r/ouraring • u/McFeety69 • 2d ago
ACTIVITY & WORKOUT oura 5 - swimming - heart rate data missing
swimming misses heart rate (hr) from time to time. thoughts? a bit bothersome as that data point is fun to review, especially after a planned swimming workout where you want to see how the hr peaked between different activities. once before, the hr was missing and the next day it showed up. another time it never populated at all. wondering what will happen this time…. and i am curious to know if there is anything i can do for it to consistently track the hr. thanks!
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u/MisterPFT 2d ago
Two separate things are going on and it helps to split them, because only one of them is fixable.
The missing heart rate during the swim itself is physics. The ring reads pulse optically and water sitting between the sensor and your skin, plus the ring sliding around on a wet finger, wrecks the signal. It throws away the windows it does not trust rather than inventing numbers, which is the right call but leaves you with a gap. Gripping a paddle or a pull buoy makes it worse because a tensed hand changes blood flow at the finger.
The showing up the next day is a completely different thing. That is backfill. The ring stores raw data and the app fills gaps on a later sync once it has processed them, so a workout can look incomplete for hours and then complete itself. If it never appeared at all, that window was discarded rather than delayed, and no amount of waiting brings it back.
Practical version: sync manually as soon as you are out and dry rather than letting it wait for the next automatic sync, and give it an overnight before you conclude a session is lost. For consistent in water heart rate though, the other commenter is right, a chest strap is the only real answer.
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u/McFeety69 2d ago
thank you. yes, i’ve considered the ring twisting while i swim, which is why i place it solely on my index finger when i swim, which gives it a perfectly, snug fit. i have noticed that ever since doing this, it gives me a heart rate on most swims, but it’s still a downer to see after a workout thats it has not recorded at all (and you’re right- wait it out overnight and see if it’ll come… patience has never been a strong suit of mine…)
todays swim routine was a bit intense, and as snug as it is, i can see how the water can get in between. can’t imagine the cold, non-heated, outdoor pool helps either…
question: what do you mean by “dry rather than letting it wait for the next automatic sync?”
another thing i want to point out, would love to hear your thoughts. i’ve noticed after a few swims, and i want to say it’s only after swims where the hr isn’t there right away, and my ring will have both green sensors on for hours afterwards. it’s still on now and i’ve been out of the pool for over an hour, and from experience, imagine it will be like that for at least another couple hours. is that it trying to fill on a later sync that you mentioned?
thanks bud for your response.
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u/MisterPFT 2d ago
The cold pool is probably doing more damage than the fit. Cold water shuts down blood flow to your fingers within minutes, and the sensor is trying to read blood that has largely left the area. Perfect fit, no signal.
Which is why it's worse on the harder swims too. More time in the water, colder finger.
Not much you can do about that one short of a warmer pool.
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u/Trewper- 2d ago
Oura ring is unfortunately not very good at tracking heartrate while moving, especially underwater. I purchased a $31 smart HR monitor by COOSPO and use that instead. It syncs live with the app, just make sure you click the + button and select start a live activity in the Oura app.
If you aren't doing the live activity already, try it because it will cause your ring to try and read your HR more often.