I'm still scratching my head over Strava not doing heart rate. I have a free account, and I can record heart rate on Strava. Apparently OP has an equipment problem and is blaming Strava instead of figuring out why he's not sending HR data.
Smart phones do the same job recording your route, but they sure use batteries faster. And of course they require an account with data. I'm a dinosaur and don't have a personal cell phone. That would cost money every month.