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Apple Watch causing wrist pain

Not that misery likes company but, I am sort of relieved that I’m not alone with this complaint as I thought I was going crazy. Ditto on having wrist pain issues when wearing my new Apple iWatch 3 (42mm with a Sport Band). I was gifted this generous upgrade from my iWatch 2 as a Christmas gift; however my iWatch 2 did not cause me any distress. I wish that I hadn’t sold my iWatch 2 as I would revert to using it.


I am an average statured adult woman with relatively small wrists. My new iWatch 3 has the GPS + cellular feature. I don’t use it to its potential; instead, using it primarily as a watch and occasionally using apps & call feature to read/send texts. I do love the idea of being “untethered” from my iPhone but have yet been able to successfully pair it with my auto’s navigation/call system.


I have no skin irritation/rash issues nor is my band too tight. Like others in this forum, my pain is an aching pain which is deep in my wrist and radiates up my arm which is clearly neurogenic in nature. I’ve tried everything, wearing it on the opposite arm, flipping the watch so that it’s on the anterior vs. posterior surface of my wrist, I’ve turned off the heart rate monitor, minimized the haptics and still continue to experience the pain. The only relief comes after I remove the watch for several hours to a day. I’ve even found myself taking Ibuprofen to minimize the discomfort! After placing it back on my wrist the pain begins within an hour or so.


I hope that with our growing numbers that Apple will take heed and develop a resolve. In the meantime, I am so sad that I cannot wear my high-tech iWatch 3!

iPad 2, iOS 7.0.2

Posted on Jan 22, 2018 2:20 PM

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Posted on Jun 13, 2019 12:17 PM

It's more likely that you have a sensitivity to the EMF that the watch puts off. I had the same problem with a FitBit. I had to stop wearing it because of the intense pain it gave me in my wrist. Took the device off, in a week, no pain. Put it back on, pain. Took it off again, no pain. Put it on the other wrist, the pain started again but on the other wrist. It's the EMF. Everyone has different levels of sensitivity that's why it bothers some more than others. The jerks that are trolling this thread love to believe that it isn't a thing but they have no clue what they're talking about.

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Jun 13, 2019 12:17 PM in response to corynne0686

It's more likely that you have a sensitivity to the EMF that the watch puts off. I had the same problem with a FitBit. I had to stop wearing it because of the intense pain it gave me in my wrist. Took the device off, in a week, no pain. Put it back on, pain. Took it off again, no pain. Put it on the other wrist, the pain started again but on the other wrist. It's the EMF. Everyone has different levels of sensitivity that's why it bothers some more than others. The jerks that are trolling this thread love to believe that it isn't a thing but they have no clue what they're talking about.

Feb 19, 2018 10:51 AM in response to KallaLilli

OMG... Thank you for posting. I’ve been struggling with this pain off & on since I got the watch. I’m glad I’m not alone. I love the watch so I keep trying to wear it but at times the pain is so strong I can’t bear it. I’m 100% sure its the watch because when I remove it, the deep ache goes away almost immediatley. It is also stronger when someone is calling or when I’m talking on a call using the watch. This is SO upsetting to me & I hope Apple addresses this problem immediately. I will consult a doctor but I’m almost sure they will only tell me to discontinue using the watch.

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<Edited by Host>

Apr 13, 2019 12:29 PM in response to Malston23

Just thought I’d search for this problem and I really thought I was just being paranoid, but since I got my Series 3 Apple Watch, I’ve been getting a burning sensation under the watch, and Ive also developed a small hard lump which is directly under the sensors. When I use my Microsoft Band 2 I never suffer anything at all, but after a couple of hours wearing my Series 3 I start to feel burning and the small lump gets really irritated. I’ll take a photo, but not sure if it will show up, but it sure does nip. I wondered if I was either sensitive to the light produced by the sensors, or to the tech inside the watch? Such a strange, and clearly common issue. Hope someone can resolve all this as these things aren’t cheap. The photo below is just as I’ve taken my Series 3 off!

Jan 27, 2019 9:26 AM in response to KallaLilli

I have posted here a few months back when my wrist was painfully sore repeatedly. Heres the results.


  1. I found my wrist in pain with 0 strength after wearing my watch 24/7 for several months. I stopped wearing watch for a week and it got better.
  2. I wore it again for 24/7 and the pain returned within a week.
  3. I stopped the heart rate monitor and stopped wearing the watch to bed. I only wear during the day. Pain did not return.
  4. After a few weeks I turned on the heart rate monitor again. I wear it only when I am awake and remove when I sleep. Pain has not returned.


So my conclusion is that the pain comes from wearing the watch 24/7. I think when you're sleeping you tend to put more pressure on your watch head area. However I miss being able to use the watch vibration alarm to wake me in the morning. Maybe Ill try turning the watch head to the bottom of my wrist?


Kip

May 10, 2019 12:33 PM in response to KallaLilli

I have posted on this before and will repeat because I have fixed my issue very easily.

I put the pad of a band aid over the sensor so the full "rays" of the sensor don't go through my wrist.

I also recently put a piece of blue pain free skin tape on and still the same result, NO PAIN!

I change it out every week as a bandaid can collect water, germs, etc. Give it a shot, if it doesn't fix the issue then you should probably just stop wearing it :/

May 1, 2018 3:18 PM in response to deggie

All the Apple Boggers paid to keep track of this post need to stop insulting people’s intelligence. Something is wrong maybe there should be more time addressing the issue and less time insulting people. As the Apple rep told me when I called “there is more radiation coming from your phone”. Well my watch is on at least 12 hrs a day attached to my wrist not my phone. According to Apple they have not gotten any complaints.

Apr 24, 2019 5:35 PM in response to KallaLilli

I bought my watch about a month ago. It was the latest apple watch 4. I have been experiencing the same pain for about 2 weeks now. I called Apple support and they had me talk to the Safety Advisor. He asked me a whole bunch of questions that were related to rashes and I kept telling him I was having wrist pain and no rash. He then spoke to his engineering team. To make a long story short, after speaking to him three times today, he said it was not a "Safety Issue". He said I could take the watch to the Apple Store and have them "Look into what may be wrong with it". He also suggested that I could go to my Doctor.

He said there is no "Process for this" What does that even mean? Is Apple not aware of how many people on Google are talking about this wrist pain with the apple watch or are they ignoring it? I saw hundreds of blogs and videos talking about wrist pain. The safety advisor told me that they could have a Process for this later but at this time they are not aware of the pain issue. How many people does it take to complain to Apple that they are experiencing this pain before they take some action and maybe recall this apple watch? Are they Serious? Don't they even care to resolve this issue? Just by ignoring that it exists, will it just go away?

I am very disappointed with Apple response to my issue. I will not stop at this and I will make sure they do something about this.

May 12, 2019 11:13 AM in response to KallaLilli

I am shocked and your pain is the same pain I’m suffering. It radiates up and down the arm but after removing the watch for two days it has subsided. Although my thumb is still sore in the muscle area. This may be caused from high EMF readings which can lead to cancer. I love my watch for workouts. I haven’t experienced any rash.


I have the series 3 watch and I very sorry that it can’t be used any longer. Apple needs to fix the watch or refund the purchase. Its not safe.


We also need to be aware of the 5G network upgrades.

Apple Watch causing wrist pain

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