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My Apple Watch sensor burns

I’ve had my watch for over 2 years and have only recently started getting burn marks on my arm from wearing it. I wear my watch every day and use it for tracking exercise and movement. I’m so disappointed I can’t wear it


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Apple Watch SE

Posted on Aug 6, 2023 1:03 AM

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Posted on Dec 8, 2023 4:57 AM

This happened to me too for the first time last night! I‘ve been wearing my watch for almost 3 years now and it is the first time this happened.


I am quite experienced with dermatitis etc, but this is very clearly and visibly a burn mark. Plus I woke up during the night when it happened and felt that my watch was very hot. My skin turned leathery over the reddened part. It is burning and frankly, I find it annoying that there are commenters in this feed dismissing what people are writing about their injuries. There are 55 people atm who clicked the me too button, so this seems to be a prevalent and frequent issue.

I am hoping this was a one off incident with my watch, but I won‘t be wearing it anymore during the night, in case it does happen again. It took me a while to wake up and notice it and my mark is pretty bad now. It looks like it will leave a scar.

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Question marked as Best reply

Dec 8, 2023 4:57 AM in response to katfromrothwell

This happened to me too for the first time last night! I‘ve been wearing my watch for almost 3 years now and it is the first time this happened.


I am quite experienced with dermatitis etc, but this is very clearly and visibly a burn mark. Plus I woke up during the night when it happened and felt that my watch was very hot. My skin turned leathery over the reddened part. It is burning and frankly, I find it annoying that there are commenters in this feed dismissing what people are writing about their injuries. There are 55 people atm who clicked the me too button, so this seems to be a prevalent and frequent issue.

I am hoping this was a one off incident with my watch, but I won‘t be wearing it anymore during the night, in case it does happen again. It took me a while to wake up and notice it and my mark is pretty bad now. It looks like it will leave a scar.

Oct 16, 2023 6:42 PM in response to katfromrothwell

I have had an Apple Watch for years and my current watch for well over a year. Suddenly the watch is making my wrists very sore, it looks like it’s burning my skin. It gets itchy and develops little blisters that seep. I switched wrists and it started doing it to the other wrist. I have seen other posts about this but no explanations as to why. I don’t think I’m going to be able to wear my watch anymore. I’m very disappointed as I track my steps, exercise and sleep. Any help out there?

Nov 16, 2023 2:31 AM in response to katfromrothwell

This has happened to me. I sent my watch off and apple say there is nothing wrong with the watch. I did a fresh install/set up of the watch and it still burnt my arm again! I believe it is from the green LED light on the underside of the watch. Every time my arm is burnt this light is flashing like crazy. If you are experiencing this too. Then its likely the problem. Also it only started happening since the watch 10.0 update. So definitely an update problem. Apple just wont admit it.

Dec 8, 2023 10:19 AM in response to IdrisSeabright

I actually did show it to a dermatologist and he agreed that it was a thermal burn. My burn is minor because I took the watch off once I noticed the heat - others I‘ve seen on this feed look pretty bad. That is a major issue for apple. It‘s also very clear that it came from the sensor, when you look at my burn. Dermatitis does not usually have such a clear cut boundary to the inflammation.

I don‘t think it‘s very helpful that you keep commenting on almost every post for people to go and see a doctor. It‘s unusual to go to the doctor because of a first to second degree burn and people are commenting on this feed to tell and show other people that they had the same experience and thereby we can show that this is not a one off case and Apple should do something about it. I don‘t want to stop wearing my watch but I also don‘t want to risk getting burned again. Best case is they look into it and find a solution for it. Dismissive comments don‘t help.

Btw, I work for a dermatologist, I see skin burns and dermatitis every single day. I know whar a burn wound looks like.

Dec 14, 2023 7:33 AM in response to katfromrothwell

Have been wearing my Apple Watch for over 1.5 years. Last night I awoke with pain and burning on my wrist. At first I thought ant bites or irritation from the band, but when I took the watch off I found a well demarcated area of erythema with a central area of small blisters also in a well defined pattern. I am a radiation oncologist so I have seen lots of skin reactions in the past 30 years and this is not the result of insect or chemical exposure. Seems to be due to energy deposition from the sensor.

Dec 13, 2023 6:47 AM in response to IdrisSeabright

You are constantly telling people not to wear the watch and to go and see a doctor. Neither of these are constructive or helpful responses (people will already know if they need to see a doctor or not), and you continue to post exactly the same comment over and over. If you have nothing constructive to add, please refrain from commenting, as it really does not help the other people in the community who have general concerns about the Apple Watch that they have paid a lot of money for.

Dec 13, 2023 9:18 AM in response to MrHoffman

Thank you for your reply.


I have visited my doctor, and he has said that as I literally have no other marks anywhere that it is highly likely to have been caused by the watch. I have moved it to the other wrist for now. I had tried cleaning the watch, I did this regularly anyway, but it made no difference. I also never said it was burn.


However, as I said in my initial post, I have worn an Apple Watch for a number of years and have never had anything like this appear. I don't wish to have medical advice from community members, what I really want to know is if Apple have made a change in the heart rate monitoring, because there are a number of people presenting with the same issue on their wrists and which have only just started happening recently. So perhaps Apple need to investigate or at least let us know the number of people who are presenting with this, albeit minor, issue.

Aug 6, 2023 4:21 AM in response to katfromrothwell

If you are feeling the watch is hot on your wrist (or generally hot to touch) a genuine heat burn is possible, but relatively unlikely because the watch battery is only small and does not really have enough power to make the watch hot for long enough to cause burning. You would certainly notice if this was happening, because making the watch hot would discharge the battery fairly quickly and you would be complaining about battery life.


It is more likely you have become sensitive to something in the watch or watch band, or possibly some kind if irritant like a soap or detergent trapped under the watch and not easily rinsed away. Take a look at this support document, and if you are unsure then consult your doctors who can look at the relevant arm with their own eyes.

Wearing your Apple Watch - Apple Support


Sep 8, 2023 4:15 PM in response to katfromrothwell

At night a red light comes on when the watch is monitoring sleep, it checked your pulse. There isn’t any heat or burning feeling but it does leave a burn. I put a bandage on my arm and the watch kept losing contact with my skin and acting like I had taken it off, by asking for the code . This is about the third time I have gotten one of these burns.

Dec 22, 2023 3:33 AM in response to katfromrothwell

I encountered a similar situation. The day after, I reached out to Apple, and our call lasted 56 minutes. They asked numerous questions and requested photos of my burned wrist. After that call, we scheduled another for two days later, and it just concluded. I was disheartened by how their investigation unfolded. They seemed unwilling to acknowledge that the issue stemmed from their product. From the outset, I explicitly mentioned that I wasn't seeking compensation; rather, I wanted them to be aware. As a concerned citizen who's noticed many teenagers and adults wearing Apple Watches, the safety of all users should be a priority. Unfortunately, Apple doesn't seem inclined to take responsibility for their customers. It's truly disappointing.

Dec 13, 2023 8:00 AM in response to nfshirley

nfshirley wrote:

I have this exact same problem that has only just appeared. …recently I have started to experience these small marks on my wrist underneath where I wear the watch.


That's certainly not overtly presenting as a thermal or radiation burn. That looks more like dermatitis or another skin reaction, but I’m also not a medical provider. Causes of dermatitis and irritations can include a mild allergic reaction, or can involve moisture and any of various skin fauna, or skin irritation due to chafing, or a mixture of these or other causes.


Superficial or partial-thickness burns and particularly those due to contact usually look, well, different from that.


Best approach here is a discussion with a medical provider. They have far more experience and training, and have access to various treatments if and as needed.


If you prefer to not get a medical consult, other options can involve cleaning both the Watch back and the skin, and then drying both throughly, and quite probably removing the Watch until that issue or irritation heals, or switching the Watch to the other wrist while that wrist heals. Check the tension on the band, as well. Both too loose and too tight can be bad.


For what Apple suggests for reducing or avoiding skin irritations, and for cleaning Apple Watch:

How to clean your Apple Watch - Apple Support




My Apple Watch sensor burns

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