HR belt not working (T3)

[Robbull]

Hello all.

The following is what I sent to Suunto Help desk: (does anyone have any input?)

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The HR chest strap for my T3 has gone bad again. This is the second one in less than 6 months. I'm very disappointed. The store (REI) where I bought it just simply swapped out the 1st HR strap for me in July. I tried to swap this one out today w/ them but they said they would need to swap out the T3 as well but they no longer carry the T3 at this location- so can you send me a new HR strap?? To be honest I would switch back to Polar but I bought the foot pod so I don't want to waste money.

I've had the new (2nd one) HR strap for about 6 months. It worked fine for approx. 5 months but now it's doing the exact same thing the original strap did: it will no longer read my HR accurately. Ex: it will stay at 85 when my HR is definitely much higher. The last week or so- it is much worse- it stayed in the 80s for a while then as my exercise intensity increased it actually dropped to 45 when my actual HR was in the 130s.

Additionally it won't even read my heart rate until 10-15 minutes into exercise & like I said when it does- the HR displayed is not accurate- it's much lower than it actually is. (For the first few months- my HR would come up almost immediately after I put the strap on or at the very least I would moisten the sensors to have it display). Now- no matter how sweaty I am it either won't read any HR at all for a while and/or it displays a very inaccurate HR. (Today for example- when it finally displayed a value- it displayed 108 but my HR was actually in the 140s).

Why are the Suunto HR straps doing this after only a few months of use?? I thought the 1st defective strap was just a rare incident but it appears there is a defect w/ all the HR straps after a while.

I like the look of the Suunto products & I like the "Training Effect" feature -but having to continually get new HR straps after only a few months is unacceptable. I've never had any of my previous Polar HR straps become defective. The most I've had to do w/ Polar is simply get a new battery. I'm pretty certain the battery is still fine in the Suunto strap.

Please advise. Are you aware of this problem? Will you send me a new strap?

Thanks.
Rob

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Any thoughts are greatly appreciated.

Cheers.
Rob

	Suunto Visit SuuntoWatches.com to see Suunto's full line of wrist top computers and compasses.

	Sunnto t3 - Click for more info At one point a fitness enthusiast who wanted to monitor and track their heart rate, caloric burn, and other exercise data would need a tangle of electrodes, complex equipment, and extensive personal guidance from a certified fitness trainer. Today, all you need is a Suunto t-Series wristop training device, a PC, and one or more accessories to create an optimal training range that outlines your ideal energy expenditure and muscle exertion while preventing you from overworking and damaging your muscles.

	Suunto Training Effect watches - Click for more info More than a heart rate monitor, Suunto's exclusive Training Effect feature tells you whether you're training too little, too hard or staying within the zones for optimal improvement.

	Suunto Pods - Click for more info PODs from Suunto help you bring your workout of choice to a whole new level. Suunto offers PODs geared toward running, walking, all-around biking and road cycling - there's even a GPS POD - all of which enhance the functionality of selected Suunto watches and improve your workout. In fact, in addition to these PODs, Suunto also offers a number of Performance Packs, each of which includes a Suunto POD and Suunto watch together.

	Suunto Bands - Click for more info The range of Suunto Core Acessory Straps include the six straps as found on the various Suunto Core wristop computer models as well as three additional straps. All straps are compatible with every Core model, allowing you to custom-tailor your Core to your tastes and needs.

[Celao]

Hi Robbull,

I have the same problem with my T3 . The Heart monitor never works . I've tried with another Heart Strap(T1) and swapped the battery , but the problem continues. The final problem is that i've bought my T3 in USA and now a came back to my country (Brazil) and here doesn't have a good Technical Assistance.
Bad Luck......

Best Regards ,

Marcelo - Brazil
www.guarpas.com.br

	Suunto t1 - Click for more info Suunto is running with the success of their t6 personal training wristop computer, making three new models (the t1, t3, and t4) available for a range of prices and features. Every one of the t-series Suunto personal training watches monitors your heart rate, real-time calories burned, and helps you establish and maintain a personalized fitness profile. The purpose of the t-series is to assist in the development of an optimal training range for fitness enthusiasts, a task that was at one time reserved for professional athletes or others with access to personal trainers and elaborate monitoring equipment.

	Sunnto t3 - Click for more info At one point a fitness enthusiast who wanted to monitor and track their heart rate, caloric burn, and other exercise data would need a tangle of electrodes, complex equipment, and extensive personal guidance from a certified fitness trainer. Today, all you need is a Suunto t-Series wristop training device, a PC, and one or more accessories to create an optimal training range that outlines your ideal energy expenditure and muscle exertion while preventing you from overworking and damaging your muscles.

	Suunto Bands - Click for more info The range of Suunto Core Acessory Straps include the six straps as found on the various Suunto Core wristop computer models as well as three additional straps. All straps are compatible with every Core model, allowing you to custom-tailor your Core to your tastes and needs.

[mzim]

Mine heart rate monitor is also exhibiting the same symptoms as yours. Faulty or no readings even after changing batteries. This is my second strap in two years. The first one worked fine for just under a year. Now my watch fails to connect to it at all. My second one also would get stuck on 85 BPM and then next time I looked it was at 178 BPM. I dont think so.....Im not out of shape like that!! Im 52! SOrry to hear your problems. MAx

	Suunto Bands - Click for more info The range of Suunto Core Acessory Straps include the six straps as found on the various Suunto Core wristop computer models as well as three additional straps. All straps are compatible with every Core model, allowing you to custom-tailor your Core to your tastes and needs.

[otonet]

Forget about what I wrote, it stopped working again. See post below.

I had the same problem, i.e. some days ago the belt started loosing signal and then stopped working unless I was pushing really hard on the sensor or only worked for a few seconds after I re-moistened the sensors, thereby moving them to a new position. At first I thought it was the battery, so I replaced it with no luck: the belt still only worked intermittently, only for a few seconds, and displaying a too low heart rate.
As I saw this thread, I was willing to send the belt back for being repaired/changed.
However, I found the correct instructions to re-pair the HR belt after having replaced the battery in the FAQ of the suunto.com customer service (see "Question 19: How to pair the HR belt and Suunto t3/t4?")
In particular steps 5-9 worked, i.e. first select pair HR belt on the watch and only afterwards insert the new battery in the HR belt.
The HRM now appears to work perfectly again with the new battery (it has worked in the last 15 minutes without signal loss and the measured HR is consistent with manual count), while the old battery was indeed dead.

Indeed, the battery replacement process does not appear to be 100% foolproof. However, some malfunction users experience might be due to this, rather than to a broken belt. Therefore, should you run into this problem, it could be worth trying the above steps before sending it back for repair.

If it stops working (I hope not!) I will report again.
Cheers,
Oliver

	Suunto Visit SuuntoWatches.com to see Suunto's full line of wrist top computers and compasses.

	Sunnto t3 - Click for more info At one point a fitness enthusiast who wanted to monitor and track their heart rate, caloric burn, and other exercise data would need a tangle of electrodes, complex equipment, and extensive personal guidance from a certified fitness trainer. Today, all you need is a Suunto t-Series wristop training device, a PC, and one or more accessories to create an optimal training range that outlines your ideal energy expenditure and muscle exertion while preventing you from overworking and damaging your muscles.

	Suunto t4 - Click for more info he Suunto t4 is another excellent addition to Suunto's growing line of fitness training wristop computers. Like all of Suunto's t-Series training watches (the t1, t3, t4, and the original t6) the t4 monitors your heart rate and caloric burn to assist you in developing an optimized fitness regimen. It also provides you with information about the progression and effects of your training through constant feedback on how to maximize the intensity our your exercises without the over exertion of your heart and muscles. This "intelligent sports watch", via a simple cell-phone like interface, offers clear advice on how to get the most out of each and every workout.

[otonet]

Ok, that fix sure did not last long. After I adjusted the belt slightly it stopped working again, so I guess there's a bad contact as all of you had and that I just was lucky to get the belt in the correct position after replacing the battery.
I will contact support. It lasted for less than 5 months!
I see they have designed a new HR belt for the new T series. I wonder if they can replace mine with one of those. Maybe they re-resigned the electronics to overcome these problems...

[innsbruckrunner]

I haven't had your problems (knock on wood!), but after taking the battery out, I always put a coat of lanolin (my wife's nipple cream works just fine) on the rubber o rings to make sure it's waterproof.

[Flo]

Hi all

I reccomend you this link:

Suunto Training World - Instructional Videos

May resolve all your problems

However skin conductivity is not the same in all persons so could be possible to find some problems.

Anyway the new Comfort Belt is simply awsome!!!

[dcpen43]

Similar problems for my T. HR belt stopped working in Jan 08 and a replacement sent under warranty. That replacement has stopped working with both my watch and PC Pod. Followed the steps exactly as described in the suunto.com service centre FAQ but to no avail. I cannot afford to be replacing the belts at this rate. Have asked the service centre for further suggests but at this moment feel that the company has some serious reliability problems that for me undermine a great watch. Shame

	Suunto Visit SuuntoWatches.com to see Suunto's full line of wrist top computers and compasses.

	Suunto Pods - Click for more info PODs from Suunto help you bring your workout of choice to a whole new level. Suunto offers PODs geared toward running, walking, all-around biking and road cycling - there's even a GPS POD - all of which enhance the functionality of selected Suunto watches and improve your workout. In fact, in addition to these PODs, Suunto also offers a number of Performance Packs, each of which includes a Suunto POD and Suunto watch together.

[purplehayes]

I have the same issue... the old belt was reading 85 almost all of the time. I bought a replacement belt but I cant even get it to be recognized. I have replaced both batteries following the procedure to reset them and nothing.... I think it is the watch not the belt.