Bluetooth Low Energy/Bluetooth Smart Heart Rate Monitors compatible with running apps - Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I understand that 4.3 will support Bluetooth 4.0/Bluetooth Low Energy, and more specifically Bluetooth Smart devices.
Does anyone have any experience with any Bluetooth heart rate monitor chest straps- even before 4.3- which were not supported by popular running apps?
To me, if a device has the Bluetooth logo, it meets Bluetooth protocol certifications and should work but these running apps say they only support a Polar or Zephyr (insert model #) here.
I didn't know if that is because that's all they test with or they're trying to hawk their own store products.
Personally, I prefer to invest in one heart rate chest strap that works with multiple apps if I decide I don't like one app at some point and how each of the running apps claim they only support 2 brands or models of something is pretty ridiculous.

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jawz101 said:
if a device has the Bluetooth logo, it meets Bluetooth protocol certifications and should work
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Actually, Yes, they work -BUT- Android does not work with them.
Most phones do support BLE in their hardware, but android does NOT have the API-calls to access the hardware (until 4.3).
If you have a Bluetooth Smart device ( like your heart rate monitor ) and you try to pair it with any BLE capable device, it will work to a certain point, since it is Bluetooth after all. But bluetooth smart is a "simplified" version of bluetooth, with the intention to cut power usage so you can run on a coin cell battery for months, even years in some cases. The problem is that while they did cut the protocol down they also broke backward compatibility to a certain degree.
So communication from your Bluetooth smart device to your mobile phones bluetooth chip does work, but since "things" have changed, the part behind the bluetooth chip on your phone has to cope with the new differences. That does not happen in android before 4.3 . Some manufacturers like Samsung and HTC and Motorola (SHM) have done their own work (all three different approaches) to cope with the problem.
Me, as an APP developer, could go to all SHM companies and make my app work with their "workarounds" just to support a handfull of phones, coping with the quirks of those workarounds. -OR- I simply wait for google to implement BLE stack on Android in a newer version.
The reason it took Google till Android 4.3 to get BLE working was that google already did want to cleanup the Bluetooth code and waited till all is finished ( that's what I've read online ). I think that was the wrong approach. Since most Handset manufacturers do not update ROMs as fast, the Market share of android devices that truly work flawless with BLE will continue to be low for the next 2-3 years.
I am doing a masters thesis on bluetooth low energy and want to use it with android, although it should be clear that I need a Phone, I am still hessitating to buy a Nexus 4, although I am in need of a BLE compatible Phone.
On the other hand there are reports that the previous nexus phone, the galaxy nexus, has a BLE capable chip and meanwhile did get Android 4.3, but in that case (seemingly) the drivers for the BT-chip do not work with bluetooth smart / BLE. (A good reason to get angry)
To get back to your Heart Rate Monitor (HRM) straps, most probably the old ones did do some "own development" with older Bluetooth. The point is that BLE has a specific profile for HRM devices, so they will all be mix-n-match / compatible-to-eachother once the market for compatible apps, compatible phones and compatible straps is existent. Earlier HRM straps did implement their own data transmission protocol over the well known bluetooth serial protocol. That is the reason they are compatible with only one or two apps (or one app with a couple of straps).

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I have a Nexus 4 and just received a Polar H7 HRM which is a Bluetooth Smart device. Loaded 4.3 up, Android recognizes it, no apps do.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

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Update:
A nerd at Polar finally alleviated my worries.
_______######_____#
We do not foresee any changes made to the H7 as it uses BTLE standard protocol. * It will be compatible with 4.3. *We have seen the recent announcement regarding 4.3 and are working hard to see what it means for Polar Beat application. It is great that so many people would like the Beat app to be available on Android phones. Us too! Stay tuned for further news.
Thank you for training with Polar!
LaKisha
Polar Customer Care Team
POLAR ELECTRO INC.
______##########_##___
For me that means I'll keep the h7 I bought. To hell with apps that won't support it in favor of their own branded HRMs. I want freedom to switch $5 apps versus buying $50 HRMs for each.

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Anything new on this front? I have a Galaxy Note II and would like to buy a BTLE HRM belt for it. Is there any belt that's likely to work with v4.3 and apps like Endomondo or Runtastic?

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oren_b said:
Anything new on this front? I have a Galaxy Note II and would like to buy a BTLE HRM belt for it. Is there any belt that's likely to work with v4.3 and apps like Endomondo or Runtastic?
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Yeah, I'd love if someone who has paired the Wahoo Blue HR with a Nexus 4 has got Runkeeper to successfully communicate with the heart rate monitor. My MotoActv died and I'm thinking I should have a Bluetooth hrm as a backup.

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mversion said:
Yeah, I'd love if someone who has paired the Wahoo Blue HR with a Nexus 4 has got Runkeeper to successfully communicate with the heart rate monitor. My MotoActv died and I'm thinking I should have a Bluetooth hrm as a backup.
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I just purchased the Wahoo Blue HR strap to test with Runtastic app and an S3 with Android 4.3 (Cyanogen). I will test tomorrow and if it doesn't work I will return and then try the Polar H7 and let you all know what the results are.
Runtastic recently updated their app to include support for Android 4.3 with Bluetooth 4.0.
-G

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Gsus112 said:
I just purchased the Wahoo Blue HR strap to test with Runtastic app and an S3 with Android 4.3 (Cyanogen). I will test tomorrow and if it doesn't work I will return and then try the Polar H7 and let you all know what the results are.
Runtastic recently updated their app to include support for Android 4.3 with Bluetooth 4.0.
-G
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That'll be excellent. Can't wait for the status update. My wife also uses an S3, so it will be a definite purchase for me if you confirm that all is good.

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I couldn't wait, so I purchased the Wahoo heart rate monitor. I should've done my research but I had to find out the hard way that because there's no support for BT LE in Runkeeper and Endomondo, they didn't work at all. I signed up for the Wahoo beta android app and gave that a go. That was fine. Didn't try Runtastic though.
Luckily I had a coworker who was after one for his iPhone so I sold him mine on the same day for the same price I had purchased it.
I ended up getting the Polar Wearlink Bluetooth (not the Wearlink+ H7 with Bluetooth 4.0 version- because it is pointless if your app of choice doesn't support it). I wouldn't be surprised if Runkeeper announced support soon, but they've been talking about it for over a year now. So it will come eventually, but the time is not now.
I used a Nexus 5 for testing, but I'm sure I would've gotten the same result with a Nexus 4.

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Wahoo ble beta
Wahoo beta works with a no name ble heart rate belt.
all "free"app's ask money if you try to enable the heart rate monitor.

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mainfraim said:
Wahoo beta works with a no name ble heart rate belt.
all "free"app's ask money if you try to enable the heart rate monitor.
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Which beta? http://support.wahoofitness.com/entries/22766104-Wahoo-Fitness-for-Android-Beta-is-here-
And run keeper works too?

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magnus48 said:
Which beta?
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This beta.
https://rink.hockeyapp.net/apps/080b26953c056aab2e7f1192361e0f64
the export in the last version don't work. version 1.0.1.0 runs whiteout problems.

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Anything that works with Endomondo or Runtastic?

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oren_b said:
Anything that works with Endomondo or Runtastic?
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Runtastic does support Smart HRMs. I use it with my Polar H7 and Nexus 4 with no issues. I think that's about the only full featured fitness app out there on android that supports it. The other big apps (such as Runkeeper) are just MIA, as far as I know there is no ETA for support, no beta, nothing. If Runkeeper supported smart BT, I would buy it, simply because it is the only app supported by my employer sponsored fitness portal.

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grizzlebizzle said:
Runtastic does support Smart HRMs. I use it with my Polar H7 and Nexus 4 with no issues. I think that's about the only full featured fitness app out there on android that supports it. The other big apps (such as Runkeeper) are just MIA, as far as I know there is no ETA for support, no beta, nothing. If Runkeeper supported smart BT, I would buy it, simply because it is the only app supported by my employer sponsored fitness portal.
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It is now 6 months that people request BTLE supports with Runkeeper. Since Android 4.3 has been announced with BTLE supportt.
As today the support still answer: "it's in the pipeline!"
How can such a big app can have this lack of development and not support BTLE yet? Is this a lack of knowledge from developpers? Licensing? Money? A little bit of everything?
For god sake, just update it already! This keep me of buying a Polar...

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grizzlebizzle said:
Runtastic does support Smart HRMs. I use it with my Polar H7 and Nexus 4 with no issues. I think that's about the only full featured fitness app out there on android that supports it. The other big apps (such as Runkeeper) are just MIA, as far as I know there is no ETA for support, no beta, nothing. If Runkeeper supported smart BT, I would buy it, simply because it is the only app supported by my employer sponsored fitness portal.
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Unfortunately, using a heart rate monitor with Runtastic is pointless for me since the app does not consider your heart rate in it's calorie burning calculation. This came direct from Runtastic support. The heart rate is only tracked for informational purposes but not used by the app.
I'm trying to find a workout app that does the following:
1) Syncs with Myfitnesspal or Fitbit
2) Is compatible with BLE heart rate monitors
3) Uses heart rate to calculate calories burned
4) Works with the Sony Smartwatch
Runtastic does 1, 2 and 4 but as I said doesn't to 3.
I know Digifit/iCardio does 1, 2 and 3 but not 4.
What about the Wahoo app? Does anyone know if it works with the Sony Smartwatch and/or uses your heart rate in its calculations?

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t-bo said:
It is now 6 months that people request BTLE supports with Runkeeper. Since Android 4.3 has been announced with BTLE supportt.
As today the support still answer: "it's in the pipeline!"
How can such a big app can have this lack of development and not support BTLE yet? Is this a lack of knowledge from developpers? Licensing? Money? A little bit of everything?
For god sake, just update it already! This keep me of buying a Polar...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
.. been waiting for this for ages as well, neverending story with runkeeper and BTLE

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Guys, just use iCardio. I've been using it for the past week and it works with the Polar H7 HRM.
Forget all the others like Runkeeper and Endomondo who can't keep up with the times. You have other options so use them. I was using Endomondo but I've moved on and have no regrets.

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I've been working on a heart rare monitor app. Currently, the amount of features is slim, but this will change soon.. if you participate in testing, it would help me very much.
//play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.restracks.android.ble

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This looks like a good start... I am looking for an app that will capture the BTLE or ANT+ output from my new Mio Link when inthe gym. I could use my Forerunner 220 and ANT+, but then I get a cadence track from the internal sensor that I dont want and cant turn off. This then screws up the pace/distance stats.
I have tried the Wahoo app and BTLE, but I seem to get loads of spikes.
Does your app log the heart rate, and is there then a way to extract it for upload somewhere else - ideally in .FIT or .tcx format ??
Any other apps out there that do this ?