Apple Watch screen flashing in direct sunlight.

Reset your Watch by pressing in the crown and side button until you see the Apple logo, then release both.

Its not a WatchOS issue, its a hardware issue with sunlight, the problem exists since WatchOS 6.0 from the start of Watch series 5. You can find lot of Videos and discussions. Best is to return the Watch and wait for Series 6...

Same problem as well. I just turn off the Always On and it fixed it. Then when the sun isn't so bright, I turn it back on. If enough people report it on here, maybe a new update will fix it.

Hi Guys,

I exchanged mine by a new one and the same happens. It is a general issue I would say it happens to every single watch when screen is on always on display (dimmed mode). It’s a matter of knowing how to reproduce the issue and in sunny countries is pretty easy even during winter time.

Apparaently Apple does not recognize this as an issue but I have a case open with them and still pushing for getting answers or explanations, I would suggest you all to do the same.

Edit: I was able to reproduce the issue today, and as far as I can tell, it happens every time sunlight hits the watch face on the bottom left corner of the display, at an angle (crown and side button facing to the right), and only when the screen refreshes at 1Hz (always on active or on a still image while using the watch). My model is the 44mm, maybe it’s different for smaller variants, I can’t test.

Hi !

It can be quite difficult to reproduce the issue, personally it only does it with a bright light source like the sun or car headlights, and only when it hits the bottom right corner of the display at a certain angle. The watch has no malfunction but it’s a defect at the engineering level I guess, and no software update ever fixed it so far. Getting it replaced by another series 5 doesn’t seem to solve anything from what I read.

Agree, some sort of voucher or a discount for other apple products would be great! What I do is that i turn theater mode ON when I go under the sun and turn it off when indoors or at night! A little bit annoying but looking at it from the right angle, you save a good amount of battery at the end of the day 🤪.

That. Is. Bullocks. The display in Series 4 is the same exact display. It’s the display controller which is different, and which allows the Series 5 to reduce its refresh rate to about 1Hz for Always On. But the flashing issues are not caused by this controller, or by Always On for that matter. To add to this, the flashing isn’t occurring at frequencies anywhere near 1Hz. If anything, the flashing is quite irregular. The sensor that really is causing the problem is the Ambient Light Sensor, and that hasn’t changed at all since the Series 4. Judging by the last post before mine, even the Series 6 has the very same Ambient Light Sensor as the previous two generations.

I had the same issue as stated. Got a replacement Apple Watch. The replacement model didn’t have the issue.

I’m in the same exact case ! Working home and noticing the issue as the sun hits the watch face in always on mode (series 5 gps, WOS 6.2). Done some research, it only seems to malfunction when transitioning from shadow to sunlight as the screen is asleep, doesn’t do it with screen on. Temperature doesn’t seem to cause the issue, nor water damage as I never got it under water. It could simply be a general defect Apple doesn’t want many to know about. Shame... turning the screen on then putting it to sleep as in direct sunlight seems to temporarily fix the problem btw, but can’t be sure. If the problem was only software related, then it would have been addressed already, not promising...

Have a nice day !

My watch is doing the same thing at flickers in the sunlight. When I called Apple they have no idea what it’s doing they say it’s not normal return it back to AT&T. What AT&T says if there’s a warranty to be put on it it Hass to go through Apple. Honestly believe this is happening due to the OS 6.2

This is what I do just put it in Theater mode if I'm going to be out in direct sun for a long period of time - has helped with battery life so just have to find the positives.

Having the same issue as everyone here in this thread - had my Apple Watch Series 5 for about a month now, but not the end of the world for me this issue just wanting some acknowledgment from Apple!

It may not work for everbody, but I had the same problem as everybody else in this thread which was that the screen was blinking in white when the always on screen was put in direct sunlight. After my quick cleaning it doesnt do that anymore, hence, I stated that my method solved my issue

The best solution is to return the watch. Wait for series 6. this problem will not be solved any more.

I had the same issue as well with two different Apple Watch Series 5. I originally returned the first one thinking I had a faulty watch but the watch Apple replaced it with also had the exact same issue.

It only happens in direct sunlight and I was not able to find a fix and ended up returning the second one as well. I was hoping more people would encounter this issue to bring it to Apple's attention. This may not be a big deal to others but if I am spending that much money on a watch, I want it to work properly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IZzw-Kp-Ek