Apple Watch Ultra - Heart Rate during runs does not work - spikes and stays high

[CyberDavis]

With my series 6 I used to see this occassionaly, and came to realise it was the sports band I was using.
I would see heartrate miss or drop values.

When I got my Ultra it was worse initially as the sports band did not have a setting that was comfortable and a good fit due to different case size.
I changed to using a sport loop and the heart rate readings have been reliable for my runs and show an increase as my run progresses, this is from a 3.5 mile run...

 

[MacBird]

I don't get reliable heart rate readings while running with Series 8 and sport loop that fits tightly, either. It works fine when doing HIIT, though. I never had this problem with Series 4.

 

[2004powerbookg4]

Are you using the cloth band?

I wonder if that's part of it. The sport bands definitely stick the watch in place better during workouts. I usually pop my sport band into my Ultra before workouts.


I wear one watch on each wrist 🤣

I prefer Garmin's run sharing feature.

I have the Titanium case with midnight rubber band: https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-watc...reSelect=false&product=MQET3LL/A&step=detail#

Do not think this is a band issue. @Botts your heart rate data is good on intense runs or cycles?

 

[2004powerbookg4]

I was really thinking of doing that. LOL. The Forerunner 955 was awesome for running. But I kept trying to tell it to "remind me to buy tofu" and things like that before I realized it wasn't Siri. I was hoping the new Apple Watch would catch up to Garmin in running dept. But I'm afraid not yet. Makes me feel better, though, that other people have the heart rate problem too. Guess I will but a chest strap.

@PabloLASF sorry you are experiencing the same problems as me. it is pretty jarring to see 180BPM (close to my max HR) 5 mins into a jog. I will say though, just buying a chest strap is not an option for me. I do not want to wear a device "made for athletes and adventurers of all kinds." (according to apples website), that does not measure one of the most important fitness health metrics accurately.

And we know this is not a hardware limitation as Garmin watches (different models) have worked wonders.

 

[2004powerbookg4]

@PabloLASF sorry you are experiencing the same problems as me. it is pretty jarring to see 180BPM (close to my max HR) 5 mins into a jog. I will say though, just buying a chest strap is not an option for me. I do not want to wear a device "made for athletes and adventurers of all kinds." (according to apples website), that does not measure one of the most important fitness health metrics accurately.

And we know this is not a hardware limitation as Garmin watches (different models) have worked wonders.

BTW I am not expecting 100% accuracy, I understand the wrist is not the ideal place for HR monitoring, but I also can not tolerate it being extremely inaccurate 100% of the time.

 

[akidokraja]

Multiple AW series, from S4,5,6,7 and now Ultra (also multiple Garmins) and never had any deviation from HRM Pro except that it takes a couple of seconds to adjust when changing pace/stopping/starting while HRM Pro is instant. This is for any wrist worn sensor. This is for runs and bike. When doing HIIT neither AW nor Garmin are working well as they can’t track the pace instantly. While Garmins are generally ok they do occasionally spike up. This happens once a month or so. I would say that AW is more accurate/faster to respond to heart rate changes than Garmin but worse than chest strap.

 

[Botts85]

Do not think this is a band issue. @Botts your heart rate data is good on intense runs or cycles?

Pretty much bang on.

Here’s a pretty intense interval run.

 

[2004powerbookg4]

Pretty much bang on.

Here’s a pretty intense interval run.

View attachment 2121178

Lol wow. I fantasize about having heart rate data like that.

 

[Botts85]

This was a cycle and the Ultra tracked it even more accurately.

 

[GDMcG]

Add

I don't get reliable heart rate readings while running with Series 8 and sport loop that fits tightly, either. It works fine when doing HIIT, though. I never had this problem with Series 4.

Both my Ultra and previous watches, including Series 6 etc are usually not measuring a heart rate for me almost the first 5 minutes or so of indoor treadmill runs. I have tried adjusting band etc.

 

[philwang83]

I’ve been running often with my Ultra and have started having issues similar to the rest of you, where my heart rate disappears for the first 5-10 minutes. I tightened the band and sometimes jostling the watch around on my wrist fixes the issue, but today I lost connection for almost the entire run.

It doesn’t seem to be weather dependent, because it’s worked in colder weather and has had issues in warmer weather.

Very frustrating!

 

[2004powerbookg4]

I’ve been running often with my Ultra and have started having issues similar to the rest of you, where my heart rate disappears for the first 5-10 minutes. I tightened the band and sometimes jostling the watch around on my wrist fixes the issue, but today I lost connection for almost the entire run.

It doesn’t seem to be weather dependent, because it’s worked in colder weather and has had issues in warmer weather.

Very frustrating!

Very frustrating Phil. I bought the Garmin Epix (gen 2) and boy is it pretty. O and it measures my heart rate correctly!!! I had never been a Garmin guy, so I was nervous but this seems to be the path forward!

 

[philwang83]

Very frustrating Phil. I bought the Garmin Epix (gen 2) and boy is it pretty. O and it measures my heart rate correctly!!! I had never been a Garmin guy, so I was nervous but this seems to be the path forward!

I came from a Garmin 935 so it's frustrating that I'm having the issue. I'll try again tomorrow with a Sport Loop instead of the Alpine Loop but you'd think that heart rate should work correctly no matter what band.

Glad to see your Epic is working out for you though!

 

[Trent0341]

I've had versions of the Apple Watch starting with 0 and currently using the Ultra. I've also consistently had issues when running (and sometimes walking) with the heart rate monitor.

I use a Polar H10 chest strap when I am concerned about HR (which is most of the time when running) and have had zero issues with that (previously used a wahoo tickr x with occasional issue but still better than the apple watch).

I lean towards the fact that we are all different and there are probably a subset of us that have a wrist that doesn't work well with the Apple Watch sensor.

 

[GDMcG]

So I think for me I figured out that I wasn’t wearing it tight enough during my runs. I cinched it a little more and now it seems much better. I had to have it tighter than I expected. I have been running for years and had the issue with my previous watches but thought I had the band tight enough - just a few mm tighter and all seems good.

 

[fin1]

So I think for me I figured out that I wasn’t wearing it tight enough during my runs. I cinched it a little more and now it seems much better. I had to have it tighter than I expected. I have been running for years and had the issue with my previous watches but thought I had the band tight enough - just a few mm tighter and all seems good.

I did the same. On the Ocean band, I tightened it up one hole and the HR tracked the whole run, and it was accurate.

 

[philwang83]

I came from a Garmin 935 so it's frustrating that I'm having the issue. I'll try again tomorrow with a Sport Loop instead of the Alpine Loop but you'd think that heart rate should work correctly no matter what band.

Glad to see your Epic is working out for you though!

Heart rate was 100% locked in the entire run today wearing an old Nike sport loop. Maybe my personal issue is with the Alpine loop specifically. I guess I’ll have to invest in a trail loop at some point!

4 days later edit: Had a couple more runs with the sport loop and I started having issues with that as well. I think my wrist size + the size of the Ultra just makes it hard for it to track my heart rate unfortunately. I'm done messing around with the watch, straps and constantly adjusting the watch on my run so I bought a Wahoo Tickr chest strap. Problem solved!

 

[Raphael303]

Two apple watches, 5 small and 8 big, both cellular. Since about 22. of October, heart rates lock in place at some point during runs.
Tried restarting, resetting, calibrating, closing all apps, tried apple workout app, smoothmyrun, stryd. Same every where. On pretty much 4 out of 5 runs.

Apple Support says the have never heard of the problem, want me to send in my watches. The one which has warranty will be picked up tomorrow.

 

[Zapdoc]

I bought the Apple Watch ultra for fitness and specifically running. The heart rate during rest appears to be fine. However, every time I go for a run it will spike to say 170 and stay there for the duration of the run.

I tried unpairing, resetting, making sure settings were correct, and the issue persisted. Apple phone support sent me to the store, the store would not send the watch in for repair, and sent me back to phone support. Today a senior director in the health department called me and said "this is aknown issue. It is a software issue and there is nothing we can do. We are working on an update." They provided no timeline on the software update or any other options. I asked the man in the department to escalate this to his manager and he said there was no one to escalate to.

They said the watch is beyond the return policy, and I can not return it. And so there is nothing to do. I asked if its is affecting everyone then? And they said no. So I do not understand why they won't let me try another device. I even paid extra for apple care.

I paid $1000 for a fitness device that provides highly inaccurate sensitive health information and there is nothing apple can do? Has anyone else experienced this? Please help.

[Sharing photo of me wearing my friends Garmin on my other arm, and my heart rate (Apple BPM: 172, Garmin BPM: 125)]

I bought the Apple Watch ultra for fitness and specifically running. The heart rate during rest appears to be fine. However, every time I go for a run it will spike to say 170 and stay there for the duration of the run.

I tried unpairing, resetting, making sure settings were correct, and the issue persisted. Apple phone support sent me to the store, the store would not send the watch in for repair, and sent me back to phone support. Today a senior director in the health department called me and said "this is aknown issue. It is a software issue and there is nothing we can do. We are working on an update." They provided no timeline on the software update or any other options. I asked the man in the department to escalate this to his manager and he said there was no one to escalate to.

They said the watch is beyond the return policy, and I can not return it. And so there is nothing to do. I asked if its is affecting everyone then? And they said no. So I do not understand why they won't let me try another device. I even paid extra for apple care.

I paid $1000 for a fitness device that provides highly inaccurate sensitive health information and there is nothing apple can do? Has anyone else experienced this? Please help.

[Sharing photo of me wearing my friends Garmin on my other arm, and my heart rate (Apple BPM: 172, Garmin BPM: 125)]

How do you know tha5 5he hear5 rate shown on the AW isn’t correct ? Maybe the Garmin is wrong ?
heart rate is

 

[rmw49]

I did the same. On the Ocean band, I tightened it up one hole and the HR tracked the whole run, and it was accurate.

Same here. I have a sport band and thought it was tight enough but, on tightening it up one hole, all my heart readings are good and no pauses or non readings since.

 

[Duffman19]

I haven’t seen this mentioned yet, but perhaps the inaccuracies are due to the weather? For me, wrist based monitors begin to fail when temperatures get to around 40*F and below due to vasoconstriction. I’ve worn many different brands and models (Garmin, Coros, Suunto, Polar, Apple) and they all exhibit he same issue in cooler weather. My solution is to always wear a separate HRM when it’s cold.

Another issue may be the size and weight of the Ultra. Although it’s not super heavy, it is larger than a regular AW and most other running watches (save the Garmin fenix and Epix lines) which will cause it to bounce more during activities with arm movements like running. I’ve had issues with larger watches like the fenix because I simply couldn’t get them to sit flat and still on my wrist.

In warmer conditions, my AW7 has had the most accurate wrist-based heart rate out of any watch I’ve tried. I often run with multiple watches and frequently compare the internal HR measurements against a chest strap. But I still wouldn’t trust anything measuring on the wrist in the cold.

 

[comoema]

Hello.

Having the same issue, dosent happen very often but it does, and it’s quite frustrating.
Sometimes stop recording (heart rate icon goes grey) or spikes up with unrealistic heart rate values.
Watch is not lose on my wrist so everything should be as good as suggested.
It happened sometimes also with yoga activity.
But never happened (as far as I recall) when I use heart rate belt chest sensor (from garmin).
I always run with my other garmin watch on the other wrist, none of this is happening.
I read this is a known issue, is this confirmed.
I am wondering why this is not widely reported (and this is big cos it fails to do what it is expected to do!).
I will follow this thread and see how it goes.
Cheers.

Attached picture, can see the spike and also average heart is not correct, higher than it should be (like 10 bpm more - comparing to my Garmin which recorder the same run).

 

[Jackbequickly]

My heart rate would drop out multiple times while hiking with my Ultra. My series 7 SBTi would do it every once in a while but if tightened it would work fine. Returned the Ultra and sticking with the series 7 until next year. Loved the Ultra, but it was a bit bigger than I wanted to put up with.

 

[Monkswhiskers]

Cadence lock? I get it sometimes where the sensor mistakes the jolt in running for bpm. Only happens in cold weather for me, and only once in a while.

 

[comoema]

How to disable the cadence lock?
I don’t know how.
I run in a tropical weather.
Had a run today again, randomly, heart rate recording stopped again (heart rate icon getting grey).
Using native app Workout.
Just wanna be sure, is this a known bug?
Thank you!