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macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
63,195
30,136



Following the release of Watch OS 1.0.1 on Tuesday, Apple Watch users have been noticing a problem concerning the frequency with which the Apple Watch sends heart rate data to the iPhone. Prior to the update, the Apple Watch sent heart rate information to the iPhone's Health app every 10 minutes, but now some users are seeing inconsistent update times.

As highlighted by everythingiCafe on Wednesday, Apple Watch owners on the MacRumors forums and Apple's Support Communities have been complaining that their Apple Watches are sending data sporadically, with gaps up to eight hours in some cases.

heartratemonitoring101.jpg
Before update on left, after update on right. Image via MacRumors forum member twisted-pixel.​
Many of the users are still seeing occasional updates to the Health app, but at unpredictable intervals that are not as frequent as the previous 10 minute update intervals, and some are also seeing duplicate readings. This bug is not affecting all users, as some people are still reporting regular data transfers, but for the users experiencing issues, unreported heart rate data seems to be irretrievable.
I also noticed that my heart rate data in the health app for about a week period is gone and my heart rate data is now updating into the app intermittently. I spoke with Apple customer service this morning, but data could not be restored and their advice was to restart both the iPhone and the Watch, clean the sensor back, and keep an eye on it. That, unfortunately, has not fixed anything and I think there might be a bigger problem on our, er, hands (or wrists).
For those unaware, the heart rate information collected by the Apple Watch's sensors is aggregated in the Health app on the iPhone, giving users a picture of their overall heart health throughout the day. With consistent 10 minute readings, the iPhone is able to provide clear and consistent data that wearers can share with doctors and use to make health evaluations.

Data that is sent sporadically is less useful for these purposes, causing this bug to significantly impact the health tracking abilities of the Apple Watch for users who are affected.

Some individuals experiencing issues have said that restarting their devices temporarily solves the problem, but the sporadic measurement times return shortly after. On the Apple Support Communities, one affected user who spoke with Apple suggested that his Apple Watch stopped sending heart rate measurements when he was actively moving.

Apple is collecting information from users who call in with the issue, and some have been told that the company is working on a fix.

Article Link: Some Apple Watch Users Experiencing Issues With Inconsistent Heart Rate Data Following Update
 

mattburley7

macrumors 68040
Oct 13, 2011
3,525
792
im expecting a watch OS 1.0.2 update soon that fixes this bug along with a few other additional performance/bug fixes :)
 

bushido

Suspended
Mar 26, 2008
8,070
2,755
Germany
not just that ... it also counted only 2 minutes of my 30 minutes workout which likely has something to do with the HR Data
 

bobenhaus

macrumors 65816
Mar 2, 2011
1,024
487
Wow it took a Brian surgeon to figure out that the watch is attached to a wrist that is constantly moving. hello?!??!
 

Squuiid

macrumors 68000
Oct 31, 2006
1,856
1,580
Yep. Seeing this issue. Missed checks range from 20 minutes up to an hour.
Before 1.01 it was consistently every 10 mins throughout the day.
1.02 incoming?
 

sinsin07

macrumors 68040
Mar 28, 2009
3,606
2,662

usarioclave

macrumors 65816
Sep 26, 2003
1,447
1,506
Yep. Seeing this issue. Missed checks range from 20 minutes up to an hour.
Before 1.01 it was consistently every 10 mins throughout the day.
1.02 incoming?

I don't look at that a lot, but I just checked and sure enough the date is erratic.
 

Dinistreniad

macrumors newbie
Sep 3, 2014
11
6
Inconsistent?...

According to MyFitnessPal, this is how many calories I have left to eat today:

11270825_10153353803732437_598134742_o.jpg


My Apple Watch has decided that the 45 mins of CrossFit I did this morning burned over 400,000 calories.

It's a good job that Friday is cheat day then :)
 

nullman

macrumors newbie
May 2, 2015
23
3
I have had the same problem since the software update. Hours and hours go by with no heart beat data points in the Health App on my phone. I know it's not the phone, because when I go to measure my heart rate on the watch I'll see something like "72bpm 4 hours ago".
 

technopimp

macrumors 6502a
Aug 12, 2009
645
219
An apple software update made something worse?

This is my shocked face.

Seriously...do they just not do any QA or regression testing at all anymore?
 

DaveWil

macrumors regular
Jul 16, 2012
157
136
This would explain why I am seeing more exercise time after the patch. I do not workout, but did a lot of walking up steep hills last weekend and got some credit for exercising, but after the patch I get more each day at my desk job.

I assume they use the heart rate to determine exercise time and that is why it has gone up for me.
 
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