Continous heart rate monitoring not available?

T-Stew
T-Stew Registered Users Posts: 5
Master Traveler
edited January 24 in TomTom Sports
I've had a Spark Cardio +music for about a year now, its been great at the basics of tracking my workouts. The HRM works fine during activity but recently I thought I'd like to track my HR throughout my normal day, and after doing some research it seems like this is possible on the unit but mine seems to be missing the option. After researching the issue, I gather that I am to go under 'tracker' and select 'heart' but I do not have this option, only 'goals' and 'sleep'.

If I go under sensors/heart and leave the screen there it does show the current heart rate but then I can't see the date or time, and it's not actually tracking it (not a huge concern though if I actually track it).

Comments

  • tfarabaugh
    tfarabaugh Posts: 16,943
     Superuser
    The tracker does not take a continuous reading, it takes a reading once every ten minutes and you cannot view the results on the watch, only on the app or website once you have synced the data. the only way to take a continuous reading would be to start an activity but the battery will be dead in less than half a day. You should have Heart on that menu if it is actually a Cardio model, perhaps try a factory reset in case it is a software glitch.

    I hope this helped answer your question. If so, please mark it as a solution so others can look for it if they have the same question.
  • T-Stew
    T-Stew Registered Users Posts: 5
    Master Traveler
    Thanks for the reply. Well I suppose 'continuous' might not have been the right word, but that it takes readings and stores them without having to go into an activity. Though that is disappointing it does not display on the screen. That is actually I sore point I have about a lot of the screens in activities or just on the main clock display, seems like a lot of real estate is wasted and displays very little when it could be more useful. I guess I'll just use my method of going into the settings screen where you turn on or off the heart rate sensor if I want to see it in realtime. Yes, it is cardio model but does not have the 'Heart' option on the tracker. I will try and figure out how to do a factory reset and see if that fixes it.
  • tfarabaugh
    tfarabaugh Posts: 16,943
     Superuser
    To do a factory reset, make sure the Connect software is running and dock the device to your computer. The Connect window will open; press the gear at the top right and select factory reset from the next screen. Follow the steps provided and when prompted to register or sign in to MySports, select sign in and use your existing account credentials. It is fairly straightforward and should take less than 5 minutes.

    I hope this helped answer your question. If so, please mark it as a solution so others can look for it if they have the same question.
  • T-Stew
    T-Stew Registered Users Posts: 5
    Master Traveler
    Oh it can only be reset via computer software? I've never done this yet as I do not have a windows computer. I have heard some have got this working in Ubuntu but will have to investigate. Sorry, I'm a non-conformist, haven't used windows since WindowsMe & 2000! If I can't get it working on Linux then no biggie, I've been using the watch and its working great for about a year so far and it works well for tracking my runs and rides as does the HRM and music player (and Linux recognizes it just fine to transfer mp3 files at least).
  • tfarabaugh
    tfarabaugh Posts: 16,943
     Superuser
    T-Stew wrote:
    Oh it can only be reset via computer software? I've never done this yet as I do not have a windows computer. I have heard some have got this working in Ubuntu but will have to investigate. Sorry, I'm a non-conformist, haven't used windows since WindowsMe & 2000! If I can't get it working on Linux then no biggie, I've been using the watch and its working great for about a year so far and it works well for tracking my runs and rides as does the HRM and music player (and Linux recognizes it just fine to transfer mp3 files at least).
    It requires a Windows or Mac computer to get updates, do resets or put Music on the watch (if it is a music version). There is a Linux version of the Connect software but I am not too familiar with it:

    https://en.discussions.tomtom.com/sports-connect-apps-website-389/tomtom-sports-connect-for-linux-1021269

    I hope this helped answer your question. If so, please mark it as a solution so others can look for it if they have the same question.
  • T-Stew
    T-Stew Registered Users Posts: 5
    Master Traveler
    tfarabaugh wrote:
    It requires a Windows or Mac computer to get updates, do resets or put Music on the watch (if it is a music version).

    As I reported in my previous post it works just fine with Linux to put music on it, at least on Ubuntu 16.04

    Mounts it automatically just the same as any removable drive. Just drag and drop your MP3s.

    If you didn't believe me here is a screenshot of the music folder on the Spark and my system details.

    Thanks for the link for the Sports Connect file for Linux, maybe I will try this next week as I have some days off then. Although I am hesitant on updating mine as it works perfectly other than missing the 'Heart' option on the Tracker, and so many here have reported so many problems when updating. Was the Heart option maybe added in a later update?

    eecbbad2-e903-4980-be49-4e185987cd55.jpg
  • tfarabaugh
    tfarabaugh Posts: 16,943
     Superuser
    T-Stew wrote:
    tfarabaugh wrote:
    It requires a Windows or Mac computer to get updates, do resets or put Music on the watch (if it is a music version).
    As I reported in my previous post it works just fine with Linux to put music on it, at least on Ubuntu 16.04

    Mounts it automatically just the same as any removable drive. Just drag and drop your MP3s.

    If you didn't believe me here is a screenshot of the music folder on the Spark and my system details.

    Thanks for the link for the Sports Connect file for Linux, maybe I will try this next week as I have some days off then. Although I am hesitant on updating mine as it works perfectly other than missing the 'Heart' option on the Tracker, and so many here have reported so many problems when updating. Was the Heart option maybe added in a later update?
    Sorry, I missed that you were already on Linux. The Heart option was not added later, it is on all Cardio watches with Activity tracking. Yours is one with the built-in HR, right? You said the HR monitor had been working fine, but if you were using an external strap for that function that would explain it. Otherwise, there is no reason why you do not have a Heart option. At this point you should call Support and see if they can dig into it more deeply. To get the number for Customer Support, select Contact Us at the bottom of this page, select the service required and the product name and click Contact Customer Care and then Phone Us. It will give you the phone number for the country your account is registered under (this can be changed by clicking the flag icon in the bottom right corner of the screen).

    I hope this helped answer your question. If so, please mark it as a solution so others can look for it if they have the same question.
  • T-Stew
    T-Stew Registered Users Posts: 5
    Master Traveler
    Yes, built in HRM. Here... I'll try and illustrate both at once using a mirror:
    94f848f4-bcbb-4b37-ad29-858a1befbe1d.jpg

    Thanks for your help, I'll first try and see if I can get the Linux software working to do a reset, otherwise may contact support.
  • tfarabaugh
    tfarabaugh Posts: 16,943
     Superuser
    That is so weird!

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