Apple Watch SE sleep duration differs from iPhone Health app

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Level 1

4 points

Apple Watch SE sleep duration differs from iPhone Health app

Difference between sleep readings on Apple Watch and iPhone.

Hello all, I wear a watch SE (2nd gen) for sleep recording, and the data transfers to the health app on my iPhone 18 pro max. The issue that I have is on one of the three readings. The bedtime and Interruptions agree on watch and phone. It is the Duration that is the problem. Taking this morning as an example, on the watch, it was 27/50, with an overall rating as OK. on the phone, it reads 18/50 overall rating as Low. Am I correct in saying the phone should read the data transmitted by Bluetooth from the watch? If yes, why the difference in duration? I would appreciate any advice you can officer. Thanks in advance…. :-)

Apple Watch SE, watchOS 26

Posted on Sep 27, 2026 1:44 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

poonam_kumawat

Level 2

242 points

Sep 27, 2026 9:43 AM in response to Festwit

The Watch does send sleep data to the Health app, but Health can have multiple data sources and prioritises them. Check Health -> Sleep -> Show More Sleep Data -> Amounts, then check Data Sources & Access to see which source is being used.

If the Watch consistently shows the correct duration but Health shows something different, it may be a syncing/data-source issue.

More Info: Apple Support — Track your sleep

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Answer 2

Festwit Author

Level 1

4 points

Sep 27, 2026 10:20 AM in response to poonam_kumawat

Thanks Poonam, I’ve checked the device list and the SE is at the top, so I assume that it’s the priority device? The other two readings tally as I say, so it’s strange just the duration is affected. I’ve also tried unpairing and repairing but no difference. I do wear an ultra 3 during the day, but it’s on the charger at night, hence the SE.. I’ll keep working on it.. :-) many thanks and kind regards Festwit

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