Which heart rate devices work with Sentinel
The 17 wearables Sentinel supports, how each one connects, and which ones need your phone unlocked.
On this page
What this does
Sentinel needs a live pulse, because it reads physiology rather than trading activity. Seventeen device profiles can supply one, and the picker on any one platform lists sixteen of them because the watch at the top differs between Apple and Android. Apple Watch and Wear OS use Apple Health or Health Connect. The other fifteen straps, armbands and bands use the standard Bluetooth Heart Rate Service and connect to the VEXA app on your phone.
| Device | Made by | How it connects | Setup steps | Phone must stay unlocked | Sends beat-to-beat data for HRV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple Watch | Apple | Through Apple Health | 2 | No | No |
| COROS Heart Rate Monitor | COROS | Bluetooth, direct to the app | 4 | No | No |
| Fitbit Air | Bluetooth, direct to the app | 4 | Yes | No | |
| Fitbit Charge 6 | Bluetooth, direct to the app | 4 | No | No | |
| Garmin HRM 600 | Garmin | Bluetooth, direct to the app | 4 | No | No |
| Garmin HRM-Pro Plus | Garmin | Bluetooth, direct to the app | 4 | No | No |
| Myzone MZ-Switch | Myzone | Bluetooth, direct to the app | 4 | No | No |
| Other Bluetooth HR device | Generic | Bluetooth, direct to the app | 4 | No | No |
| Polar H10 | Polar | Bluetooth, direct to the app | 4 | No | No |
| Polar H9 | Polar | Bluetooth, direct to the app | 4 | No | No |
| Polar Verity Sense | Polar | Bluetooth, direct to the app | 5 | No | No |
| Scosche Rhythm+ 2.0 | Scosche | Bluetooth, direct to the app | 4 | No | No |
| Suunto Smart Heart Rate Belt | Suunto | Bluetooth, direct to the app | 4 | No | No |
| Wahoo TICKR FIT | Wahoo Fitness | Bluetooth, direct to the app | 4 | No | No |
| Wahoo TRACKR HEART RATE | Wahoo Fitness | Bluetooth, direct to the app | 4 | No | No |
| WHOOP | WHOOP | Bluetooth, direct to the app | 4 | Yes | No |
| Xiaomi Smart Band 10 | Xiaomi | Bluetooth, direct to the app | 4 | No | No |
The table lists the sixteen profiles shown on web and Apple platforms: Apple Watch plus fifteen Bluetooth devices. Android shows the same fifteen Bluetooth devices and offers Wear OS in place of Apple Watch, which makes seventeen distinct profiles across the ecosystem. See Set up a Wear OS watch.
Two columns are worth reading carefully before you buy anything.
Phone must stay unlocked. WHOOP and Fitbit Air stop sending when the phone screen locks. That is the device’s behaviour and there is no way around it from inside VEXA. See Why WHOOP and Fitbit need your phone unlocked.
Sends beat-to-beat data for HRV. Some manufacturers advertise HRV or R-R support, but VEXA’s current live Bluetooth path consumes the standard heart-rate value only. The table therefore marks live R-R support as No until each model and VEXA’s interval parser have been hardware-validated. Apple Watch can still provide historical HRV through Apple Health for the baseline.
Before you start
The option list is not identical everywhere. Web, iPhone and iPad offer Apple Watch and the fifteen Bluetooth devices. Android phone and tablet offer Wear OS and the same fifteen Bluetooth devices.
Your choice is stored on your account and shared between surfaces, so picking a device on the web and then opening Android settings can show you a different selection, because Android has no Apple Watch option to show. Set it on the phone that will actually hold the connection and you avoid the problem.
iPad and Android tablet show the same picker and device-specific instructions, while the strap still pairs to the phone that owns the live session. This prevents a phone and tablet on the same account from competing for one sensor or writing duplicate heart-rate streams.
Bluetooth chest straps broadcast to one app at a time. If the manufacturer’s own app is open, VEXA cannot see the strap.
Steps
How to change your wearable source.
- Open VEXA Sentinel from the sidebar.
- Open the Settings tab.
- Under Wearable Source, choose your device.
- Anything other than Apple Watch opens a setup modal. Read the steps, then finish pairing in the latest VEXA mobile app on your phone.
- Open Home, then tap Sentinel.
- Tap the gear icon, then Sentinel Settings.
- Tap Wearable Source and choose your device.
- Tap the setup link for that device and follow the steps.
- Open Home, then tap Sentinel.
- Tap the gear icon (Settings), then Sentinel Settings.
- Under Wearable source, choose your device.
- Follow the setup sheet that opens.
What you should see
The wearable section shows your device name with the status Connected.
Start a session and the live card names the device next to the LIVE badge, with a beats-per-minute figure that changes every few seconds.
If you chose a strap that sends beat-to-beat data, the HRV figure fills in too. If you chose a device that does not, HRV stays empty during the session, which is correct rather than broken.
If it doesn’t work
Your device is not in the list. Only these seventeen named profiles are supported. Anything that writes into Apple Health or Health Connect can still reach Sentinel through the watch path, at Health Connect’s 30-second polling rate on Android.
The status says Not Connected. The strap is asleep, out of range, or held by another app. Close the manufacturer’s app and try the scan again. See Pair a different strap.
Readings stop the moment you put the phone down. You are on WHOOP or Fitbit Air. Those need the screen on.
Related
Still stuck? Email support@vexatrade.ai.