Barometer on Series 3

[janeR]

Hello everyone,

I have just received my series 3 apple watch SBSS 42mm, and loving it so far. One thing I'm a little confused with though is the barometer. I have been wearing the watch since yesterday and so far it's recorded 0 flights climbed.

Am I correct in thinking that the series 3 should record the number of flights or stairs I have climbed, Do I need to do anything specific to get this to work, or is my barometer defective?

Many thanks for your help.

 

[maflynn]

Am I correct in thinking that the series 3 should record the number of flights or stairs I have climbed

That's my understanding on how it should work. I'd reach out to apple and see and if they determine its defective, they'll give you a new one.

 

[janeR]

Thanks, it's not even showing in the workout summary, and in the health app the watch is not shown as a source for flights climbed, can anyone with a series confirm that it's working on theirs please?

Thanks

 

[Trent0341]

Thanks, it's not even showing in the workout summary, and in the health app the watch is not shown as a source for flights climbed, can anyone with a series confirm that it's working on theirs please?

Thanks

I tested that feature out and it did record my flights of step sans phone (SS S3 42mm). I make a point to at least run 20 flights a day and I have noticed that my phone is generally accurate but certainly not always (and yes I'm aware how they measure flights). So I can confirm that it is working for me at least.

Edited to add: I never even thought to check whether or not it was a source of data. It just worked seamlessly.

 

[maflynn]

Thanks, it's not even showing in the workout summary, and in the health app the watch is not shown as a source for flights climbed, can anyone with a series confirm that it's working on theirs please?

Thanks

Dumb question, are you sure they gave you a S3 and not a S2? Does it have the red dot on the dial?

 

[janeR]

Yeah it's definitely a series 3

Update: It's started working, I now have 2 flights recorded from the Apple watch - perhaps the stairs in my house aren't quite enough of an elevation change

Thanks for your help - looks like this is a non-issue after all.

 

[Trent0341]

Yeah it's definitely a series 3

Update: It's started working, I now have 2 flights recorded from the Apple watch - perhaps the stairs in my house aren't quite enough of an elevation change

Thanks for your help - looks like this is a non-issue after all.

Great! And I'm sure you're aware but one flight of stairs is calculated as 10 feet or 3 meters by the apple watch/iphone.

 

[quattrino]

Hello i have an apple watch 3 gps and iphone 7. when i use the workout app with biking the altimeter always shows me 0 meters but i did a lot of meters to climp the hill road with my bike... so i tried to turn off bluetooth on my iphone and use only the watch and then the altimeter is working... can someone help me or say if his altimeter in watch 3 with connected iphone is working? thanks!!!

 

[hthodges]

Hello i have an apple watch 3 gps and iphone 7. when i use the workout app with biking the altimeter always shows me 0 meters but i did a lot of meters to climp the hill road with my bike... so i tried to turn off bluetooth on my iphone and use only the watch and then the altimeter is working... can someone help me or say if his altimeter in watch 3 with connected iphone is working? thanks!!!

[doublepost=1506178268][/doublepost]I have a iP7 and AW 3 with LTE. Mine records stairs climbed with the two connected by bluetooth and WiFi.

 

[edhchoe]

I walked up two floors yesterday after picking up the watch and it recorded it perfectly. 1 floor at the parking garage and 1 floor in my house.

My wife's AW2 is also recording flights climbed since the OS 4 update. So the necessary hardware was already in AW2.

 

[gsucyclist]

I have noticed that it takes a few minutes for flights climbed to show up in the Health app

 

[Arni99]

I can confirm that NO elevation data is recorded as soon as my watch S3 non-LTE is connected to my 8+ and cycling or hiking is chosen. When I disconnect my watch from my phone elevation is recorded.

 

[deadworlds]

I can confirm that NO elevation data is recorded as soon as my watch S3 is connected to my 8+ and cycling or hiking is chosen. When I disconnect my watch from my phone elevation is recorded.

This sounds like it could be a bug. Perhaps you should report it to apple.

 

[Newtons Apple]

Weather can have a huge effect. I got 27 floors and a badge when Irma came through Jacksonville. Did not climb a single floor.

 

[profets]

I walked up two floors yesterday after picking up the watch and it recorded it perfectly. 1 floor at the parking garage and 1 floor in my house.

My wife's AW2 is also recording flights climbed since the OS 4 update. So the necessary hardware was already in AW2.

Tear downs last year showed that the Series 2 did have a barometric altimeter, however it was either disabled or unused in the OS. Can you confirm that your wife's Series 2 was the source of data for flights climbed? it can be seen in the Health app (when you go to Flights Climbed you can hit Show All Data).

 

[chiefs1968]

Can someone also confirm if I install a weather type barometer app will it work on the series 3? Samsung gear s3 has a barometer that shows atmospheric pressure levels.

 

[xdhd350]

I can confirm that NO elevation data is recorded as soon as my watch S3 non-LTE is connected to my 8+ and cycling or hiking is chosen. When I disconnect my watch from my phone elevation is recorded.

This sounds like it could be a bug. Perhaps you should report it to apple.

I am thinking that Apple is trying to conserve battery life on your watch. If connected to phone, it knows that barometric data can be obtained by the phone, therefore, no need to waste energy using the built in barometer. Now, I'm guessing it doesn't require much juice to operate and read a barometric sensor, but every little bit of conservation helps achieve better battery life.

 

[Arni99]

I am thinking that Apple is trying to conserve battery life on your watch. If connected to phone, it knows that barometric data can be obtained by the phone, therefore, no need to waste energy using the built in barometer. Now, I'm guessing it doesn't require much juice to operate and read a barometric sensor, but every little bit of conservation helps achieve better battery life.

BUT neither the 8+ nor the watch series 3 recorded ANY elevation data.
Watch always showed 0m.
Activity app on iphone + watch is without elevation data IF there is a connection between the 8+ and the watch.
From now on I will put my phone into flight mode or leave it at home, which is a bad idea in case of an emergency.

 

[KarinvdB]

Hmm so far the flights climbed for my S3 (non LTE) is a bit of a hit and miss. Picked the watch up yesterday at the Apple store, it showed 6 flights which is pretty accurate (I remember at least 5 flights of stairs I did with the watch on, the phone recorded 5 flights in the health app, possibly one was before I picked up the watch, total is shown as 7). Today I'm at the office where I have to climb 1 flight of stairs, I did it once with the phone in my bag and once without my phone so far and it's not showing anything. In the health app I see 1 flight from my phone.

It would be really annoying if it couldn't pick up the stairs here at my office. My Fitbit one had no problem with it.

 

[jbizzybeetle]

my S3 LTE is recording stairs and other data much better than my S0.

 

[gandledore]

I have ip 6, aw3lte. I hike a lot so I like to keep track, not of flights climbed (very inaccurate on hills) but altitude gained.
My previous series 7000 read this from phone and was quite accurate.

This new aw3 does something bizarre. Starting a hike, say slightly downhill, after first step or two, sometimes more, my watch will confidently assert a significant altitude gained, even though i have not climbed a centimetre! A few days ago, 93m gained, in reality zero, two days ago, 61m and this morning 73m gained, only two steps from my car! After this initial claim, further increments seem to be very accurate, so just have to remember to deduct the initial amount!

This has to be some sort of zeroing/calibrating error? All OS software is up to date. (It also pisses me off royally that the watch measures altitude gain in outdoor walk but seems to discard this data when saving workout to phone.)

Is it just me?