I have tattoos covering both my arms and hands. My current Apple watch very rarely recognises that it is on my wrist and therefore cannot utilise most of the watches features. Has this issue been rectified with the series 5?
Apple Watch
I spent several hours chatting to an advisor at apple who was in discussion with engineers as I actually suspected it was my tattoos from articles read long ago. I was informed that pervious series didn't work at all. However, like you, the series 5 was working with heart rate etc but the not always on feature was not as it kept turning the screen off and locking the watch. So had they fixed something or was the sensors better, but not perfect?
Well, I was informed that Apple have worked on the sensors and they are better, however depending on the amount of ink coverage and even ink types, this is a very abstract and hard to pin down scenario, and wether it works accurately or works consistently various considerably.
So. after discussions I was directed to go to the Apple watch App on my iPhone and go to the passcode setting. From there I was instructed to have the passcode on, but turn wrist detection off. Now the always on works perfect and the watch functions 85% as normal... with the exception that apps like Apple pay won't work in this state. However, a work around is if you want to use it, you swipe the face down and click the manual lock icon, then Apple pay should work as you have fully locked the watch. After, if you turn the lock icon off from the swipe down screen on the watch, always on works again. The watch also still detects when you put it on to charge and then locks it also.
Apple support did say that the software is continually being worked on, so who knows in future whether the issues will entirely be ironed out as it is a mix of software and the sensors on your series 5.
For me personally. Thats how I use it rather than putting it on the wrong wrist. Yeah, you lose that added layer of security, but as you can log in on your phone with Find Me and locate, block or wipe the watch if you lose it or even worse case scenario got robbed, as the passcode is still active. Obviously, all this needs to connected to a iphone with a cellular data plan.
This isn't a perfect setup, but this is what I learnt from my chats with Apple, so I thought I would pass it on, from one tattooed apple user to another!! hope it helps.
I used the epoxy dots on my series 3 because of my tattoo sleeve and it worked great! I just bought the series 5 this a couple of days ago and was hoping the new sensors would not need them. I was wrong. I have had it 2 days and am currently wearing it on the wrong wrist until I decide if the dots effect the heart features that I need it for.. The ECG is done through the crown, but I am wondering if the AF readings will still be accurate, for us with possible AFib. I know if checks for Afib on occasion, but I am worried that the epoxy dots will interfere. Any idea?
Hello, I got my apple watch series 5 titanium yesterday.
I use watches on my left wrist and the "always on" was not working for me ( I have full sleeve tattoo on my left arm) and since I had the phone for less then 24 hours I was thinking I need to play more with settings.
Longs story short, I remember that I hear rumors in the past that apple watch sensors will not work on tattooed skin so I decided to change the settings to my right hand.
Now, when I type on my keyboard I feel uncomfortable so I decided to put in on my left tattooed wrist and the "always on " is working for now. So I guess I will leave settings of the opposite wrist to be able to have "always on"
I hope my comments make sense and is useful to others.
Yes! I totally did that and it helped. But you know what helped instantly? I put some moisturizer on my wrist, and that did an instant fix...but yeah, tightening the strap also worked.
But what is weird, and I mentioned this...is the heart rate monitor works just fine. I had a Fitbit a couple years back, and at least Fitbit had the foresight, and the decency to let their customers know (I think it was in the manual) that dark tattoos would affect the performance.
It's kinda annoying, all of this still. I really hope, and I assume there will be some sort of a firmware/software fix for this.
There's no reason to believe it will behave any differently.
The epoxy "dots" work, so there should be something that they could do with the actual lens on the sensor itself. It would likely prohibit the ECG feature, but honestly I'd much rather an option that works on all skin types that an ECG feature that I really never use.
Hello Again,
Never mind on my previews comments, it stop working "always on" on my tattooed wrist.
omayra242 wrote:
... It’s like a discrimination because he has tattoos!!! He’s so mad with this situation!!!
Go to apple.com/feedback and let Apple know of this injustice.
This is really helpful and congratulations on actually getting something honest out of Apple! In this way, does the watch function as a fitness tracker and workout monitor? As in, would it keep track of my activity and steps and be able to log my workouts when they’re on?
Oh man, thanks for the tips! I changed the settings and am trying it out on the correct arm now. I don’t love having to use a passcode on the watch, but the trade-off might be worth it to use it on my left arm. Thanks a ton!
Agreed. This is a gross oversight. It took me talking to three people before I got someone to admit this was a real issue. And that person went on to say she has had some LOTIONS cause the same issue. Which, as I told her, is a bit easier of an issue to work around. It just seems crazy to me. In my research I also discovered that some people with very dark skin have issues too which is low key racist in my opinion.
The only crummy thing about this is that it will not do continuous heart rate. Seems like you should just opt in to those things but I understand it’s a security issue for some. But I agree this is a good solution if you don’t care about continuous heart rate.
I’ve just been speaking to Apple and they told me they didn’t know of any issue and didn’t know of any fix!
Or they could allow the HRM/Wrist Sensor to be turned off at user choice yet still allow the other functions to work as expected. I do not see why they need to be tied together
In this state that you have setup, does it still record continuous heart rate?
I agree. The issue is the wrist detection. Sensor stuff works fine.
Apple Watch Series 5 and Tattooed skin
