Core's biosensors use an electrocardiogram (ECG) to measure the patterns in your heart rate during a meditation session. If you see gaps in the results graph after a meditation, or a message that says “Poor signal” or “No sensor data found”, this means that Core was having trouble measuring your heartbeat, or having difficulty sending that data to your phone.
This could happen for a few reasons:
- Your hands weren't in full contact with Core's sensors, or were moving around. This doesn't mean you need to completely cover the sensors, or apply pressure (you should always let your thumbs rest in a relaxed manner.) But it is important to try and keep the skin of your thumbs in contact with at least a few metal dots on each side during the entire meditation. Whenever you pick up Core, you'll see two lights light up in between the sensors when your thumbs have made appropriate contact — try this out at any time to get a sense of it. (If the lights don't come on whenever you hold your Core, you probably need to charge it first, or there may be a more serious issue with the ECG and you should contact customer support.)
- Core’s ECG might be reading your heart rate just fine — but it could be having trouble sending that data back to the app for analysis. While you’re meditating, make sure that you stay within range of your phone, with nothing in between them that could potentially block communication between the devices.
- Core may struggle to measure your biometrics if you have light circulation in your hands and fingers. If you are especially cold when you meditate, try warming your hands before your session to improve your circulation. In some rare cases, some medical conditions that cause low circulation to the hands could prevent an ECG from getting a reliable signal.
- Some settings specific to the Android OS are causing an unstable connection (see below.)
For Android Users
- Make sure the required app permissions are enabled. The app should ask you to enable permissions when you're first pairing your Core, but if you're having difficulty with Core disconnecting, you might want to check and make sure they haven't been switched off. If you're running Android OS 12, make sure that "nearby device permissions" are enabled by navigating to Settings > Apps > Core > Permissions. If you're running an older version than OS 12, make sure that location servicesare enabled on your phone.
- Check to make sure you have the latest version of Android's nearby device scanning app. The exact location of this setting might vary slightly -- or it may not be available at all -- depending on what brand of phone you’re using. We’ve found that it can sometimes be important for users of Samsung phones, in particular. Go to the Settings app on your phone -> Connections -> More connection settings, then tap on Nearby device scanning. Then tap About nearby device scanning at the bottom. The phone will check the current version that you're running, and if you see a blue button that says "Update", tap that to upgrade to the most recent version.
- Reset network settings and clear the Bluetooth cache. The exact location of this setting might vary slightly depending on what brand of phone you’re using. For Samsung phones, go to the Settings app on your phone -> General management -> Reset -> Reset network settings. For Google Pixel phones, go to the Settings app -> Apps -> See all apps -> Tap on the 3-dotted icon at the top right -> Show System -> Select Bluetooth -> Storage & cache -> Clear cache.