Apple watch green activity ring not working

Hi

To credit progress towards your Exercise goal, the Activity app aims to identify activity that equals or exceeds the intensity of a brisk walk. This requirement applies both during general daily wear and when recording workouts via the Workout app.

Exercise credit is awarded for each minute during which this requirement is met. It is possible that, during your workouts, you either did not meet that requirement or only met it for part of the time.

The definition of a brisk walk varies from person to person and depends on your personal information. To check that this is accurate - and to update it over time:

On your iPhone, in the Watch app, go to: My Watch (tab) > Health > Edit - tap and adjust items, then tap on Done.

When recording fitness activities, be sure to use the Workout app (or a third-party app) and to select the relevant activity type. This enables your watch to use the most appropriate sensors and data sources when tracking results.

For example, with Apple Watch (first generation) and Series 1 models, the watch can access Location Services data from the paired iPhone if it is taken along during outdoor walking, running and cycling workouts. Series 2 has built-in GPS.

During general daily wear and when using the Workout app to record workouts when GPS data is either not relevant or not available (eg Indoor Walk), the Activity app and Workout app track your arm motion (measured by the accelerometer) when estimating results including pace and progress towards the Exercise goal.

For the best results, allow the arm on which you are wearing your watch to swing naturally as you move around during daily wear and to move as expected during workouts.

Calibrating your watch can improve the accuracy of estimations made by Activity app and Workout app. More information and instructions for calibrating your watch are available via the link below. The article also includes instructions for resetting existing calibration data and starting afresh. (Resetting your calibration data will not erase your Activity history).

If you would prefer to receive Exercise credit for the full duration of your workouts, regardless of their estimated intensity levels, track them via the Workout app using "Other" as the activity type. This will credit one minute of Exercise for each full minute of the workout. Active calories will be estimated at a rate equivalent to a brisk walk or based on data recorded by the heart rate sensor, whichever is higher. (Note that neither distance nor a route map are recorded under this workout activity type).

More information:

• Calibrating your Apple Watch for improved Workout and Activity accuracy - Apple Support
• Use the Activity app on your Apple Watch - Apple Support
• Use the Workout app on your Apple Watch - Apple Support

For assistance relating to use of HeartWatch, including in respect of any data syncing issues, I suggest that you consult the developer's support resources and/or contact the app developer:

• http://heartwatch.tantsissa.com/help
• appsupport@tantsissa.com

More information:

HeartWatch. Heart & Activity Monitor for Watch on the App Store

My Series 2 watch had always worked well with the activity rings, but starting this week with the new OS update (coincidentally) I started using the "Outdoor Walk" workout and I was getting no exercise credit. In the past, my only question with its reliability was rounding, e.g. does 1 minute, 55 seconds automatically become 1 minute. (Truncation.) All during the week the step count seemed fine, but walking became "non-exercise" whether I turned the workout mode on or not - also true while using another machine at the gym that always previously gave me exercise credit. I found this thread and also the "recalibrate your watch" page. Calibrating your Apple Watch for improved Workout and Activity accuracy - Apple Support

Good news is - I followed the second recommended step of resetting my calibration (the first recommendation did nothing) and I am back to logging exercise minutes!

I'm still having great success with this "fix"

I have been very frustrated by the same issue and had no success resolving it. At least not until today, I suspect that my issue isn't the same as everyones because it was such a simple fix. However, I thought I would share what I did that fixed mine, just in case. My Watch app on the phone ~ General ~ Workout Power Saving Mode ~ turn it off. That was it. My exercise ring closed right on time when I was at the gym this morning. I hope this works for someone else.

My partner and I both brought apple watches to replace trust worthy Garmin devices. We are too both very frustrated by this bug.

My watch seems to be working just fine awarding me exercise credit whenever I use the workout App. I get full credit for walks, any exercise.

However my partners watch has the same problem as listed in this forum. She will go to the gym for 45 mins, uses the workout app. During that time she runs on the treadmill, cross trainer and comes back sweating. The workout is recorded with high heart rate but she is only awarded 10-15mins of exercise credit.

Whenever we walk the dogs we start the activity app at the exact same time, her watch always shows less distance measured by GPS and never credits her more than a few minutes exercise. Mine however gives me full credit. With our Garmins the distances were always the same or no more than 0.05 miles difference. Our apple watches vary by anything from up to a mile!

Last weekend I wore both apple watches and my old Garmin. The Garmin measured the distance exactly what we walked however both apple watches were different. I got full exercise credit and she hardly got any.

All settings an iPhones and watches are exactly the same.

I've literally tried all solutions from the apple support site, other support sites. I've spent hours resetting, setting up as new to no avail.

One thing for sure is we are seriously considering switching from Apple. The quality of the software being released has been frustratingly sub standard. I never minded paying more for an apple product before because of the quality of its products and well thought out and well designed software.

Apple you need to sort this out!

This is clearly a bug that Apple must address. My series 2 Apple watch worked fine until a few weeks ago when it suddenly stopped giving any credit for work outs on the Exercise Ring of the Activity App, even though all the work outs are recorded in the Activity App as work outs with accurate durations. The information is simply not flowing from the watch to the green exercise ring. The only work out that now flows reliably is if I select "Other", which only tracks minutes. I get no distance, or any other helpful metrics displayed when using the "Other" workout, so this is all worthless. Users have been complaining about this for over a year. I've done ALL the suggested measures- just a huge waste of time. The problem is a software bug in WatchOS that is blocking information from being passed from the work out apps to the green exercise ring in the Activities App.

I having the exact same issue. I just did the update and now all of sudden my walks are not being recorded at all unless I'm using the workout app. Its really frustrating!! They have these updates to "fix problems" and it just makes things worse.

I also have the same problem! Today I worked out on the treadmill for forty minutes and even entered it as an indoor run. After my workout it states on 22 minutes of exercise was done. This is just one of many issues I have found with this watch.

Wow - it’s been a year since this thread was started and we’re still having problems. I’ve only noticed it just today, though. My husband and I went for an almost 45-minute walk where I averaged 138bpm and burned almost 120 calories... and I can see all of this info in the actual activity app, but my green ring is only showing ONE MEASLY MINUTE OF EXERCISE! We have the original Apple Watches, and I thought that was the reason, but seeing others with newer watches and the same issue means it’s definitely on Apple’s end. When will they fix this?!

I’m having the same exact issue with my Series 3. What is strange is that back in April I had the same issue while on vacation in DC. We did tons of walking but the Activity ring was not moving. I ignored it, and when we got back home to Massachusetts, it started working again.

Fast forward to now. I’m on vacation in NY. I just went on a 34 min walk for 1.76 miles. I tracked it as an outdoor walk. It was tracked in the app, but the green ring said I only did 1 minute of activity! And this behavior has been occurring since we got here a couple weeks ago. It appears that my physical location seems to have some sort off effect.

So far I have tried

• Rebooting the watch
• Rebooting my phone
• Reset Fitness Calibration Data under privacy in the watch app on my phone

This is very frustrating!

As I hoped to explain in my previous reply:

The definition of a brisk walk varies from person to person and depends on your personal information. To check that this is accurate - and to update it over time:

• On your iPhone, in the Watch app, go to: My Watch (tab) > Health > Edit - tap and adjust items, then tap on Done.

If you would prefer to receive Exercise credit in the Activity app for the full duration of your walks, regardless of their estimated intensity levels, then track them via the Workout app using "Other" as the activity type.

• This will credit one minute of Exercise for each full minute of the workout.
• Active calories will be estimated at a rate equivalent to a brisk walk or based on data recorded by the heart rate sensor, whichever is higher.
• (Note that neither distance nor a route map are recorded under this workout activity type).

If you would like to send feedback to Apple regarding the pace that is required in order to earn Exercise credit, then you can do so here:

Feedback - Apple Watch - Apple

(Note that you are not talking to Apple here - this is a user-based technical support community).

If (which you have not previously explained) your Apple Watch does not award Exercise credit when recording workouts via the Workout app and selecting Other as the activity type, then the following steps may help:

If you have not yet done so, update your iPhone and Apple Watch to the latest software, starting with your iPhone:

• Update the iOS software on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support
• Update the software on your Apple Watch - Apple Support

Close certain apps and restart both your iPhone and your Apple Watch:

• Close the Watch app, Activity app and Health app (if open) on your iPhone:
  • Double-click the Home button, then swipe up on each app preview to close the apps.
• Turn both devices off together, then restart your iPhone first:
  • Restart your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support
  • Restart your Apple Watch - Apple Support

Unpair and re-pair your watch:

• The Watch app on your iPhone takes a backup of your watch automatically when unpairing via the app. Choose to Restore from Backup during set up. Most data and settings will be restored, with some exceptions (eg Apple Pay cards, passcode).
• If the issue persists, try unpairing and setting up as a new watch.
• Unpair your Apple Watch and iPhone - Apple Support
• Set up your Apple Watch - Apple Support

If the issue persists, I suggest that you contact Apple Support, make a Genius Bar reservation or visit an Apple Authorised Service Provider for assistance:

• https://support.apple.com/contact/
• https://twitter.com/applesupport
• http://www.apple.com/retail/geniusbar/
• https://locate.apple.com

I feel the same way. No motivation to exercise when your not getting credit for it. My watch quit working after a month. Now it records the first 4 minutes and stops for the day. I used to have the green ring go around 2 times for a 200% goal achievement. I’m not doing anything different just one day the app quit giving me credit. It still records my walk of (45 minutes today) 192 calories but only show 4 minutes on the green exercise ring. I’m thinking to go back to my Fitbit. It worked flaw

I'm on my second Apple watch, but unless Apple gets this fixed, it will likely be my last. For the last two weeks or so a 30 minute treadmill workout that ends with me dripping in sweat is only 10 minutes of "exercise." I've tried all the standard Jonathan UK type solutions--even unpairing my watch and setting it up as new--and nothing helps. Very frustrating. My wife's iPhone has been displaying Messages out of chronological order for almost six months with no fix from Apple. I'm not sure what's going on with this company, but I don't like it that much anymore.

I am also having this same problem 40 mins high intensity cycling high heart rate consistantly recorded all fine on the heartrate app but the apple watch only shows 2 mins of activity yet on a day where i feel i have done nothing it will rack up 30 /40 mins when you check back to heart rate on those days there is no significant elevation

I have recalibrated as suggested several times its not that its used to me beng active as until recently i have done very little. Apple please sort this out. I dont want to have to swap back to a fitbit for workouts its stupid and disheartening

Is there a work around? If i tell the watch im older/ young or heavier/lighter can I fool the watch into reading correctly that way?