Apple Watch Ultra locking while on wrist

Well went to Apple. They’re no help. One person says it’s not tattoos as the sensors read vitals not skin and another said the ink in tattoos is the problem as the new technology is more sensitive. Really can’t believe Apples inconsistency on this and I can’t believe they’d make a watch that would be hindered in such a way by a tattoo. How many trainers have sleeves. This is incredibly frustrating when you consider the money spent on these devices.

I had the same problem with an Apple Watch 9 that I just bough. After I read all the support pages, tightened the strap, cleaned the sensors on the back, made sure the wrist sensor was on etc etc it still didn't solve the problem. The watch locked after 10 seconds while on my wrist.

The occurred to me the issue was not with the watch. The issue was with the iPhone (11) that the watch is synched to. I phones have different personalised modes of us - work / personal / driving / sleep. For some reason the iPhone was in sleep mode during the day and this was causing the Apple Watch to lock after 10 seconds as it would do during the night. On the locked phone check if you're on sleep mode. if so hold down the mode button at the bottom of the screen and select personal or work. I did this and immediately the Apple Watch was unlocked while on my wrist and the problem was solved. Hope this helps.

I must have missed you have tattoos? And Apple specifically suggests the sensors may not work as intended with tattoos. I'm not sure any manufacturer has a watch with sensors, which works reliably with tattoos. That's not Apple's fault you chose to tattoo where you wear a watch which is designed to work with sensors which use light (IR) to do their job.

I suppose it could be because the sensors on the ultra are much more sophisticated and measure more things than an SE. Do you have tattoos on both wrists? If you don't, perhaps consider moving the watch to the wrist which doesn't have tattoos.

You can add it. Read this link to learn how to manage Control Center on your Apple Watch --> Use Control Center on your Apple Watch - Apple Support

Question: Do you by chance have tattoos on your wrist?

Leegue wrote:

My series 8 is doing the same thing. Mine will even lock when am scrolling through it. It locks when am wearing during a workout. It’s annoying. I have had Apple Watches since the first one, always wore the on the same wrist, on the same way but this is the first time I’ve had an issue.

I solved it by turning off the passcode 😂. But I need a resolution because I prefer it locked.

That sounds like a hardware issue with your watch. I'd suggest that you arrange with Apple to have it evaluated.

Genius Bar Reservation and Apple Support Options - Apple

I also have this problem for my ultra and only occurs when I go for a walk. It can happen multiple times in the same walk. I have not found a solution to this bug. Thanks

Same issue with my Ultra. Never had an issue with my two previous watches. Hoping for a solution listed here soon.

Well, it looks like I might finally have an answer to why my Apple Watch constantly locks. I DO have wrist tattoos, and this is the first time I've heard of that being problematic.

Because you have said you have used other Apple Watches without issue I doubt what I am about to say will apply to you.

The symptoms you describe are a common problem for people who have tattoos on the area the watch touches.

It can also be an issue if you have a lot of arm hair.

I’m having the same issue, no tats and not very hairy arms! My old series 4 didn’t have the issue. Also my workout display turns off when I’m running, I have always on display enabled, the workout app display is enabled when my wrist is down, and I’m not on low power mode. Help Apple! Otherwise pretty epic device!!

Unfortunately my watch got worse and became erratic and the touch screen stopped working and the crown started wigging out too. The funny thing is it worked fine when plugged in. I returned it to Apple and they sent me a replacement which works fine. I would definitely recommend Apple Care + for that reason. The agent did ask me if I had been in a cold and wet environment...which I was outside running in the cold and was sweaty. Kind of disappointing so far...plus the rumor mill is that they may or may not warranty for water related damage...who knows but I have Apple Care + so I should be fine either way.

Mines been doing it since I got it too. Never had any issues with 2 previous versions of Apple Watch. Makes it pretty much unusable for tracking activities especially swimming. Sounds to me like some may have defective sensors?

My I watch ultra locks when no one is touching it and it’s docked on it’s charging station? This time it locked itself so much it telling me to reset on my iPhone, but 99% of the time it just locks itself, and then adds more minutes.