Apple Watch Ultra Heart Rate During Workout

Having complained about my ultra for about one month after buying it regarding the failure of reading my heart rate during my running exercises I somehow managed to keep the sensor running by doing these two steps: first one I fastened firmly the watch band on my wrist and second , before starting to run, pressed the side button and waited not only for the gps location but also for the heart rate to be steady ( heart picture to be fully red)! I don’t know if this help others but it worked for me! For enabling this feature you have to go to settings -> workout and then enable precision start option!

Hope it helps!

Hi cristiand9,

cristiand9 wrote:

Having complained about my ultra for about one month after buying it regarding the failure of reading my heart rate during my running exercises I somehow managed to keep the sensor running by doing these two steps: first one I fastened firmly the watch band on my wrist and second , before starting to run, pressed the side button and waited not only for the gps location but also for the heart rate to be steady ( heart picture to be fully red)! I don’t know if this help others but it worked for me! For enabling this feature you have to go to settings -> workout and then enable precision start option!

I have tried it today and I first thought that it solved it. It unfortunately didn't.

Today it was sunny and 10°C. When I started the workout manually, heart rate was at 95 and slowly went up to 125. So far so good.

But then after maybe 200 meters, same thing happened: Heart rate field grayed out and not showing any reading. Another 500 meters further heart rate showed again and continued to show.

However I have now lost trust whether the heart rate is ever recorded correctly.

And as this is the only thing the Apple Watch can do, which an iPhone can't – measure heart rate – the Ultra is just not fit for the job.

I really hope that this is "just" a software bug. I am afraid it is a hardware limitation of the sensor of the Ultra, which would mean Apple can never fix it. And yes, I am disappointed.

I have updated, but haven't had a run yet. I will note that after moving the watch further up my arm the problem has gone away, but it is annoying to have to push it to a slightly unnatural position to record my heart rate without issues...

I spoke to Apple Care and they did a thorough diagnosis on my watch. No hardware issues. They suggested I wear the watch a bit further up the wrist. I already wear it above the wrist bone, right where I wore my Garmin. So I moved it up a bit, maybe 1/2" or so. Having done that I have no more issues with the heart rate monitor not working during a run. It may take a minute to kick in once I've started the workout, although usually not, but then it works just fine.

So my suggestion is to move it up on your wrist, not a lot, and try it. Solved the problem for me.

Does it works on latest update 9.4?

I have the feeling that it is better, so 200-300 meters with strange readings instead of 600-900 meters, but it is still not solved.

Look at your heart rate readings, for me they show a solid line the first 200-300 meters now, so not reading constantly.

The problem I still have is that the Watch Ultra "pretends" to measure heart rate and doesn't. So how much trust do I have that it reads my heart rate correctly the rest of the run?

I suspect that the measurement data is really not so easy to just "measure". It's not like there's a electrical binary TTL pulse that one can just count! An earlier tip from someone was to use the finger on the crown at the start to get the more regular updated measurements started just before starting. That might help the watch keep track. Anyway, if 9.4 is better, I'm looking forward to the next run as soon as my legs have recovered from the 21k on Sunday.

It is 100% a software issue. I bought the Ultra when it came out and there was no such problem for the first months until recently, January or February or so.

I tried all the things mentioned here, wearing it on the inside of the wrist instead of outside, have it more lose or extremely tight, it makes no difference at all.

It seems the sensor gets stuck on getting a reading.

I can tell when I take the watch off, the 2 green lasers (or whatever it is) keep flashing forever. Normally, when you take the watch off, they stop after 2 seconds since the watch recognizes it is no longer worn.

What sometimes helps, but not consistently is turning the watch off and on again.

It happens for me in all kind of workouts. Running is the most annoying, since I really need to know which zone / heart rate i am at. Same happens when rowing, Yoga and even walking.

I even started training without the watch and just go by "feeling".

This cannot be the expectation to a $1,000 watch!

Apple please fix this crap. I am literally thinking of selling it, the only thing that keeps me from it is that I am "living" in the Apple-Ecosystem for 15+ years now.

Hello,

I also have the same problems with the heart rate recording when running and I also think that it is 100% a software problem! With my AW5 from 2019 it worked perfectly until the AW was updated (unfortunately I don’t remember which version).

The problem is the same with the AW ultra right from the start...

The Ultra is my 3rd apple watch and the only one I haver ever experienced HR issues with. I like everyone have tried everything and now about 30 bands. My opinion for whats its worth is the watch is too heavy and therefore moves around too much on the wrist during a workout especially running even when you have the band at the recommended tightness. Ive looked into other watches as I'm in the US Triathlon team so HR is training is extremely important to me. The consistent factor including my previous apple watches is their weight. They are significantly lighter and therefore don't move around on your wrist as much during a workout. I absolutely love my Ultra watch but have resorted to wearing a HR strap until hopefully apple can fix the issue but I'm not confident it is in fact a software issue that can be fixed. My option is to go back to a previous version of the watch to use specially for training. I hope this helps and trust me it has almost driven me mad

ps Ive sent my watch back to apple twice to be checked and the issue remains. Sorry team.

Same problem here with my Ultra: At start of the run (native App) it takes about 5-10 minutes to get a reading. Afterwards the reading is unusually high (~160-170bpm, it should be 110-120bpm). When I then take the watch off and on again it usually works. I run with a Garmin watch simultaneously, no problems there...

So it is definitely not connected to too much hair.

"...My opinion for whats its worth is the watch is too heavy and therefore moves around too much on the wrist during a workout especially running even when you have the band at the recommended tightness..."

I don't own an Ultra but from what I see on the forum i am beginning to form that opinion too. A 40mm SE is better for running for that reason.

Although I don’t have an Ultra, I’ve experienced this problem on my Series 3, 6, and now 8. My hypothesis is that it occurs when I’m doing high movement activities such as gravel biking, mountain biking, and as of today pickle ball. Typically, I’ll look down and see that it is trying to take the heart rate unsuccessfully for several minutes. As someone else mentioned if you stop or slow the wrist movement it is able to catch on and get the reading again. Sometimes, I leave the workout app and actually go to the heart rate app which ‘resets’ the measurement. This works about 80% of the time to get the measurement on track.

Interestingly, sometimes it works fine throughout workout… haven’t figured out what triggers it. I usually as about half have posted have issues in the middle 50% of the workout, not at the start.

I totally agree, previous Apple watches had some problem at the start of a run but the Ultra is an absolute disaster. This is not ok, positioning the Ultra as the best sports watch for extreme sports and not even being able to track basic HR when it's a bit cold.

By the way it's notr only when it's cold, I ran a marathon few weeks ago, the issue lasted for the entire marathon and it wasn't cold.

I have issues with hart rate in 80% of my runs. It makes the Ultra absolutely useless for a runner or any other sport.

I don't buy that. My series 4 worked flawlessly and my new series 8 drops HR like yours does. If their explanation were true, then why does it pick up the heart rate just fine at the start when you are cold, but then stop at the exact same time, and return after the same time interval on every exercise? Mine stops exactly as yours does... shortly after the work out starts, then picks up after about one minute. This does this every time, regardless of the intensity of my work out. Stops the exact same amount of time into the work out, and the amount of time it is not reporting is the same every time. Based on their logic, the watch wouldn't pick up HR at all until after you warm up... which is obviously not true. So if its reading HP fine at the start of your workout and your veins get bigger as you exercise, it should continue to read with no problems. This seems like another glitch apple doesn't want to admit to.