Apple Watch Ultra Heart Rate During Workout

I don’t know if it’s the Ultra’s size because I have quite slim wrists, but my AW7 NEVER DID THIS. The only solution is a chest strap or turning the watch around to your inner wrist when you run which works but not perfectly

I’m new to the Ultra club (Ultra 2) and am VERY frustrated with the HR monitor issues. I retuned one and am on my second one now and the problem is even worse. My Series 7 does a MUCH better job. The problem for me is during runs (which make up the bulk of my exercise time). I talked to Apple support when I had my First Ultra 2 and the specialist told me to try wearing it higher on my wrist. This doesn’t really work for me because no matter how tightly I wear it it always, during runs, moves toward the wrist bone. I also like to have the digital crown facing my wrist bone and my guess is that it is the crown protector hitting up agains the wrist bone that is the source of the problem. (that said, I tried a run with the digital crown facing the other way and the results were only marginally better). This morning I was researching independent HR monitors and then thought: this is ridiculous. My $799 watch should be able to do this on its own! I fear I will have to return it and see what next year brings.

Hello,

I have had my Ultra 2 now for almost 2 months now. I don’t run; I row for cardio. My first workout was problematic (not recording heart, and I posted that in this forum). Since then, I have been more intentional about making sure the watch was tight and in contact with my arm. I can’t say it’s been flawless since then, but close to it. There have been a few short gaps missing.

So, my hypothesis is this: I think the large size of the watch can prevent good wrist contact and thus heart rate recording. And my guess would be that it is worse when running compared to things like rowing, because there would be much more jostling in the former. And this may be most pronounced for those with smaller wrists. (My wrist is not super small, but it’s not large either.) So I wouldn’t put it as, “You’re wearing it wrong.” Rather, I would say it is a design flaw (or characteristic) related to the size of the device. And folks with smaller wrists should be aware. If this is true, then I’m not sure what could be done about it. Perhaps software tweaks could make the sensor more sensitive?

Anyway, I could be wrong about this, but it’s just a thought based on my experiences.

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 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.

can you send picture of the new positionof the watcg¡h in your arm?

Did you test it before or after updating to Watch OS 9.3?

Have tou updated tonthe latest Watch OS version? (9.4)

WatchOS 9.5 broke the heart rate tracker while running or training in the gym. Stays stuck at 120 like it can't get a proper reading, when it should be around 150. Quite annoying!

Today's run. Can't do it without a chest strap with the apple watch ultra. Sad.

Try running with your phone. It seemed to work for me. I've done about 3 4 mile runs and my heart rate seems to be consistently logged.

I'm on ios 9.5.2

So has anyone tried any other app apart from workout when doing runs ? Just to verify if it’s a hardware or software issue ?

I wear inward now during run, on right wrist, crown on left side.

This 100% worked for me. Watch 7 and I could never get consistent readings while running with tightening the strap on my wrist. But further up the forearm worked great. Thanks for the tip.