My wrist is burning after wearing my apple watch 8 ultra

My wife and I both had what appears to be and feels like a burn from the heart rate sensor on the back of our watches. After much search around I found a solution that suggested that the cause is the watch's default setting to frequently record the wearer's heart rate.

This automatic heart rate record can be turned off in the watch Settings app on your iPhone. We did this and the burning stopped!

On your phone, go to the Watch app, then scroll to "Privacy" and find the "Heart Rate" toggle and set it to "Off".

Note: it does not cause the "Heart Rate" app to stop working when you request it, but it does cause the app to stop automatically recording your heart rate every few minutes.

Good luck! We're back to loving our watches.

Hi. So I was having the same issue with my Apple Watch ultra where the ceramic back was creating eczema like marks on my wrist. I’ve worn majority of the bands Apple has to offer and I can assure you, for me it was the backing of the Watch creating the burn marks in my experience. I stopped wearing the watch and the marks have subsided.

My skin is also burning from wearing the ultra during workouts wear the sensor is lighting up! This is not the first time it has happened. It’s seems to happen more often with increased sweating whilE working out.

I have had the apple watch 1 and series 4 until now. I bought the ultra 2 about a week ago. After 2 days of wear my wrist started to hurt and after removing the watch, I seen a burn/spot. This has never happened with my other apple watches. I did open a case with apple and am going to see a dermatologist. Removing the watch 3 days ago now and this is what that mark still looks like.

I am experiencing the same thing. I've been wearing an Apple Watch daily since the series 1 launched. I've gone through S3, S4, S5, now Ultra. Only the ultra is giving me this burning problem where the sensor is contacting my wrist. What the heck is going on? Every time I go back to S5, then it's fine. Then the burning comes back when Ultra is worn.

[Edited by Moderator]

Did you ever find a solution to this issue? What did your doctor say? I’ve been experiencing the same thing. The first few weeks of wearing my watch, I didn’t have any issues and now I can barely wear my watch for more than an hour without feeling like my skin is burning. Hurts to the touch after taking my watch off for a few hours as well.

I have been wearing mine since close to launch. In the past month or so I have been developing an eczema like rash directly where the sensors make contact with my wrist accompanied by a light burning sensation after prolonged wear. I can assure you this is not an allergic reaction to the band or the materials in the watch. This seems like an issue. It is causing redness and changing the texture of my skin.

Safety information including skin sensitivity recommendations can be found in

Important safety information for Apple Watch – Apple Support (UK)

 I also recommend that you contact Apple Support directly. Depending on your region, you may be able to reach them here 

Click here >  Contact - Official Apple Support  

or phone numbers 

Click here > Contact Apple for support and service - Apple Support 

Rad1248 wrote:

I talked to a person, to no avail. Apple tech said it’s not the watch!

Probably true, millions of users have no problem. I certainly would not wear mine 24x7. Sleep monitoring isn't that important, though many people do wear theirs all night without problem.

I have extremely sensitive skin.

But that is the other wrist, the one under the Watch is fine.

This is no allergic reaction. This is a BURN. I wear mine for a heart monitor and it burned my left wrist. It felt like a sunburn. I took my watch off. The next day it blistered. I put SSD cream on the perfect circle that the watch made. 3 days later is still blistered. Might take a while for the burn and blisters to go away. I have to wear it on my right wrist for a hike by the looks of it. I have had rashes but this is a definite BURN.

Update to this thread - I contacted Apple, customer service was good, asked for a few pictures of my watch and the irritated skin, but the engineering team literally didn’t do anything, 1 week later they suggested it was my skin’s issue and they would not follow up. So… don’t need to waste your time.

Again-- this is not good. See a doctor--and it's not good enough to depend on what someone else says a doctor did. A doctor can help the rash and possibly de-sensitize you to the watch. Or see if something else is going on.

See this for some information about sensitivity:

Wearing your Apple Watch - Apple Support

And it may help to talk with someone at Apple:

Apple Watch Service & Repair - Apple Support

Some people are allergic to the watch, while others may be allergic to the band. Most people have not problem.

Of course it could be something different than an allergy, so a good plan is to see a doctor.

And it may help to talk with someone at Apple:

Apple Watch Service & Repair - Apple Support

The community specialist gave the correct response.

Safety information including skin sensitivity recommendations can be found in

Important safety information for Apple Watch – Apple Support (UK)

 I also recommend that you contact Apple Support directly. Depending on your region, you may be able to reach them here 

Click here >  Contact - Official Apple Support  

or phone numbers 

Click here > Contact Apple for support and service - Apple Support 

We user volunteers are not qualified to answer medical questions but Apple have a specialist team.