Apple Vision Pro is now available in the U.S.

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


[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Apple Watch SE

Posted on Aug 6, 2023 1:03 AM

Reply
Question marked as Best reply

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.

77 replies

Dec 13, 2023 11:43 AM in response to nfshirley

I just got a watch , the 3rd day I had it I tightened the band by 1 notch and got burnt ( red marks) on both wrists .

so i loosened it up 1 notch like I had it no more red marks.

but i also noticed the blood oxygen app the red light comes on the back of the watch and no light on the ecg app.

so i don’t take my blood oxygen anymore. I don’t have no breathing problems so no big deal.

no more burn marks.


to the people getting the marks are you using the blood oxygen app??

Dec 14, 2023 1:03 PM in response to tylerediva

tylerediva wrote:

It isn’t an allergic reaction though. I’ve had my ultra since it was released and it’s only now burning my skin. If it were an allergic reaction I would’ve been getting burned by it since it bought it. I only started getting burned since the last 3 updates

Allergies can arise at any time. I have a friend who made it all the way through medical school and residency and had no problems with latex gloves. She had an emergency c-section and went into anaphylaxis because of the latex in the operating room equipment.

Dec 22, 2023 3:55 AM in response to MsJ_xxiv

This is also my experience with apple too after my phone call with them. They asked if i was in any immediate danger, as soon as i said no. It seemed they couldn’t care any less and proceeded to end the call.


the watch was also sent off to their specialist repair centre and i was told nothing is wrong with the device and to wipe device just reinstall the update.

Dec 22, 2023 7:46 AM in response to setsailuk

setsailuk wrote:

This is also my experience with apple too after my phone call with them. They asked if i was in any immediate danger, as soon as i said no. It seemed they couldn’t care any less and proceeded to end the call.

the watch was also sent off to their specialist repair centre and i was told nothing is wrong with the device and to wipe device just reinstall the update.

What did your doctor say?

Dec 29, 2023 2:48 PM in response to katfromrothwell

If you are in the US and you feel like you have truly eliminated any other cause or effect (meaning you have went to your medical provider and eliminated the issue being due to a sudden allergy or contact dermatitis and that provider has stated {not guessed or said it *might be* or *looks like* a burn from the watch…a dermatologist would be able to definitively say it is a burn and definitively rule out other skin conditions or allergy via various test including a biopsy or skin sample test} then submit a report to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission via safe products.gov. Viewing a lot of the reports already done it appears that a large majority of people did not actually seek any medical diagnosis and self diagnosed what happened which honestly isn’t helpful and makes it much easier to assume various possible reasons for the issue. It’s not helpful because it all would still be a guessing game where people are wanting Apple to assume no other possibility exists solely based on a non-medical professionals self diagnosis of both severity as well as specific cause and outcome. So be very thorough. See a dermatologist or skin specialist for a record of the issue and professional diagnosis. Report the method of use (if you tend to wear your watch for extended times only removing it to charge or short periods….tend to sleep with it in regularly report that). Report any issues you noticed leading up to noticing the skin condition (if you felt the watch getting hot, if you felt tingling, if you continued to wear the watch despite noticing something different even if you thought it wasn’t a huge deal, etc). If you had an incident, stopped wearing the watch while the area healed, wore the watch again and the issue happened again report that (and document everything. Don’t guess or in hindsight think certain things had to happen because others said it did and their skin looks similar to yours). Just be as thorough as possible. And ultimately if you really think something is wrong STOP WEARING THE WATCH! Yes it is frustrating to not be able to continue using it like you want to but it’s reckless to continue to do so while still feeling adamant that the watch is responsible. It becomes complacent and almost like you are willing to continue exposing yourself to risk just so you can enjoy tracking features. It is never smart to intentionally continue subjecting yourself to risk if are convinced that you know that it’s something a manufacturer needs to address.


I haven’t experienced any of this so I can’t relate (and hope things stay that way) but I wouldn’t hesitate to do any of what I suggested.

Jan 2, 2024 3:49 PM in response to katfromrothwell

My husband's watch sensor has done the same thing. A giant circle burn right where the sensor of the watch sets. He's had it for over a year and a half and never has an issue but suddenly he can no longer wear it? Apple knows full well of this issue but does not do anything about it. Now I'm noticing my sensor is overheating more and affecting my wrist as well. So many others have had this issue. Such a shame.


[Edited by Moderator]

Jan 17, 2024 4:21 PM in response to katfromrothwell

For me, I had trouble with the watch, burning my arm in 2 places for about six weeks or so. I started wearing a rap single layer, stretch cloth on my arm and wearing my watch on top and that worked. I believe the cloth white off some sort of chemical, that was on the back of my watch when I bought it. I will admit, I’m not sure about that. Anyway, I do not have any problem at this time, do not wear anything to protect my skin and I wear my watch virtually 24/7. Believe me, if I had any kind of problem along these lines with my watch going forward I would be the first to let you know.

Jan 21, 2024 4:55 AM in response to katfromrothwell

I had thought it was just me and dermatitis until I saw this thread. I had exactly what people are saying here - been wearing an Apple Watch for over 3 years with no problems at all until suddenly one day last month I saw a massive red weal appear overnight. It’s taken over a month to heal and there’s still a red patch there.

The only thing I noticed was that the watch was unexpectedly nearly flat when I woke up so it does appear it drained the battery massively, which might fit with the sensor being stuck on full power.

Jan 21, 2024 5:36 AM in response to katfromrothwell

I bought one of the new watches in October. My wrist burns when I wear it, under the strap. I still have a mark a month after stopping wearing it. Apple told me to send it back to them but never gave me a correct address label so UPS won’t take it. I’ve sent numerous emails and have spent over £35 on calls to Apple. No idea what to do with it, I can’t wear it and have gone back to my Garmin. The times did an article about it yesterday but Apple wouldn’t comment!!

Jan 28, 2024 11:34 AM in response to chichi0528

I just received my Apple Watch (1-21-24) and have extreme irritation (I would call it a burn) from it only after a week of wearing it. I am disappointed as I wanted it to record my sleep and to record my movement. I have switched arms and locations through out the day and night trying to have it rest close yet not tight to record sleep patterns and walking patterns.

Does anyone know if you can wear a protective cloth to prevent more damage to the skin? Or is the only thing to do is to try to return the watch and chalk it up to my skin not tolerating it.

Can you get a refund of this is happening to your skin?

Any ideas will help.

Thanks



My Apple Watch sensor burns

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple ID.