Apple Watch Ultra Heart Rate During Workout

I mean, it does not track HR at all sometimes. Also, that would be one of the main use scenarios for a sport watch no? It's a 700$+ watch, I bought the 2 as well hoping it would fix that issue specifically.

FYI, as an iOS developer, I received way more than 25$ in settlements, in two different occasions, due to Apple unfair policies. More importantly, a class action would bring this to Apple attention so we might get an Ultra 3 with HR tracking as good as the AW regular series.

I tried different straps and it didn't help, what is the 40$ strap that solves the issue?

I agree it’s a fail. I’ve run nearly 15 marathons and wanted this to replace my garmin for my easy runs. So I bought the ultra instead of the regular watch when I replaced my series 4. But I’ve concluded it’s useless as you have to, so I wear the HRM strap and have given up on testing.

[Edited by Moderator]

Wow. Apple edited my post, and notified me that I violated community rules. They removed my feedback on a potential class action. I didn’t see anything rude, disparaging or inflammatory or inappropriate. What’s up with that?

If they are seeing our comments, why not have someone on the hardware team respond and engage with us, rather than cancel comments they disagree with. Two years of raising the issue and we get no help, but they don’t like comments and they cancel. That’s just not right.

As for the strap, I don’t recall which one I got, but any basic Bluetooth one on Amazon is fine. No point in me sharing a link, the moderator will just erase it.

Hey moderator - can I share a link to the heart rate monitor strap I bought to work along side the watch? Needed it since the one built into the watch doesn’t work during exercise. Kindly advise, thank you.

I ran 17 minutes on my treadmill, inside my house, before my watch picked up my heart rate. I'm convinced this has to do with the spike of low to high and nothing to do with temperature. It happens to me all the time and I am an indoor runner.

I read all the comments as I have the same issue with my Ultra watch.

the only one that works for me is the explanation of when the body is cold the connection between watch and body is not quick.

my issue is at the gym and when I swim both situation my body is cold.

the heart monitor works ok when I walk or bike.

I also noticed when I am in an electrical machine at gym and holding the heart rate monitor of the machine it takes few minutes before it can read the pulse.

I also talk to my daughter who works at a hospital and mentioned some of their instruments don’t work as well when the patient body is cold.

I think I found my answer. Thank you.

I’ve done another run with a new sports watch strap from Nomad and it tracked my heart all round my run. So I can only imagine as it’s a lot stiffer and less movement on my wrist…? It picks up my heart rate better.

I have experienced the same and concluded that when body is cold the watch tries to connect but it takes a while to connect to vein and read an accurate heart beat.

this is more happening in swimming and gym (when it is colder). When hiking or biking specifically in warmer weather this does not happen.

please comment.

This colder weather theory has to be false I workout indoors and warm up before each workout and it only malfunctions when my heart rate moves up quickly as I increase my intensity. Then you have to stop and it catches up but then your heart rate drops. So what’s the purpose of trying to do any cardiovascular training? I’ve found if you buy the sweat bands available on Amazon and place the watch above the biceps below the deltoid this works SOMETIMES but it’s not a true fix it a workaround which you should not have to do if you buy their premium watch at a premium price . Apple of course remains silent because to comment on the problem means there IS a problem and it needs to be resolved. I am very disappointed with their lack of response to what is a prevalent issue. I even traded in my Ultra for the Ultra 2 hoping they had done something , no such luck. It still has the same issues.

No matter what I try the Ultra 2 or the series 9 that I own are not consistent with the hear-rate readings during my workout. At least 3 or 4 times or. more during every workout it is not recording heart rate or time in the exercise mode. Yesterday for no particular reason it stopped 5 + times ! . Just to get to the 30 minutes exercise threshold I had to workout 55 minutes. When it stops recording I have to stop all movement and wait for it to “catch up” causing my heart rate to drop. It is very frustrating. I payed for their top of the line I expected it to function as it was designed! I had the same problem with my Ultra 1 I got a replacement through AppleCare but the new one was worse. So I traded it up for the Ultra 2 (at a loss) hoping Apple would have corrected the issue. However I guess they will not even admit it is an issue all you get from them is silence 😐. I guess if they admit it was an issue they would have to correct it with some kind of software or hardware “fix”. I know they have to be aware of it I am far from the only one with this problem. I tried all the “fixes” but nothing resolves the issue. However should I have to try to fix it ? With amount of issues Apple is experiencing are we seeing a decline in quality of their products and services ? Is Apple slipping? Do they care about their customers? You always paid more for Apple products but they were always of good quality. I was an early adopter of Apple products from the IPhone 3 to the Apple Watch Series 1 and several iPads. I feel my issue has not been dealt with correctly or even acknowledged. I wonder how everyone else feels or have any options that I have not looked into.

I have experienced tha same problem with the Ultra 1. I even had apple send a replacement but it was even worse during my wokout for no particular reason the heart rate monitor "glitches" out and this affects my activity ring and my exercise minutes. Apple know's this is a problem but seem totally unconcerned about correcting it. Typical Apple response. I bought an Ultra 2 hoping that it would be corrected with the newer edition that was a waste of money because the Ultra 2 is just as bad. It is affecting my workouts in significant way. I have tried all the fixes checked all the settings move it up my arm etc. The only way is to stop and wait 20-30 seconds form the hear rate monitor to "catch up" and by that time you heart rate ha s dropped significantly. My last workout I had to workout 65 minutes just to get 30 minutes of exercise time recorded on my watch and complete my activity ring. The heart rate going in and out the whole time. If the heart rate monitor is not recording you are not getting calories burned or exercise minutes. So that's just the way it is. Is it me or is Apple slipping? I could get a replacement but would that do any good? i doubt it.

My last solution before I give up sell my watch and buy a Garmin is I have bought a Coros heart rate monitor it has not been deliver yet. I will bluetooth with my watch but will it affect my activity ring or my exercise minutes on the watch? Does anybody know the answer to this question? If you do please let me know. I'd greatly appreciate it. Thank you

I have experienced tha same problem with the Ultra 1. I even had apple send a replacement but it was even worse during my wokout for no particular reason the heart rate monitor "glitches" out and this affects my activity ring and my exercise minutes. Apple know's this is a problem but seem totally unconcerned about correcting it. Typical Apple response. I bought an Ultra 2 hoping that it would be corrected with the newer edition that was a waste of money because the Ultra 2 is just as bad. It is affecting my workouts in significant way. I have tried all the fixes checked all the settings move it up my arm etc. The only way is to stop and wait 20-30 seconds form the hear rate monitor to "catch up" and by that time you heart rate has dropped significantly. My last workout I had to workout 65 minutes just to get 30 minutes of exercise time recorded on my watch and complete my activity ring. The heart rate going in and out the whole time. If the heart rate monitor is not recording you are not getting calories burned or exercise minutes. So that's just the way it is. Is it me or is Apple slipping? They have to know it's a probelm but they are offreing no solutions. I paid a premium price for their premium watch TWICE and it is not a premium product. I could get a replacement but would that do any good? I doubt it.

My last solution before I give up and sell my watch and buy a Garmin is I have bought a Coros heart rate monitor it has not been delivered yet. I will bluetooth with my watch but will it affect my activity ring or my exercise minutes on the watch? Does anybody know the answer to this question? If you do please let me know. I'd greatly appreciate it. Thank you

This is clearly a problem. (there are others with the ultra such as it being difficult to activate Siri without saying “hey siri,” something I never had trouble with on my 7).

BUT, I have solved it (mostly). 

When exercising I wear the watch a bit higher on my arm (away from wrist). 

I wear my band very tight. I also found a third party band that is modeled on the trail loop but is a bit more stretchy. 

Though I have "fixed" the problem, this might be the last Ultra that I buy 

Chris

This watch is so bad! I thought i had sorted it by turning watch off and on and cleaning the back and my wrist before i run but even this doesn’t work all the time. Super Expensive and cant give u a constant heart rate. Cant read the HR or gives me a reading way above what it is but the minute i stop running it goes straight back down to normal. And this ‘its the temperature’ rubbish as my last run it was fine for 50 mins then recalibrates and shoots up to 175+ and how tight it is absolute nonsense also. Poor product!!

Same issue here, no heart rate at the beginning of my runs. My fix: stop running after the first 500 meters, pause the running app, and wait till your watch picks up your heart rate after half a minute or so. This works for me but it is a massive annoyance.

I am sure it is software related because it was not his bad before the latest update. I wish I could go back to my trusted Garmin, but even that one had some heart rate issues now and then. It's just one of those things I guess. Hoping the next update fixes this issue.

I have had this problem from the beginning. My old Apple Watch S4 never suffered from this.

I can only put it down to the fact that the Ultra is much bulkier and heavier than the standard version.

I now do all my runs with a chest strap which works perfectly every time. This is the only guaranteed fix I can suggest.