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Polar V800 - not quite a success
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Hi All,

I am currently using a Polar V800 and I am quite frustrated with it. In the old days (very old) I used a Polar Accruex Plus and was very happy with it. Been around Garmin for a while and thought it could be good fun to go back to Polar. Got a V800 and used it for a while. It worked ok in the beginning, but often the heart rate readings seemed somewhat unreliable. The heart rate readings would often flucturate up and down without any real pattern to it. When turning on the monitor and locating GPS/heart rate, - all appeared fine for the first minute. Then I start running/cycling and the heart rate will jump to +200bpm, then fall slowly and jump up again, - or sometimes just staying in +200bpm for a long period of time. At this time in the training, I would maybe be at a realistic 120-130bpm....

I have tried to change the battery in the pod on the sensor belt, the battery in the watch, I have tried a new belt, I make sure the sensors are moist and follow all the standard FAQs.....but to no avail. Due to frustration, I am ready to go and look for another product, but think it is quite a waste to dump the V800, so decide I would try to see if anyone had some valuable tips or experiences....

I have contacted Polar CS in the country I bought the V800, but they were quite helpless and could not come up with any other reason that it was properly "user error", which seems a bit harsh and unproductive....

Any advise would be highly appreciated.
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Re: Polar V800 - not quite a success [seismic] [ In reply to ]
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Hey there, Seismic!


It may be a problem with your watch, since you ruled out a faulty HR unit. Have you tried the R-R recording to see if you keep getting the crazy readings while you're still?

I have a V800 and have never had issues with the HR recording.
I've had problems with the automatic swimming lap count, sometimes it underestimates the distance I've swam and it can't for the love of g-d detect when I swim breaststroke. But it's no bother really.

Do you live near a Polar CS centre? It might help to take your watch in person for them to have a look, Polar online costumer service is pretty much in the "have you tried turning it off and on again?" side of things - useless, to say the least. I've heard that if you go to a CS centre, they won't think you can't operate the watch and will take your complaint seriously, especially if the watch is still in the warranty period.

A little Polar online CS anecdote: when I bought a V650 and couldn't make a Win10 PC detect the unit through USB, I contacted them and they sent me a list of possible solutions. None of them worked. In the end, the problem was that the Win10 USB driver has a real hard time identifying Polar products. Had to format my computer and install Win7 in it to solve the problem. Thing is, I spent two days fuming over that, alone, until I found the fix. I guess they won't admit the V650 can't work on Win10 PCs across the board since it's bad for business.
Last edited by: RafaelMB: Aug 20, 18 8:35
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Re: Polar V800 - not quite a success [seismic] [ In reply to ]
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I have been using a V800 for a few years now, and other Polar products before that, and have found that they are far more reliable for HR then Garmin.

I have used it with a H7, a H10 and a OH1 with great results. I really like getting HR during the swim with the hybrid H7 and H10.

I have found, and I think Polar recommended that I use Japanese batteries (Sony, Panasonic) for best results. The cheap Everready and other brands wear out faster and can cause some flakiness.

I wear the chest straps snug, and usually just use saliva to get contact until I start sweating.

I'm not sure what else I can recommend. Do you have access to a different HR strap, and or monitor to try to cross check which piece is causing the issues?
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Re: Polar V800 - not quite a success [seismic] [ In reply to ]
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Hi
What country are you currently in, you can message me. My guess is the strap is the problem, not the battery part. We had a discussion here about washing and maintenance for the strap, hand wash, and hang to dry works best.
Last edited by: Wayne@PolarUSA: Aug 20, 18 11:09
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Re: Polar V800 - not quite a success [efernand] [ In reply to ]
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efernand wrote:
I have been using a V800 for a few years now, and other Polar products before that, and have found that they are far more reliable for HR then Garmin.

This.
That's why I think the problem might be with your watch. Polar HR units are indeed very reliable!
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