Me to - I just gave up and wear an inexpensive HR belt/monitor.Have this issue too with my Ultra 2. Only when doing running workouts, strangely. Cycling, strength workouts, rowing, no issues.
First few minutes completely absurdly high HR readings no matter how tight or loose I wear the watch. I seldom see the problem as 99% of my runs are with an extra HR belt.
German magazine "mac&i" (well respected magazine) reported on issues with the Ultra 1 last year:
Apple Watch Ultra: Erhebliche Probleme bei Herzfrequenzmessung möglich
Manche der 1000-Euro-Smartwatches messen die Herzfrequenz nicht zuverlässig am Handgelenk, bei der Aufzeichnung gibt es massive Aussetzer.www.heise.de
They had four Ultra 1 watches and two of them showed faulty measurements independent who of the journalists wore which watch.
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Apple Watch Ultra - Heart Rate during runs does not work - spikes and stays high
- Thread starter 2004powerbookg4
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Now the problem started also on strength trainings and Yoga workouts. Heart rate locks in at 120 bpm and stays in the range between 118 and 120 until the end of the workout, no matter what I do.
When I start the heart rate app and put my finger on the crown, the correct heart rate is determined. When I change back to the training app, heart rate immediately jumps back into the 120 range. Very disturbing.
Had this issue lately for about two days until it went back to normal again and now have it again since yesterday. Rebooted the watch and cleaned the OHR to no effect.
Since this is an important health issue and the consequence of inaccurate measurements could be severe, the FDA should mandate that Apple place a warning on the outside of the box with the information that was mentioned a few posts back. Hiding it somewhere on their website suggests Apple is attempting to avoid liability. Someone needs to sue. If they cannot make these measurements reliably the feature should be removed.
I have a strap and use it for running as none of my watches from Garmin to AW5, AW7 to Ultra 2 were reliable all the time for running workouts.
But all of them worked pretty well indoors for strength training. Why suddenly not anymore? Hardware broken or software issue?
Good luck. It’s just not worth the effort. I don’t disagree with the disappointment, it’s a pain in the ass to have a strap as a part of my equipment when I was sold a watch that should eliminate the strap, but it’s still the nature of these watch based monitors. Even my Garmin is pretty bad and I gave up and got a new strap.
If you go to the heart rate app and not put your finger on the crown, does it show the real one as well? Sounds like a software error to me. Apple is pretty known for having stellar heart rate sensors.
It's funny as soon as I lift the finger from the crown, the heart rate jumps back to the much higher cadence lock value.
But I "solved" the issue now, very strange. Did a strength workout yesterday. Started without strap and it immediately locked in at 120 bpm. In the middle of the workout, I put on a HR strap and values came down to 80ish. Removed the strap again and disconnected it and now the values were ok from the OHR. Since then, no more cadence lock, my workout this morning was perfectly fine.
Nothing else was changed like shaving my hair on my arm or removing a tattoo or cleaning the watch or or or. ;-)
I am 90% sure it is a software issue. No environmental parameters changed.
I didn’t want to start a new thread, this has happened on my last few runs. No heart rate recorded for the first 5-10 minutes. It doesn’t happen on walks, rowing etc only runs. Is this happening to others?
What was the temperature? (Celsius)
If it keeps happening you need to ensure that it is tight.
Also ensure that the sensor and your wrist are clean.
And if you have tattoos try the other wrist.
And I don’t know if this actually works but I feel like starting the heart monitor just prior to the run helps it lock on too.
Around 10c, I tighten the strap up one extra hole before running, I use the Nike sport band,no tattoos. How do you start the heart monitor before starting a workout? Thx
I occasionally have issues at 10C, but from probably 7C downwards it's more routine for me to see dropouts. I also use the Nike sport and tighten one notch.
I start the heart rate monitor by just starting the heart app and letting it lock onto my heart rate. Once that's done I then start the workout.
Mine have done that consistently through the years, both Series and Ultra watches. I will also lose HR data during a run even after it locks. I wear a Polar arm band while running with an AW now. Walking, indoor cycling and strength training are fine with just the watch.
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I have been using a heart rate belt from Polar because of the drop outs in the cold
I always use a chest strap when I need heart rate accuracy so never have any issues! Optical heart rate monitors on the wrist never offer consistent readings for me from day to day, whether it's Garmin, Apple or Coros, they always let me down at times hence the chest strap!
If I'm not in a training block it doesn't matter much and I just throw the watch on and off I go.
If I'm not in a training block it doesn't matter much and I just throw the watch on and off I go.
If you do not like chest straps I can recommend the Polar Verity Sense optical heart rate monitor that is worn on the upper arm. Never had a problem with it no matter what the conditions were and it is as precise as a chest strap. And more comfortable for me.
I tried this today and it worked. Heart rate recording looked proper, no spike at the start and no drop outs. Thanks for the tip.