RF spike coming from Apple Watch Ultra in airplane mode

Question

Level 1

5 points

RF spike coming from Apple Watch Ultra in airplane mode

Hi guys, I am a lecturer and use Apple products daily because I find them well suited to education and research.

I recently bought an Apple Watch Ultra because my second passion is hiking in harsh environments.

I had also wanted to use the Apple Watch Ultra for sleep monitoring (but I was adamant that it must NOT emit RF during the night).

I have done the following:

Ensure that both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are disabled in Airplane Mode
Ensure that "Find My" is disabled for both the watch and iphone
Ensure that Walkie-Talkie is disabled

However I am still reading a spike on RF monitoring equipment of around 80mW/m2 and this spike occurs at regular intervals of (approx.) 5 minutes.... the spike is definitely coming from the watch and disappears when the watch is switched off .... and there is no surrounding electromagnetic fields (Faraday cage).

Can anyone (or maybe an Apple support specialist) please advise me how this can be shut-off ...... if indeed, it can be disabled (by a setting or removal of an App).

I cannot find this matter addressed anywhere and I know that Apple engineers must be aware of it ..... please advise me (either publicly or privately) concerning the reason and possible solution for this RF spike

Thank you

Apple Watch Ultra, watchOS 9

Posted on Apr 29, 2023 11:58 AM

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Answer 1

Jan 19, 2024 12:29 PM in response to scientist246

As a Samsung Galaxy user for many years i was surprised at how my head felt 'different' after using both iPhones & AWU2 hence i returned them both .

1)NFC is always on, because hey Apple believe were not capable of remembering to switch it off.

2)Its got celluar built in (not bluetooth) & with multiband GPS which i believe is constantly wanting to be connected to HQ by any possible means. Definately something not right for me about using Apple iPhones and their watches they make my head feel hot and uncomfortable when i have bought and returned them.

Maybe its the antennas?

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Answer 2

makobowl

Level 1

9 points

Jan 19, 2024 7:16 PM in response to scientist246

update: my first RF reading on AW ultra was an error: the actual RF reading is roughly between 8.000-9.500 MW/m2 with airplane mode on (no wifi or cellular).

Apple Watch 6 reading is much lower at, roughly 2.000-3.000 MW/m2 so I end up wearing the AW 6 instead! Apple Watch Ultra uses a more powerful GPS so it’s sends out more RF

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Answer 3

Dah•veed

Level 9

66,487 points

Apr 29, 2023 1:02 PM in response to scientist246

Apple is not here. Apple doesn't answer questions here.

This is strictly a user-to-user support forum.

M1 Mac mini, macOS 13.3.1;  Watch, series 7 GPS/cellular, watchOS 9.4; iPad Pro 2nd Gen, iPadOS 16.4.1; iPhone 12 Pro, iOS 16.4.1; TV 4th Gen, tvOS 16.4.1; HomePods, audioOS 16.4.1 and Airport Express w/ Airplay 2

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Answer 4

scientist246 Author

Level 1

5 points

Apr 30, 2023 12:56 PM in response to Dah•veed

No..... GPS is only a receiver

It could possibly be linked to the SOS feature (Globalstar's satellite phone system), but that is only used in dire emergency to send a text message when out of reach of cellphone network.... the watch is not a standard satellite phone and would have no reason to broadcast a beacon 24/7 ..... plus it makes no sense ..... waste of battery power.

I tried to contact Apple directly but they don't seem to talk to their customers directly.

It appears I have to go through the Apple Authorized Distributor for my area..... I send them the above ..... they forward it to Apple ...... and if Apple decides to answer then they send their reply to the Distributor who communicates it to me.

The fact that there is NOTHING about this on internet ..... suggests that either..... 1. nobody has tested the watch in a communications lab .... or else 2. nobody cares.

But what is the actual PURPOSE of this beacon ? ...... is Apple secretly tracking the whereabouts of every single watch owner ? ..... and why ?

Such a short interval must be impacting battery life ...... imagine how long the battery would last if the user could simply turn it off ....

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Answer 5

scientist246 Author

Level 1

5 points

Apr 30, 2023 1:01 PM in response to Dah•veed

Well it is not as easy to talk to Apple as we might have hoped for.

Let's hope some other user(s) will see my message..... there must be one or two other users of Apple products with the know-how and equipment to confirm my findings 🙂

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Answer 6

Apr 30, 2023 1:02 PM in response to scientist246

As this is a user to user only forum and no one from Apple participates here and the fact 99.9999% of users on this forum, don't even know or have the ability to read RF from their devices, you'll likely not get the type of knowledge or assistance you seek here.

If you think there is an issue with your watch, the recommendation would be to schedule an appointment at your Apple Store Genius Bar and explain your concerns there. They may or may not have the equipment to test RF in an Apple Store.

Personally, I'm not particularly concerned about RF. We are exposed to it in our cars, in our homes, near our microwave ovens, our laptops, our iPhones. And there seem to be no health issue being reported of any significance.

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Answer 7

makobowl

Level 1

9 points

Jan 11, 2024 8:28 PM in response to scientist246

I have the same issue with my Apple Ultra watch Gen1. Its on airplane mode with WIFI turned off and not connected to the phone and when i put the watch under or on top or buttom of my EMF RF reader its reads consistently above 15.000 mw/m2 RF! That's toxic level.

I may have to stop wearing it :(

Will need to try measure my old apple watch and see if its lower but i gave it to my older brother. Next time when he's at my house can measure it...

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