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Apple Watch Ultra Heart Rate During Workout

I’ve been having problems with my Apple Watch ultra. basically as seen in the photos I’ve attached, every workout I do starts with the Apple Watch reading my heart rate and then for the next 5-10 minutes it doesn’t read at all. I’ve looked everywhere and read different forums and tried every setting possibility out there but none of it seems to work because it looks like I’m the only one with this problem, I’ve tried loosing and tightening my strap but it doesn’t effect the process. I’ve came to conclusion that this is a bug in the workout app because the heart rate sensors work and as seen they read my heart rate through the other half of my workout.


if anyone else has this problem please let me know.

Apple Watch Ultra, watchOS 9

Posted on Dec 18, 2022 1:35 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Apr 1, 2023 4:01 PM

Same issues here. I got an Ultra back in mid March. I spent two weeks running totally frustrated with the HR missing more than half of my run. As soon heart beats go above 135 BPM (it seems to be my magic number) the watch gets lost and just recovers readings almost always 10+ minutes later (but still on and off). After looking around and trying tighter, looser, upper arm, inside of wrist, bla bla bla…same problems. For sanity check, I went for a run with the Ultra on my left arm and my wife’s 8 Series on my right arm. For my surprise the Ultra lost more than half as usual, 8 Series didn’t miss a beat.

I went back to Apple Store and replaced my Ultra thinking I had a defective unit. However, new unit and same old problems.

Anyway, I’m more inclined to believe it’s poor hardware/software interface. It’d be weird Apple having a different software running on 8 Series and Ultra. They might share the same software, but the weight/size/shape of the Ultra may requires a different solution (maybe even hardware…not sure if it’s the same as 8 Series).


Below Heart Readings from my last 20 minutes run and a fast pace walk at the end. Difference is abismal. Running it got just a bit more than 4 minutes readings.




I loved the Ultra: concept, design, features; and I was so looking forward to go diving with it. But there’s no point of having an outdoor smartwatch that can’t monitor heart beats.

Now it’s time to return the Ultra again and decide if I move to a 8 Series or other brands, because it’s pretty clear Apple is not concerned at all on fixing this problem. Apple isn’t the same anymore and I’m on the ecosystem since 2009!

Similar questions

274 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Apr 1, 2023 4:01 PM in response to OmriShpigel

Same issues here. I got an Ultra back in mid March. I spent two weeks running totally frustrated with the HR missing more than half of my run. As soon heart beats go above 135 BPM (it seems to be my magic number) the watch gets lost and just recovers readings almost always 10+ minutes later (but still on and off). After looking around and trying tighter, looser, upper arm, inside of wrist, bla bla bla…same problems. For sanity check, I went for a run with the Ultra on my left arm and my wife’s 8 Series on my right arm. For my surprise the Ultra lost more than half as usual, 8 Series didn’t miss a beat.

I went back to Apple Store and replaced my Ultra thinking I had a defective unit. However, new unit and same old problems.

Anyway, I’m more inclined to believe it’s poor hardware/software interface. It’d be weird Apple having a different software running on 8 Series and Ultra. They might share the same software, but the weight/size/shape of the Ultra may requires a different solution (maybe even hardware…not sure if it’s the same as 8 Series).


Below Heart Readings from my last 20 minutes run and a fast pace walk at the end. Difference is abismal. Running it got just a bit more than 4 minutes readings.




I loved the Ultra: concept, design, features; and I was so looking forward to go diving with it. But there’s no point of having an outdoor smartwatch that can’t monitor heart beats.

Now it’s time to return the Ultra again and decide if I move to a 8 Series or other brands, because it’s pretty clear Apple is not concerned at all on fixing this problem. Apple isn’t the same anymore and I’m on the ecosystem since 2009!

Dec 3, 2023 12:19 PM in response to OmriShpigel

So as many of you have posted, i never had this issue with my series 6 however after upgrading to the ultra 2 a couple lonths ago the heart rate is all over the place on my runs However not all my runs. Sometimes its fine and reads perfect after the first few mins others it wont read for 10-20 mins then when it does it says im at 175Bpm and i am definitely not. I run 3 times a week one short run 5km and hill sprints and it seems to read my heart rate fine. One is a 10-15km and this is all over the place sometimes it reads it sometimes it doesn’t, and the one long run of 20km plus and it seems to be finef for the most part. Looking back thru my runs there is no pattern sometimes its fine sometimes its not and i wear the watch the same and the temp is consistent where i live. This is a bit disappointing considering the price of the watch.

Jan 10, 2023 8:03 AM in response to OmriShpigel

Hi everybody,

I know all of you are frustrated about the Apple Watch not being able to read your heart rate sometimes while working out, well after about two weeks of talking everyday with Apple support we have a conclusion and it’s a scientific one.


Apple’s heart rate sensors are one of the most advanced sensors in the world for a wrist watch and they read your heart rate using the veins on your wrist.

when you begin a run you’re cold which means your veins aren’t popped out yet which makes it difficult for the every wrist workout watch to indicate what your heart rate is. When being in a lower temperature area such as running outdoors it’s likely that in the couple first minutes of the workout your heart rate won’t be read because your body is still cold therefor your veins didn’t pop yet (this happens mostly in the winter and depends on where you live) I’ve talked with friends who own Garmin’s and Suunto’s and they’re experiencing the same problem too because of cold weather.


Please be advised that every person is different then the other and some people take longer time to warm up either because they’re more in shape and running a couple minutes won’t warm them up or that’s just how your body is.


What I can advise you before you contact Apple about a problem like this is to make a run indoors where it’s hotter then your outside temperature and run on a treadmill and you’ll be able to see that the Watch reads your heart rate easily, just make sure it’s strapped on as Apple advised while working out.

Feb 26, 2023 3:31 AM in response to Riccardo Corbari

Hi, I recently upgraded from an apple watch series 6 to an ultra and.... having the same problems as reported in this thread. I noticed that the series 6 did initially get a little stuck on runs, especially at the beginning but then settled down to a correct recording after about 10 minutes.

The ultra is having real problems.. either not recording anything or getting stuck at a high level over 160 or sometimes 170. If I walk for a minute it comes back to normality but then ramps straight back up again. It's not my actual heart rate as I can varify from checking my pulse with my fingers - which indicate somewhere between 120-140 which exactly how I feel it is from experience.

I've tried the unparing and turning options on and off as stated confidently in various forums. I was using strava so today I tried the apple native app but with the same results.

It doesn't matter if I'm sweating or that my wrist is covered or uncovered, on my left wrist of right.

After investing a load of money on this, I'm hoping that a software upgrade or something like this will fix it.

What next? Shave the hair off my wrist to see if that's the problem?

Jul 17, 2024 5:52 AM in response to OmriShpigel

I'm wondering if this issue has been fixed yet. Do we know is it hardware or the workout app? The only consolation with this bug is even if it doesn't display my current heartrate on the watch, it still seems to calculate it in the background. The only problem is, if I suddenly go into an unsafe range, I have no idea, which is really bad. I agree with the others that the HR seems to disappear once it's rising rapidly, and around 135 BPM. It's so frustrating. I refuse to buy another apple watch until I'm sure this has been remedied. I'm hoping someone has an update as to the current status of this issue.

May 23, 2023 2:59 AM in response to santosped

Unfortunately WatchOS 9.5 doesn't fix this problem.


Here's two activities (cycling) over the last two days where no reading was shown for some time:


And here's one (hiking) where at the beginning of the workout a high heart rate is shown that suddenly drops to "normal" though I have started to pump up the heart rate:


So problem still exists. I am afraid it is a hardware issue.


Aug 26, 2023 9:02 AM in response to Kakinou

I have tried everything I’ve read in a nutshell explain what I can do.? The only way I have been able to keep my heart rate working through an entire workout is to slowly steadily increase the intensity unfortunately not all my workouts are like that typically after my warm up when I try to increase the intensity rapidly is when it glitches out . I have to stop for 10 or 15 + seconds and by then the heart rate has dropped . It can go through all levels but only if I slowly increase the intensity but even then sometimes it glitches out.

Feb 17, 2023 12:47 AM in response to OmriShpigel

I must answer at least 50 questions a day and I have no memory of what you think I reported, but the decision to remove is entirely down to the moderators.

This forum (according to the ToU) is for

  • Questions about using apple products
  • Responses from other members
  • Personal experiences of members that may help a resolution.


Keep suggesting safe remedies and personal experiences within the ToU and you will not be moderated.

Make any complaints to https://apple.com/feedback


Oct 3, 2023 12:38 AM in response to Sascha Monteiro

No, it’s not resolve and I’m sure it’s a hardware issue. However, when I wear the watch face facing inside, I will not face any issue, as mentioned by someone on this forum. The issue (stop measuring heart rate for some time or high heart rate above 200) will only surface when I wear the watch normally facing outside during run.

Jul 7, 2024 7:47 AM in response to OmriShpigel

Today I did my 1st workout with my new Apple Series 9 watch. I had the same issue. It tracked my heart rate only sometimes during the workout. I was hoping that this intermittent problem was just a glitch with the older Series 5 that I owned for a few years. Alas, Apple still hasn’t fixed this problem in the Series 9. With my Series 5 watch, I tried all the possible settings and adjusted the strap. Nothing solved it.

Jan 10, 2023 11:22 PM in response to OmriShpigel

HI OmriShpigel and thanks for all you are doing to fix this.


In my trainings I don't see correlation between temperature and better readings, here you can see two examples, one running in 6ºC and quite good readings, and other running in 15ºC and very few readings.


The only correlation that I can see is with speed/movement: The faster I go, the poor readings


Apple Watch Ultra Heart Rate During Workout

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