It isn't designed for swimming metrics. However, I have read stuff where people swapped ends on their strap (xyz brand) and wore the pickup portions on the back (posterior versus anterior part of thorax) and they were able to get HR readings. I am sure YMMV with this approach.

Polar Flow App available for Android since yesterday! :)

Also firmware update for the M400

I think I saw on the 800 thread about the battery draining after the latest update.

I had this happen now (battery completely drained today without any GPS usage) and did a soft reset as suggested. Hopefully that'll take care of the problem.

If it does not work try wearing it so the sensor part is on your back off centered more towards the heart side.

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__________________________________________________
Official Polar Ambassador
http://www.google.com/...P7RiWyEVwpunlsc2JtQQ

Battery usage is still at 100% after the reset and a charge, so I think I'm good to go now.

I've had my M400 since November. Love the GPS feature, activity tracking, Polar Flow, battery life, and other features. However I just sent my first watch back for a refund and ordered a replacement. Myself and about 3 other friends have this watch and 2 out of the 4 of us have had problems with syncing. We weren't sure if it was the USB cord or the watch itself, but about a week after having the watch I could no longer sync to Polar Flow without issue. The watch would sometimes take over an hour to finally sync and it would connect and disconnect itself from the computer connection during the process or the computer wouldn't recognize the device. I tried other mini USB cords and the watch even corrupted one of my cords to where it wouldn't work at all with the watch or any other device I tried to use it with afterwards. It had to be thrown away. So, I received my new watch and decided to compare the old watch's USB port with the new watch and this is what I saw. The port literally looks like it fried inside the old watch, black, rusty and possibly corroded. Makes sense as to why my USB cord that had to be thrown away wouldn't work anymore. Maybe it fried too? I never wear it in the water or shower (even though it is meant to be worn 24/7) so it is not caused by water. Plus one of the girls who has no problems with her M400 wears hers in the shower, to the beach...all the time. My other friend with the sync problem, I told her to check hers and it looks the same way. In fact, so does the end of her USB cord. Not sure what's going on or if this has happened to any other M400 users, but it was very strange that 2 out of 4 of us just in my group alone have had this problem. My new watch so far is working great but I've only had it a few days. I just hope there isn't some defect in the watch that is causing it to overheat or fry upon syncing/charging.

Very strange indeed...

Maybe there was a production fault with the first batch of the M400? I read you were also one of the first consumers to have the M400, me too (see above).

Did you already send a mail to Polar? Watch is waterproof, the oxidation is not normal.

This was the serialnumber of my first, broken M400 (you never know): C4400Y0608651

@Polar Flowlink: I would love to see support for exporting workouts to Facebook or Strava (without downloading and uploading training)

Not sure if it is a production fault with the first M400s because one of my friends has the black version and has had it since August/September (when it was first released) and has never had this problem with it. This picture was forwarded to Polar by a friend of mine who is a Polar ambassador and they responded saying they've only seen this happen one other time at the Disney Expo. An M400 owner brought it to the Polar booth and showed them the same thing. Polar said they honored her warranty on the spot and gave her a new M400 at the booth. They took her old one to send it in and try to figure out why this is happening.

They are requesting any units like this to be sent back for study. I decided to bypass Polar altogether with this issue and returned mine to the original retailer. I haven't had the best luck with Polar customer service in the past. It has been very difficult to get them to honor warranty work on any of my previous units and I've had to go through my friend and her bosses to take care of my other products. I've had a FT4, a FT60 and my daughter has a FT60. My FT4 went back to Amazon almost a year later because Polar could not resolve my issue after multiple attempts. Thankfully Amazon honored my return because of this. I'm currently trying to get them to fix a problem with my FT60 that I purchased back in June '14, but when I call Polar customer service I get a call center with individuals that are reading from a script, wanting to charge me to fix my warrantied units. Some have gone so far to try to put the blame on me for the problems with the units. The most common thing they like to blame users for (I've heard this on multiple occasions from different representatives) is using a battery not purchased at the Polar shop or users changing the battery themselves. They like to say the user must not have sealed the door properly on the back causing elements to get inside the watch and cause problems...I've heard it all, almost like this is a common scripted response. It's just not worth it for me to try to deal with their warranty department. I recently found if I choose the option for technical support, I get the New York office and those individuals have been very helpful so far.

So far my new M400 continues to work without issue. I did lose signal during training yesterday for the first time ever with this watch. I couldn't get it to connect for the life of me, but later that day it connected and recorded my training session without a problem. The USB port looks nice and clean still. I do really love this watch and it's features, but I just wish it was easier to deal with Polar customer service.

New software update available for the Polar M400!

Also Polar introduced Polar Flow Coach:

Polar Flow for Coach is designed for personal trainers and coaches to conveniently connect with their clients and monitor their progress and results. Polar Flow for Coach is an online service that uses data tracked by the client’s Polar Flow compatible training device or activity tracker. With this information coach can follow their client’s progress and see if the training plan requires adaptation or if it is the client who needs some extra boost or additional guidance. Registering a Polar Flow for Coach account is completely free of charge!

More: http://updates.polar.com/2015/01/polar-flow-for-coach-online-training-tool-for-coaches-and-personal-trainers/

Polar M 400 questions:

What is the battery life and maximum memory time in training mode with GPS turned off?
GPS battery life should be sufficient for training at around 8 hours but not for ultra races.
Can I use the M400 for just recording time during an ultra event (30+ hours)?
Thanks.

Just have to say that I don't know if it's a recent update or what, but the time to get a GPS signal is incredible now! Like a few seconds. It's locking faster than the HR rate at this point.

Well done Polar!

It is fast, almost no time to procrastinate :) As long as you download often, you will have a current 2 week assisted GPS map for faster GPS signal. Go to SETTINGS>GENERAL >ABOUT> A-GPS date will let you know at a minimum, when to download/update :)

Now, if it wouldn't yell at me to not move if I move a single nano-millimeter while gaining the signal, I'd be really happy. ;-)

Is there a plan to add either run cadence, Android notifications, or TrainingPeaks syncing to the M400 anytime soon? Having at least cadence to run on a treadmill indoors, an alert of an incoming call, and an automated way to get my run data into TrainingPeaks are about the only missing things I've found after switching from Garmin recently.

X2 - Nice update.

Running Cadence. I have heard lots of talk about this from athletes Wish List and it has been forwarded. TP is something I have not heard mentioned in my circles, let's get STRAVA going, which is very often suggested and in the works. Android user experience is always trying to be improved to match IOS functions.

Wait... did I miss something? Open Water Swimming works on the M400 now?

OWS.... The M400 will not have the same OWS features as the V800, but I think what might have been mentioned was general use in GPS mode and swimming.

Just simple GPS would be sweet. I'll give it a try tomorrow!

Gave the OWS profile a try today. At first the total seemed long, but then looking at it online, I realized that I didn't turn it off right away when I got out and it added a bunch of distance when I really didn't go very far out of the water. Odd. If I subtract that extra distance (by tracking my GPS route online to see where I got out), it appears to be pretty accurate. It was only maybe a minute, so I'm not sure what happened there.

Will try again and attempt to turn off at the right time to see what happens.

Well, it happened again during tonight's OWS. Stopped watch right when I stopped swimming and when I view it online, it took 2.04 and made it 2.47 for some reason.

I sent a message into support.

Well then...

"The M400 does not support Open Water Swimming in the sports profile. Even though one can be created, the GPS will not track accurately as you have noticed."