovik
    chelovik Posts: 200 Member
    You might need to update the firmware on the device as well
  • rompers16
    rompers16 Posts: 5,404 Member
    Don't be afraid to soak it and make sure the transmitter is the right way..not upside down.
  • iowachapman
    iowachapman Posts: 38 Member
    Seems to be the trend with ft4 on Amazon comments - http://www.amazon.com/Polar-Heart-Rate-Monitor-Purple/product-reviews/B005M1P85O/ref=cm_cr_dp_qt_hist_one?ie=UTF8&filterBy=addOneStar&showViewpoints=0
  • JasonsSoulMate
    JasonsSoulMate Posts: 115 Member
    Ok ladies, I just tried something weird... I shoved it under the underwire in my bra and it's back working.... try tightening the strap to UNCOMFORTABLE, spit on it and lodge it there!
  • SammyKatt13
    SammyKatt13 Posts: 124 Member
    If you contact Polar and tell them what is happening, most of the time they will send a replacement for free.....
  • chelledawg14
    chelledawg14 Posts: 509 Member
    I've had my pretty pink FT4 for a year wearing it daily for six months straight followed by 4-5 a days a week thereafter. The only time I had a problem was when I had lost weight and the strap wasn't tight enough or the strap needed washed vs just rinsed. Oh, or when my it wasn't situated right under my bra; the band would move the transmitter and it wouldn't be laying right. The best way to wear is with a sports bra; the transmitter in the front up under the bottom of the bra band. Mine stays situated in between the girls. Also, I sometimes use the gel instead of water, but haven't found there to be a difference.
  • kristinlc88
    kristinlc88 Posts: 63 Member
    You might need to update the firmware on the device as well

    How would you do that?
  • lsilly15
    lsilly15 Posts: 137 Member
    Wow guys thanks so much! I will try this out this weekend :)
  • Healthydiner65
    Healthydiner65 Posts: 1,508 Member
    Make sure you wet the side close to your chest and that the writing on the snaps is up.Also make sure the strap is high on your chest mid line.It will stop if you bend over but you can restart it.
  • omma_to_3
    omma_to_3 Posts: 3,265 Member
    Ok ladies, I just tried something weird... I shoved it under the underwire in my bra and it's back working.... try tightening the strap to UNCOMFORTABLE, spit on it and lodge it there!

    Uh, where was it before? It should be up under your bra. Maybe you were wearing it too low before.
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    SNAP!! I got mine yesterday, put it on about 2 hours ago while doig housework. It's stopped after 1 hour 26 min

    You realize that it isn't accurate for that type of activity? If you were just playing around to see how it works, fine, but if you think it's giving you calorie burn for doing housework you'll be getting highly inflated numbers. HRM's are set with math algorithms for significantly increased HR. They should be used for dedicated cardio exercises and aren't accurate for weight lifting either.

    The strap needs to be really wet and laying directly on your skin, just about where your bra band would go. I've heard some people say that the metal in an underwire can interfere but I don't know why anyone would be wearing an underwire bra to exercise.
  • smw1023
    smw1023 Posts: 34 Member
    I received my Polar FT4 and the same thing...00. I tried everything and followed online troubleshooting, my sweet husband even ran to the store to buy a new battery to make sure that was not the problem. So the next morning I called Polar and after running through a quick list of troublshooting, all of which I had already done, he told me it must be thr transmitter and that they have full 2 year warranty and sent me a prepaid UPS label to ship it back. I am still waiting to get it back, hoping it will work this time!
  • smw1023
    smw1023 Posts: 34 Member
    Got my Polar FT4 back in the mail yesterday with an invoice that said the ransmitter failed electrical test. I strapped it on for my workout and it worked beautifully. I am so pleased with Polar's customer service. Send yours in.
  • LottieLou13
    LottieLou13 Posts: 574 Member
    Can you get it TOO wet? That's what I've been afraid of. If not, I'm just going to put it under the running water until I know it's good and wet.

    Nope, I wear mine swimming sometimes :smile:
  • LottieLou13
    LottieLou13 Posts: 574 Member
    Mine seems to work better (not saying 00) when I am a bit sweaty. When I first put it on and its dry it tends to just say 00, wet it on the net mesh like parts on the chest strap and it should sync ok :smile:
  • juliemouse83
    juliemouse83 Posts: 6,663 Member
    I got mine yesterday, and it worked great as soon as I strapped it underneath (and i mean RIGHT underneath) the girls. Having the sports bra on helps a lot, too.
  • poundis
    poundis Posts: 93 Member
    I have had that happen to me lots of times. I usually just keep waiting and eventually it picks up my heart rate signal. My husband thought it may be the battery too. I just think that the battery should have a longer life than that. Now, that I see it is a common problem, I may call customer service as well.
  • sc1234
    sc1234 Posts: 42 Member
    I have the FT6 and it worked perfect the first year and a half, now I'm coming up to the 2 year mark and it works 50% of the time. Sometimes shows 00, sometimes "check heart rate transmitter", sometimes heart rate of 220+.

    I've changed the batteries on both ends (watch and strap) and jumped through all of the hoops, washing it, snapping the thing on right side up, snapping in on upside down (sometimes seems to work better), strap tighter, strap looser, etc. etc.

    It'll work great for 50% of my workout these days. Too bad.
  • radscorpion
    radscorpion Posts: 55
    Hi!

    I've just got an FT7 and I've already had a couple of instances where it's disconnected.. After a bit of internet research apparently with other people who have had issues, they invested in some "conductive gel" and it worked perfectly. Also another thing that I read was that the tightest setting of the strap is 30 inches and for anyone with an under 30 inch waist should possibly look into getting a shorter strap if it persists. I haven't tried the gel or the strap personally, but I'll definitely be testing it out if I continue to get grief :P

    Hope this helps someone ^-^
  • smuckers722
    smuckers722 Posts: 11 Member
    I've had my brand new Polar FT4 for two days, and have been trying to use it the whole time, and only once have I gotten it to work. I have tried everything, and read everything I can. The strap is as tight as it can be, I've gotten the strap good and wet. I've even tried just working out and seeing if it will eventually pick up a heart rate, but it just says "00" for my heart rate. I was hoping after I got it to finally pick up the first time it would work consistently afterwards, but no such luck. Now I am unsure what to do next because I bought the item brand new from Heart Rate Monitors USA co. online and unsure if I need to see if they'll replace it, or if Polar would replace it... sigh.

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