Cardio Fitness not working on my Apple Watch Series 6 (or on my previous Series 5)

I have no idea really. Was it a fluke?? I’ll be running tomorrow and will see if it’s still working. If I was you I’d keep hammering them till it’s fixed or look for a replacement. It’s only a glorified watch if it’s not working. I don’t use the watch for anything else.

Hi, just had an email off Apple support but they are saying there is a problem with the heart monitor and it’s not reading all when running. Missing chunks. Also the data collected last week is saying that it’s February. And now best of all they are saying that when the tracked the run there was lots of hills on it and should be running on the flat because of some readings that are over 5% incline. Christ almighty these are basic things. Now have to update the watch and phone again and he will have to download software to the phone to log the new run again and give details of the run less then 30 minutes after. Apple Watch is a crock of ****. I went on my treadmill at home yesterday and the watch is telling me that I was 2 miles shorter. I know this goes off the heart monitor but it’s not even close. The Nike app is about a Mile off. I’m surprised that there is not more outrage about these useless glorified watches.

Yes I do what Apple refers to as “functional strength training” and blast every other day doing HIIT on an exercise bike. Neither has any affect on VO2 Max. But if I take a leisurely walk in the park with my dog - bingo.

At the moment this can’t be classed as a fitness watch. Yes, it records how long I’ve trained but I could do that with a stopwatch and pencil and paper.

That’s for sure. There is new software out now for the watch and the phone. Might as well install it. I think we have been sold a pup by Apple. Most people just bought it to say, look what’s on my arm oh it’s an Apple Watch. Useless for fitness people and I would say don’t buy it.

Thats a review by a 3rd party not Apple advertisement...

But yes - you can see it can extend to walking....because with walking you can measure 'pace'. (assuming you have GPS signal)

And as stated before...you need pace x heart rate to calculate Vo2

But static devices - i.e. a treadmill or stationary bike - will not work because you cannot measure pace.

People seem to have got it working in previous posts but I think it’s just pure fluke. All you can do is ring Apple and tell them and they will probably go through the same procedures and they may get it to work. Mine is working but it’s definitely not right and the heart monitor readings are not actual and chunks of live data are missing. I’m waiting for them to come back to me to go through the whole process again. I don’t actually think they know themselves. Big own goal for Apple.

My pleasure honeybunny ;)

(Still not buying it. Set up Cardio Fitness Levels – Apple Support See bikes anywhere? You most likely had this A new Apple Watch alert tells you how fit (or unfit) you are. Here's how to get it - CNET to quote "You won't even have to break a sweat to get your cardio fitness score. VO2 max on the Apple Watch can be calculated as you're moving normally about your day and not necessarily during a strenuous exercise, as long as it gets your heart pumping. It's also backwards compatible, meaning you'll be able to see your score immediately after updating the watch if you've already had VO2 max information on the app". )

Btw your Vo2 is wickedly low. I am worried about you!

So mine has suddenly started working again. With no need to turn on Airplane mode.

Only change were the recent security updates Apple released for Watch OS (current v 14.4.1 for phone and 7.3.3 for watch).

But the release notes say these are security only and not features so should not have fixed any bugs.

But it’s working anyway!

Actually I’ve just realised there now that when I’m doing these outdoor walks there is no heart rate mapping 😱! So clearly that must be my problem. I’m getting full heart rate mapping for all my hiit sessions and core training and functional strength sessions but when I do the ‘outdoor walks’ it just says heart rate chart not available! My watch is always on properly might try the outdoor run tomorrow and see if that will give me a heart rate map!

Good news! Just as I had given up on the Apple Watch Cardio Fitness feature -- it just started working!

From the Show All Data button I find data starting on May 6 and daily until May 17 (yesterday). I've walked a couple of miles today and hope that will show up - maybe after my second walk.

I have been one of the people on this community forum who has been complaining about the lack of a solution - and then it solves itself. Only thing I can come up with is that my phone (iPhone 8) upgraded to iOS 14.5.1 a couple of weeks ago.

Also, previously the Health app displayed no Data Sources. Now it says my Apple Watch is the source of the Data. And the App allowed to read Data is Heart Analyzer. Previously, these have been blank or empty.

So I don't know what I did - other than explore the various app settings - but I'm pleased and surprised this feature is working.

ps. You may remember I got the watch after a serious open heart surgery in December. The other good news is that, in measuring my Cardio Fitness data, it displays a consistently HIGH Cardio Fitness V02 level -- 44.8 . . 44.9. .45 - for the past 12 days. Very encouraging to my rehab and fitness attitude.

Thanks to all of you for your tips and guidance. Good luck with your quest to get this thing working.

Good follow up osugrad85, it will work out soon.. by the way you can ask them to replace the watch... that could be another way for next time.

I did a 20 minute walk and it finally did the trick. I hope it keeps working.