Apple Watch Ultra Elevation Way Off - I believe this is a software issue with the Watch Compass app

Running into the exact same issue myself. I live in the metro Denver area and currently I’m showing ~9,158ft where my watch usually shows ~5,170ft. I’m reading up on an issue reported by a bunch of German Series 6 and SE owners from back in 1/2021. Apparently, the altimeter use by Apple is based off of barometric pressure and particularly low pressure systems throw the whole thing off—low pressure being an indicator of weather changes like storms. We’re getting the first winter storm in the mountains and got some of their leftovers this afternoon—got some very brief graupel snow that fell at my house this afternoon. I submerged the watch and the altimeter immediately reset to the usual 5,170ft. The effect was only temporary though—I noticed about 30min later that the watch returned to an altitude similar to that of Breckenridge’s base elevation (approx. 9,200ft.) Super bummer that Apple chose to incorporate such inaccurate tech in a watch intended for outdoor enthusiasts.

The Saga Continues. So this issue (for me) seems to be related to water. I took a shower with the AWU on (water lock engaged) this morning. After dressed turned water lock off and did it 2x to expel any water.

Again drove from my house (8,660) to Estes Park (7,600). AWU seems to be working then it just quit on the decent into Estes Park from 9,160'. It now reads 8,256'. Go figure.

Well, low and behold - the update may have fixed it. Installed the update last night, shower this morning, 3x water locks after shower. Tracked elevation changes from the house (8,600) all the way up to 9,200 (top of the S Curves on 7) and down into Estes Park. Elevation changes read perfectly. I can't believe it. The current Elevation at the Stanley Hotel (where I work as the IT Director) is sitting at 7,643'. Amazing.

All of you - if nobody can come up with either a setting or a workaround that does not risk over-ageing the battery by draining it to zero...

Let Apple know here --> Feedback - Watch - Apple

And as the feedback system dropdown menu is nearly always behind time, leave the OS version blank and put in the actual OS version 9.1 or whatever in the problem text.

Same here from Denver. Not sure when it started but I first noticed it when I went up to 11,000 feet and it said I was at 13,900. When I reached the lake I was hiking to I was at 15,000 feet. Who knew Colorado had such lofty elevations? Or that Denver sits at 8,500 feet? Interestingly, the elevation gained readings during my hike were accurate, just not the absolute altitude reading.

And yes, the shower reset works for about an hour, if I use the expel water feature. Third-party altimeter apps give an accurate reading but might use GPS instead of barometer?

I've had multiple conversations from various senior support people and get inconsistent responses, but the most common one is that this is now a known software issue and will be corrected.

I let my apple watch ultra completely drain to 0% power. It did fix the altimeter for a few days which is longer than the water fix. But it still returns to 5,000 feet off eventually. I am in Utah at about 4600 feet and the apple watch ultra says it's almost 10,000 feet most of the time. frustrating. My iphone is accurate.

My latest altimeter misadventure: I flew from Denver to Chicago last week. It seemed to function more or less accurately while in Chicago, which is at about 500 feet elevation. When I got home to Denver, the altimeter seemed OK for the first few hours. Then it stopped giving me any reading at all. For the past three days it has been just three dashes where there should be a reading. When I put on the water lock feature and shower, then expel water, it gives an accurate reading for an hour or so, then goes blank again. Apple support assures me the engineers are aware of this problem and are working on a fix. I sure hope so.

I have the same issue. Just bought my AW Ultra - Boulder on Friday 11/25. Went up to my house (8616') and registered fine with correct altitude. A storm came through Monday/Tuesday (10" snow up here) - pressure dropped but Altitude at the house stayed the same. I drove down to Estes Park today - 7600'. AW Ulta now says my altitude is 8313'. Way off.

Any suggestions?

My Suggestion: Stay with the Garmin D2 Mach1 or Marq. It never - ever failed me.

Update: Went out on a walk at lunch and my watch suggested I log an outdoor walk. Sure, watch, I'll do it. I'm back at my desk and sure enough, altitude shows 7134 feet. Interestingly enough, I had been in Mexico City within the last few days - the altitude there was right around the altitude level being displayed by my AW Ultra. Unlike the OP, my AW is not displaying any issues with the compass after the activity application was activated.

Curious.

So last night when I got home I unpaired my AWU and repaired it. No Altitude info at all then. Just great. It took about 30 min and then it just showed up. Can anyone Explain?

Today, I did not take a shower with my AWU (as I did yesterday AM when it stopped working) and drove from my house (8,660) to work (Estes Park 7600) as I did yesterday. I kept my eye on the Altitude reading. I have to get over the Mountian to get to Estes Park which brings me up to 9,200. Then drops down to 7,600 into Estes in the course of about 3-4 miles.

The AWU worked flawlessly. Matter-a-Fact, the Altimeter in the AWU is consistently taking readings every second. I could not believe how quick the altitude was adjusting on the screen as I was Ascending and Descending. I have not noticed that in any of the Garmin Watches I have.

So here at work the AWU is reading 7,619. We have a major Wind Storm coming in late this afternoon ahead of another Winter Storm. Pressure will be dropping all day. I will keep my eyes on the AWU and pressure and report any issues. Pressure is currenly 1016.63 this morning.

I've tried re-pairing, setting it up as a new watch, etc. and nothing works. Here in Denver I'm being told consistently that I'm at 8,274 feet. The water lock and then unlock after a shower fixes it for a few minutes and then it goes back to being off by 3,000 feet. Apple support promises a software fix is coming soon. We shall see.

So based on my above post yesterday the AWU took 24 hours for it to Fix it's Altitude. Apple has a real problem here and I'm not sure how they can justify selling a $800+ Adventure Watch that cannot even accurately calculate the current Elevation - especially when it gets wet.

watchOS 9.1 and iOS 16.1.2. Just received the Ultra watch. Haven't had in the shower or water. in Chicago that is about 600 feet above sea level. Watch shows 3,465 feet. been that way since I paired it. restarted the watch to no avail. haven't tried the other tricks.

So far WatchOS 9.2 has resolved the issue for me as well. Apple Support told me for the first 24-48 hours while watch is still calibrating to shut off watch power completely during air travel until the support teams have officially marked this issue as resolved.

Well, I'm installing it now. I travel each day from my house up in Boulder County (8,600') to Estes Park where I work (7,600' approx). During this commute, my elevation changes will encounter a range of values from 7,800 up to over 9,200' and then into Estes at 7,600'. I will let you all know tomorrow how it goes and if it's fixed. I will wear the watch in the shower tomorrow, activate water lock 3x to expel any water before I leave.