Apple Watch Series 6 - CONSTANTLY locking

I think there are several different issues causing this watch locking failure. For me, it looks like the update to WatchOS 7.3 a few days ago triggered this problem.. the watch was locking every time I stopped actively using it.

I restarted my watch and then turned off and on the "wrist detection" option from the "Passcode" settings in the watch app on my iPhone, and the problem seems to be solved.

I reckon I found the solution that solves this !

I restore my phone from new ! And re-install everything fresh without restoring from iCloud. Took me around an hour and a half to re-install my apps but my watch isn’t locking itself anymore, I’ve also re-installed the watch from fresh without the back up.

I think it’s well worth a try, let me know if that works for you too!

Mine was triggered back in early October when the iOS update occurred. I shut off wrist detection and it solved the problem but did not allow several functions to work properly. Every WatchOS update since has not worked, including the most recent one. I tried everything you mentioned and zip.

I finally went to the Apple Store to show them what it was doing. They said it is most likely a hardware issue and are sending it to the engineers at Apple for further investigation. Fingers crossed it gets fixed.

I wound up restoring my watch the other day, turned my phone all the way off (iPhone 11) and then rebooted them both and they have worked fine, for now.

mines been a lot better since I turned off the wrist detection, it’s not ideal but it’s better then constant locking !

Little update, I have spoken to apple about the issue, they have recommended to :

1. Restart both iPhone and watch
2. unpair and re-pair the watch
3. Turn off wrist detection and turn it back on (apparently it solved the issue for some users)

These steps didn't do the trick for me, so to go around the issue, I turned off the passcode only losing the ability to pay contactless but all the other functions are working fine.

Apparently Apple engineers are working on it ...

I found that toggling the unlock with phone needed to be flipped a few times to get the watch to work with the phone properly.

I have series 6

Update: I have changed the Watch orientation to “Digital crown on left side” (watch is on left wrist but usually have the Digital Crown on RIGHT side for years), it’s been working for 1.5 days!!!!!

Just tossing my hat into the ring: I too have been having constant locking issues with the Series 6 that I did not have with the 1, 3, or 4.

• It has locked when paired with either an iPhone 11 Pro or 12 Pro.
• It is sufficiently tight around my wrist, and tested on multiple bands.
• I too have arm tattoos under the sensor, specifically red in color (I'm Caucasian if that matters).
• All devices have been restarted multiple times.
• No new electrical interference is in my space.

Update:

Called customer service and was recommended to turn off wrist detection (Watch - Passcode - Wrist detection), it solved the problem for me.

PS: yes there will be a pop up message saying a lot of the functions won't be available if you turn off the wrist detection, but at least I can use my watch now. Hopefully they'll have an update soon to fix this problem.

Man, am I glad I found this thread...

This issue started off for me on my older Watch Series 3. Everything was operating fine until the update to WatchOS 7, then as most of you have experienced my watch would unexpectedly lock itself whilst on my wrist. It would happen sometimes after 10 min, sometimes seconds after I unlock it.

After about 3 weeks, I decided to use this issue as an excuse to upgrade my watch to a Watch SE; it happened again. Now, at this point I figured it was something OS related, however giving Apple the benefit of doubt I decided to exchange it for another unit within the return period. I received the 2nd Watch SE and still the same thing.

Now I'm on a fresh Apple Watch Series 6 and guess what? Still locks on my wrist. Super annoying, but I did read through most of these comments and I do have a full length sleeve on my left arm (where I typically wear my watch). Just for kicks 'n giggles I decided to switch it to my right wrist and I haven't had it lock on my unexpectedly whilst wearing it ever since.

Not really sure why it can't read through my tattoos, especially when it was operating just fine prior to the update, but I guess this is the life I'm living for the time being....

I hope Apple steps up and fixes this. Seems kinda silly considering how huge of a company they are w/ all the resources they have lol.

Hello! Please let me impart this wisdom that I just learned. I too had this very annoying problem. Spent hours on the phone with apple. One senior support person suggested I try putting it on the other wrist to see what would happen and...magically it worked! I switched it back to my watch wrist and man, if that isn't magic I don't know what is. Please try that. I still have my date with the engineering department to figure out what in the world is happening and I will update when I hear back from them.

I hope it works!