How well does the apple watch ultra work with tattoos? Has this issue been fixed?
I've had almost every generation of Apple Watch, and the Ultra is yet another that has the same issue - so no, this has decidedly not been fixed if you're holding out for an answer. I have wrist/hand tattoos (full color) on both sides, and occasionally I can get it to stay unlocked if I position things just right - but the moment I move, instant lock. It seems to be less sensitive if I have an active workout running, but that's not certain - and it's really frustrating that once it locks, it pauses that workout and I lose that data. What's mystifying is that it's showing heart rate the second before it locks, so it doesn't seem as though it's a sensor freaking out. (and indeed sometimes when I'm on completely bare skin I see the heart rate greyed out at other times - so it's not a correlation/causation thing)
Solutions I've tried:
The bottle cap trick: it works mostly but is a pain and I feel it affects the speed/consistency of charging. It still locks, just not as often. It also makes the watch "taller" on my wrist
Disabling auto-lock: the watch is basically useless in this mode, so not even really an option.
Repositioning/loosening bands/different bands: no real consistent effect here. Might get lucky now and then but the only thing consistent is the inconsistency
The only thing that works: wearing it upside-down on one of the few places under my wrist where I have bare skin: works, but I'm constantly bashing the face on things and that's not ideal either. It also sort of messes with the auto-wake/positioning sensing. I've lived with it this way, though.
What I'd love to see is an option in the settings much like the OSX screensaver settings that sets a timeout for auto-lock. I feel like if we could just say "don't auto-lock within {x} second(s)" or something that the watch would once again find the consistent skin that it's looking for - because when it locks, it's instant. Or maybe being able to pair the lock status with a phone in the opposite direction? (much like how the watch can unlock the phone, why can't it work in reverse?) I don't know, I'm not an engineer and I'm sure someone at a billion-ty dollar company has already thought of all of this and surely someone in that place must be tattooed.
Yes, I'm sure there are people out there laughing and saying "wElL tHis iS wHat yOu gEt for bEiNg taTtooed" - save it, I don't care about your opinion. This is me and it's what I like - it's irrelevant to the issue. I'm just stating my experience so others can make a decision based on that.
I’ve had the ultra for a week. It seems to read my heart rate occasionally 🤷🏻♂️ which the previous ones didn’t.
if you turn wrist detect off you shouldn’t have to input a code every time you want to use it 👍👍
I have a light tattoo on my right wrist and a dark on my left. I have tattoos all over my body from head to toe. My back a small parts of my thighs are the only things not tattooed. I have had the first apple watch, 3, 5, and 7. I have had to use a plastic bottle cap cover on my watch for all of them. That said, the apple watch does more than just track my workouts. It does a ton of other stuff well. why is this not the watch for me? There can be a solution to this issue just as putting something on the watch is a solution. But if I forget to take the cover off then my watch doesn't charge. Simply allowing the user to disable lock during a workout without having to disable everything else seems like a simple solution. It can be done only within the Workout app, an option to disable the lock. Once the workout is done, the lock is re-enabled. Seems simple to me. But instead I have to just accept that the Apple watch isn't for me? I already had most of my tattoos when the Apple watch came out and I swear when I first started using it on the first version I never had an issue. I think it was Apple 3 when the problem started. There are many more people who like the Apple watch that are tattooed. It isn't fair to say "it's just not for you". If top executive muckety muck at Apple was fully tatted and had an Apple watch I bet the problem would be resolved.
I have a sleeve on my left arm that consists of letters and flames. All in black ink. I had the original Apple Watch from 2015 now called Series 0. I just recently got a Series 8 and it has worked better than the original with the sensors but if I use a passcode sometimes it will lock but not as frequently as the Series 0 did. The Heart Rate Sensors etc all work fine because there are some untouched areas around my wrist. So I just don't use a passcode. I guess it depends on the art you have on your wrist. I pretty much stayed away from AW through the last 7 Series but wanted to give the Series 8 try to see if it worked better and it does for me fortunately. If it didn't I just would have returned it.
I have a variety of colors right where the watch sits. With the alpine loop, it is a bit looser than I would have to wear my series 5 and still no issues. Tried to post a pic but apparently my wrist is content not permitted by apple...
Got the ultra. It still makes me have to unlock it just about every time I have to use it. Unfortunately, going back to the right wrist, which gives it a greater opportunity to get dinged up since I’m right handed. This has always been my biggest critique of the watch (besides being too small, which they’ve now fixed).
With parafilm. Do all the sensors and functionality still work accurately? Well as accurately as they would normally.
Light can pass through skin but not ink. Both my wrists are dark black tattood - so much doesn’t work on the watch 😭 yet I’ve still ordered the Ultra 😂
I have sleeve tattoos on both arms. I love the Apple Watch and had issues with the 7 last year and had to return it. I bought the Ultra a couple of weeks ago. So far all good. It’s working well.
My series 5 works with my sleeve tattoos. When I got the series 6 (with more sensors … 02), it wouldn’t work so I had to return the watch. I got the Whoop band and it works fine and has the same sensors. I was hoping Apple would fix the issue but appears they have not yet. I’ve heard some people are having luck with the Ultra. If Whoop can figure it out, seems like Apple could as well.
It’s not a case of “bad apple again.” The tattoo problem seems to affect smart watches in general. If you google the issue, you will see that Fitbit, Samsung, Garmin and others face the same problems with tattoos, not just Apple.
Yes, wrist detection is off on mine - which does deactivate a large number of functions 🤦🏻♂️ but tbh I just like how it looks and to use it for notifications and calls etc.
My main reason for the wrist detection off is so the always on display works! Otherwise it goes off.
Same same here but I disabled passcode and even with wrist detection on everything seems to work well except Apple Pay cards are deleted without passcode. I have Tats on both arms so no other option. Apple could allow times Lock Screen or allow iPhone proximity to unlock watch. But they haven’t
The only thing that I’ve found that has worked is the epoxy stickers. Seems to charge ok , I just don’t know how accurate the numbers are on the watch.
That’s a bad apple again. Diversity should include people with tattoos. They don’t come off easy, plus I love mine. If my watch doesn’t detect it’s on, how accurate are all those sensors. We need a tattoo update. Please!!
I had series 4 since it first came out and had no issues whatsoever. I even want to say they did some kind of tattoo update after the launch.
Now that I have the Ultra...I have a choice, to wear it on the other hand or to return the device.
Apple watch ultra and tattoos
