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Level 1

31 points

Apple Watch Ultra locking while on wrist

I have an Apple Watch Ultra running the latest release (9.1 build 20S75) and have had continuous issues with the watch locking itself. It has occurred while wearing multiple types of straps including the Ocean Band, Sport Loop, and the Alpine Loop. I wear my bands pretty tight (tight enough that they leave indentations on my wrist 360 degrees).

I've worn Apple Watches since 2016, and this only started happening with Watch OS 9 / Apple Watch Ultra.

Before the inevitable question, yes, I searched for similar posts and no, I didn't find any that had relevant answers.

Has anyone else been experiencing this issue with Watch OS 9 and/or Apple Watch Ultra? Any ideas on a fix? I'd prefer to avoid the un-pair / re-pair route, but will try it if it's a viable solution.

Thanks in advance.

Apple Watch Ultra, watchOS 9

Posted on Nov 3, 2022 11:28 AM

Best reply

bhoobala

Level 1

8 points

Posted on Sep 17, 2023 2:30 AM

I have this issue after I updated to watchOS 9.6. There were no physical damage to the watch though.it popped up all of a sudden one day after the recent O.S. Update. Initially, the watch remained locked when I entered the passcode prompt while wrist but the frequency of prompts increased gradually and now the watch is unusable with passcode on. I've tried all the possible fixes mentioned online and in apple forum.

Now my watch doesn't track heart rate, stops tracking while doing a workout, no sleep data, literally nothing is tracked these days. I have already turned off passcode as a work around for this problem and I've already compromised with my security. On top of all this, I've lost most of the features of the apple watch already.

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104 replies

iimako

Level 1

8 points

May 11, 2023 2:48 AM in response to flavoredair

It happened twice in 2 days on my Apple Watch 8 while I was working at my desk. I never had this issue with my old 3 and no tatoo here.

I hope Apple can fix this with a software update.

dasmeer

Level 1

4 points

May 11, 2023 3:57 AM in response to iimako

Yes very annoying. What loop are you wearing?

iimako

Level 1

8 points

May 11, 2023 4:42 AM in response to dasmeer

Sport band worn pretty tight.

Dah•veed

Level 9

64,807 points

May 11, 2023 9:19 AM in response to flavoredair

I can't reproduce this issue. I haven't run into this with 4 watches.

Braoks

Level 1

12 points

May 11, 2023 9:46 AM in response to flavoredair

Ive done the un-pair re-pair, the light reset, the hard reset. Nothing has worked. I’ve been told many reasons why it locks, but none of this can be confirmed. Good luck!

dasmeer

Level 1

4 points

May 16, 2023 12:32 AM in response to Jmbeck21

Try a different wrist band

tina3kid

Level 1

13 points

May 16, 2023 9:16 AM in response to IdrisSeabright

Look up strange bruising from Apple Watch..... I'm not alone.

Jmbeck21

Level 1

8 points

May 16, 2023 10:36 AM in response to dasmeer

I can, but I've been using the same wrist band since I bought the watch so I'm not sure why that would start affecting the detection out of nowhere.

May 16, 2023 10:44 AM in response to tina3kid

tina3kid wrote:

Look up strange bruising from Apple Watch..... I'm not alone.

Look up alien abductions on the internet. Or flat-earth.

Braoks

Level 1

12 points

May 16, 2023 2:44 PM in response to IdrisSeabright

I don’t believe this at all. I’ve had two full sleeves for years. I’ve also had plenty different Apple Watches. The ultra is the first one that has given me any problems.

A. Rose

Level 1

4 points

Aug 3, 2023 7:22 AM in response to flavoredair

This article helped me resolve my locking issue on my new Ultra:

https://screenrant.com/apple-watch-keeps-locking-fixed-solutions-settings-cleaning-explained/

jlrich64

Level 1

12 points

Oct 31, 2023 5:17 AM in response to flavoredair

Yes my Apple Watch Ultra has been locking while it’s on my wrist too. Band is not loose and no tattoos. Very frustrating

Nov 14, 2023 9:01 AM in response to flavoredair

I have an Apple Watch 9 ( not ultra) that is doing the same thing. Then my iPhone automatically unlocks it ( sometimes when I did not know it had locked itself

May 4, 2024 8:30 PM in response to romanfromshoreline

What did Apple say when you scheduled an appointment at your Apple Store Genius Bar and showed it to them? Surely you did that?

Apple Watch Ultra locking while on wrist