VO2 max not updating on Apple Watch since October 2025

Hi, so I’ve had the exact same issue as you since ios26 came out and have been in regular contact with Apple for a while.

I’ve done some investigating and it appears it’s mainly affecting series 7 owners only.

The Apple engineers didn’t seem interested in my findings and have brushed them off which I find unacceptable while paying monthly for Apple Care + for a device that isn’t working correctly.

i am very sports orientated so the V02 max readings are important to me.

Our only hope is that they fix it in a software update, however ios26 has been out for a long time now and it hasn’t been addressed so I can’t see it being a priority.

So…. That leaves us with 3 options.

1. Stay with series 7 and accept no Vo2 readings
2. upgrade to a newer series, it appears only series 7 is affected.
3. Change brand and go with Garmin etc.

It is not limited to Series 7. I have series 8, my watch is also not recording Vo2max after November 4, 2025. Have contacted Apple support, no solution yet. Have been recording workouts since last 7 years now but this kind of vo2max recording being stopped suddenly has never happened before. I did hard reset both my iPhone and watch several times including setting up as a fresh watch without restoring from backup. No effect. I’m a regular runner and only do outdoor runs so there is no problem like what kind of workouts are eligible for recording. Very disappointing. Have had 3 updates since watchOS 26 came out. So far no solution to this problem.

On your watch check settings > battery. If you have a message « battery health service recommended » I think they can change your watch for free if you have apple care

Hi,

I have exactly the same problem, for me since end of september, I guess it’s when I updated to ios26.

I tried lot of things but nothing change, and support didn’t find the problem yet.

which watch do you have ? I have a serie 7.

I will try something I read today, doing the exercice with the airplane mode for the watch then sync with iphone after.

also lot of people fixed vo2max problem by adding a manual data, same than last time, on the cardio fitness.

I hope we will find a solution soon

edit : you have also a serie 7, I didn’t see it

It’s been reported since ios26 was released, Apple know it’s a series 7 issue (I was told this by a senior advisor at Apple) but there has been many many software updates since then (including beta’s) and they haven’t fixed it.

Bit the bullet and bought an Apple Watch Ultra 3 and guess what, it worked straight away.

Apple telling me my workout logs weren’t a steady heart rate because some of them had a slight uphill gradient and that my heart rate needed to be level throughout was clearly lies.

Terrible customer support from Apple engineers for people who have been paying Apple care + for years on their watch.

AppleCare+

I spent more than 1h with the support today. They checked everything but they have no idea. At the end they make a diagnostic of my apple watch and said the battery is used. So they asked me to go at the genius bar to check the battery. They wanted to change the watch for 100$. They cannot change the battery so they sell refurbished watch.

I said no, I will talk with support again, because it’s not a hardware problem, cardio fitness is algorithm based.

Another Apple Watch 7 user here with same issue of no v02 max readings since October 2025.

I’ve been in contact with Apple and sent the engineers the data logs of workouts they had requested. They called me today to say they don’t know why it isn’t working and left it at that. I’m beyond annoyed as I’ve been paying for Apple care since day 1.

Rebel_diamond wrote:

So…. That leaves us with 3 options.

Stay with series 7 and accept no Vo2 readings

2. upgrade to a newer series, it appears only series 7 is affected.

3. Change brand and go with Garmin etc.

4 . Report it and wait https://apple.com/feedback

You definitely are somehow being paid by the Apple. I’ve seen you brushing these complaints off in several discussion forums. I don’t want to blame but it is quite openly evident from your behaviour in multiple forums. Please don’t do this, people are reporting their genuine issues here. Be considerate and let Apple acknowledge this issue.

I tried to delete the last two values, add a new one manualy, and walk in airplane mode, but still the same problem.

Report at every sub-release