Apple Watch Burn

[G4RHL]

The burn is back! Several years ago after an IOS update my iWatch started to burn the back of my wrist. I reported it in, had had no problems for many years before. Of course I got the usual stuff back about keeping it clean etc. implying it is not Apple! A couple of weeks later another update was released and lo and behold the burning stopped. I now have an iWatch Ultra, had it for nearly 1.5 years no problems. Indeed no problems since that last time. I run the beta version of the software. A couple of days after the last release of the beta version for watchOS 10 the burning started. Same as before. I now have watchOS 11 beta and it still happens.

I have reported it to Apple and get the standard answer implying the fault is not the Watch. I know it is the Watch and suspect that after the next beta release of watchOS 10 it will go. Apple will know what the problem is from the last time! Just don’t like to admit it!

 

[StumpyBloke]

Maybe your watch is protesting against you calling it iWatch??

And, no way do I agree it’s caused by updates and the fact is you don’t know that either.

I do sympathise with you though: I get occasional “burns” or irritation mid-updates and always have.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Stop running beta on your device if you don’t like that it gets hotter than normal. Same kind of thing happens on the phone to a lot of people. Makes no sense to complain and keep doing the same thing that causes the same results.

 

[Howard2k]

It's not a burn, it's dermatitis or some other reaction.

Clean the watch, your wrist, and your bands, and go and see a doctor if it keeps happening.

 

[G4RHL]

It's not a burn, it's dermatitis or some other reaction.

Clean the watch, your wrist, and your bands, and go and see a doctor if it keeps happening.

The watch is cleaned every day. As is my wrist for that matter. I have no doubt it will stop happening on the next update as happened several years ago.

 

[G4RHL]

Maybe your watch is protesting against you calling it iWatch??

And, no way do I agree it’s caused by updates and the fact is you don’t know that either.

I do sympathise with you though: I get occasional “burns” or irritation mid-updates and always have.

I must kneel down and beg forgiveness from my watch!! Too much of a coincidence and timing for updates not to be behind this. I have had an Apple Watch ever since number Zero. I still have that one. Only twice has this issue appeared. As indicated the previous time was several years ago. That happened a short time after one update and then stopped a couple of weeks later when there was another quickly released update. I had reported that one and there was an exchange of emails with Apple on the issue and photos. Others have reported similar problems. This time it has happened the same way. There has been no change in my hygiene or sensitivity to produce this. It is a round burn mark directly under the underside of the watch. Last time I was not running a beta version. This time I am. The underside of the watch does get warm. I have no doubt that Apple will shortly release an update and as if by magic the problem will go. Just as before.

 

[RealPhone]

This sounds serious. I therefore recommend that you consult a dermatologist who can give you an examination and epicrisis. You can then possibly submit the epicrisis to Apple.

 

[BenGoren]

Oh, no. Not again.

It’s contact dermatitis. It’s real. I’ve no doubt but that it’s at least uncomfortable if not downright painful.

Your PCP can probably help you and will certainly be able to refer you to a dermatologist who no question can help you.

It is not caused by heat.

It is not caused by radiation.

It is not caused by sensors.

It is not caused by 5G.

It is not caused by an evil Steve Jobs AI that’s been secretly installed in the latest WatchOS beta.

It’s most likely a bacterial infection. Second-most likely is an allergic reaction to some substance that’s getting trapped under the watch — soap, lotion, chlorine from the swimming pool, something like that. Even perhaps your own sweat, and note that this past week has literally been the hottest on Planet Earth in tens of thousands of years. It’s also possible, but quite unlikely (especially since your rash is infrequent), that it's an allergy to the materials of the watch itself.

You can insist that it’s WatchOS making the watch overheat, complain here about how terrible Apple is, and suffer.

Or you can get help from your PCP (and / or dermatologist) and end the suffering.

Your choice.

b&

 

[G4RHL]

Oh, no. Not again.

It’s contact dermatitis. It’s real. I’ve no doubt but that it’s at least uncomfortable if not downright painful.

Your PCP can probably help you and will certainly be able to refer you to a dermatologist who no question can help you.

It is not caused by heat.

It is not caused by radiation.

It is not caused by sensors.

It is not caused by 5G.

It is not caused by an evil Steve Jobs AI that’s been secretly installed in the latest WatchOS beta.

It’s most likely a bacterial infection. Second-most likely is an allergic reaction to some substance that’s getting trapped under the watch — soap, lotion, chlorine from the swimming pool, something like that. Even perhaps your own sweat, and note that this past week has literally been the hottest on Planet Earth in tens of thousands of years. It’s also possible, but quite unlikely (especially since your rash is infrequent), that it's an allergy to the materials of the watch itself.

You can insist that it’s WatchOS making the watch overheat, complain here about how terrible Apple is, and suffer.

Or you can get help from your PCP (and / or dermatologist) and end the suffering.

Your choice.

b&

Thanks for your rapid rush to defend Apple! It is caused by the watch. It is not painful or even uncomfortable. All the aspects you outline have been checked before. Put the watch on the other wrist and it begins to appear there. But it is not some allergic reaction. I have worn an Apple Watch now for about 9 years. No problems at all until a few years ago as outlined in my post. Same issue. As said it went after an upgrade that came out quite quickly after I reported it with photos. At that time after the usual initial “it’s not us” Apple did ask for a lot more detail. Others had the same issue. That was a few years ago. Now an update and it happens. The watch is washed every day. It is nothing to do with anything between the rear and my wrist. It is a sort of burn mark that directly relates in shape and size to the sensor on the back. However, I note that since my report to them Apple have now rushed out an update to the software for the watch. Just a little unusual as watch updates don’t often come out on their own. I suspect I will find the issue will disappear.

 

[StumpyBloke]

Just stop with the passive aggressive snarky comments.

 

[Nhwhazup]

My daughter had this same burning from the Apple Watch. I told her to wear it turned off for a couple of days to determine if it was an irritation from the physical watch. She had no issues wearing it turned off. As soon as she turned it back on, the burning began again. She really wanted the Apple Watch but ending up returning it.

 

[Thomas Davie]

My watch S9 45mm cellular definitely heats ups a little bit when charging. Proof: kitten likes to sleep on top on watch when charging. But then, said cat likes to sleep on to- of iPad, MBA and DVR.

Tom

 

[JonaM]

My daughter had this same burning from the Apple Watch. I told her to wear it turned off for a couple of days to determine if it was an irritation from the physical watch. She had no issues wearing it turned off. As soon as she turned it back on, the burning began again. She really wanted the Apple Watch but ending up returning it.

That is a really good test to verify!
I had the red burning problem a while back and assumed it was something with the sensors. Turns out I do just need to leave the watch off overnight for a couple of days a month or the wrist gets cranky

 

[HDFan]

The watch is cleaned every day.

With what?

 

[TracerAnalog]

The burn is back! Several years ago after an IOS update my iWatch started to burn the back of my wrist. I reported it in, had had no problems for many years before. Of course I got the usual stuff back about keeping it clean etc. implying it is not Apple! A couple of weeks later another update was released and lo and behold the burning stopped. I now have an iWatch Ultra, had it for nearly 1.5 years no problems. Indeed no problems since that last time. I run the beta version of the software. A couple of days after the last release of the beta version for watchOS 10 the burning started. Same as before. I now have watchOS 11 beta and it still happens.

I have reported it to Apple and get the standard answer implying the fault is not the Watch. I know it is the Watch and suspect that after the next beta release of watchOS 10 it will go. Apple will know what the problem is from the last time! Just don’t like to admit it!

For crying out loud, not this again. You have a contact allergy. Stop wearing the watch for a while or switch wrists.

 

[BenGoren]

It is caused by the watch.

Yes, yes, YES!

It is caused by the watch.

(Or, at least, by wearing the watch.)

It is *NOT* a thermal burn. It is *NOT* a radiation burn. It is *NOT* caused by any of these other bizarre hypotheses that keep coming back like zombies and vampires.

We know that it’s not a thermal burn because the watch will turn itself off loooooooooong before it reaches temperatures that will burn human skin.

We know that it’s not radiation because there’s nothing in the watch which emits the type of radiation that burns human skin.

We know that it’s not the battery because batteries that get hot enough to burn skin burst into flames.

We can be confident that it’s contact dermatitis because that’s what dermatologists tell us it is.

… but you seem to be more interested in suffering for the sake of blaming Apple than seeing a doctor. I don’t understand why that is, but whatever makes you happy.

b&

 

[TheMountainLife]

What's your definition of "burn"? Did you record your watch or wrist temperature when this occurred?

 

[Parowdy]

The watch is cleaned every day. As is my wrist for that matter. I have no doubt it will stop happening on the next update as happened several years ago.

if you have no doubt, then that's good for you. let the placebo effect guide you.

 

[fw85]

Next time you experience this "burn", please get a thermometer and take a picture of the readout when you aim it at the underside of the watch.

That will make things pretty clear. Unless it's like 65+ degrees celsius, it's not a heat burn.

 

[G4RHL]

With what?

Just cold water. I swim every morning, have done for years. Since the watch became waterproof I have worn it in the pool but always take it off before having a shower and run it under the shower to ensure anybchemical residue is washed off. Done this for years.

 

[G4RHL]

Next time you experience this "burn", please get a thermometer and take a picture of the readout when you aim it at the underside of the watch.

That will make things pretty clear. Unless it's like 65+ degrees celsius, it's not a heat burn.

Thanks. Worth a try. I moved the watch to my other wrist the day the very latest OS update was installed to monitor further. When this happened a few years ago, must be quite a few and o think predated the watch being waterproof, to be fair to Apple they were very thorough to check all, rang me quite a few times and wanted photos. It was clear from our discussions that they did not think it was anything to do with, my body etc. etc. but indirectly, not openly, nor in writing, accepted there was an issue as I was aware others were reporting a similar problem. Very very soon after an OS update was released and the issue never reappeared again until now. It will take a few days for the mark on my wrist to disappear and if it is like before there will be no trace of anything. I need to wait now to see if it appears on my other wrist although yesterday’s update only to the watch OS may cure it. But thanks for the suggestion re the temperature check. Certainly if it was an actual burn I would know about it but its the best way to describe the round mark that appears.

 

[Jackbequickly]

I have worn Apple Watches since the day they first came out. Only time I have ever had any irritation

With what?

Likely oven cleaner . . . .

Some are not viable life forms . . . .

 

[BenGoren]

Sigh.

There’s no need for a thermometer.

Unless something is very worng, the hot water in your home is nowhere near hot enough to burn you, yet it’s plenty hot enough that you can’t keep your hands under it.

Anybody who’s ever had an iPhone tell you it’s too hot to do anything other than call 9-1-1 knows that, while it’s hot to the touch, it’s nowhere near as hot as the water tap. It’s actually about as hot as the water coming out of a drinking fountain at the park on a hot day.

So, for the watch to cause a thermal burn, it’d first have to get hot enough to tell you that it’s too hot for it to do anything other than call 9-1-1. This is hot enough for you to notice that it’s much hotter than it’s supposed to be, but nowhere near uncomfortable to the touch.

Then it has to get hot enough to become uncomfortable — which is waaaay past the point where it’ll just turn itself completely off, emergency or no.

Then it has to get so hot that you can’t stand having it on your wrist; even this isn’t hot enough to burn you.

Remember that it’s long since turned itself off, so, unless you’ve got a torch on the watch, the only thing that could be happening is the battery has gone into thermal runaway. Even if the “overheating” stops at this point, the watch is literally toast, will never turn on again, and shows multiple signs of severe damage.

… but it’s still not hot enough to burn you.

For it to burn you, the thermal runaway would have to continue to escalate even after you said, “Ow! My watch is super hot!” If this actually happened, it would actually catch fire, flames and all, shortly afterwards. Hopefully you would have already had the good sense to take it off your wrist.

Since this is not what happened, we know that your *VERY REAL INJURY* is not a thermal burn.

It actually, in fact, really, truly, honestly, is contact dermatitis. Which is a very common condition that manifests exactly as you’ve described. It has a number of possible causes as already discussed above, and is almost always easily treatable by a general practitioner (and nearly certainly by a dermatologist). (At the top of the short list is a very thin schmear of over-the-counter topical antibiotic ointment such as Neosporin, but check with your doctor just to be sure.)

b&

 

[G4RHL]

Sigh.

There’s no need for a thermometer.

Unless something is very worng, the hot water in your home is nowhere near hot enough to burn you, yet it’s plenty hot enough that you can’t keep your hands under it.

Anybody who’s ever had an iPhone tell you it’s too hot to do anything other than call 9-1-1 knows that, while it’s hot to the touch, it’s nowhere near as hot as the water tap. It’s actually about as hot as the water coming out of a drinking fountain at the park on a hot day.

So, for the watch to cause a thermal burn, it’d first have to get hot enough to tell you that it’s too hot for it to do anything other than call 9-1-1. This is hot enough for you to notice that it’s much hotter than it’s supposed to be, but nowhere near uncomfortable to the touch.

Then it has to get hot enough to become uncomfortable — which is waaaay past the point where it’ll just turn itself completely off, emergency or no.

Then it has to get so hot that you can’t stand having it on your wrist; even this isn’t hot enough to burn you.

Remember that it’s long since turned itself off, so, unless you’ve got a torch on the watch, the only thing that could be happening is the battery has gone into thermal runaway. Even if the “overheating” stops at this point, the watch is literally toast, will never turn on again, and shows multiple signs of severe damage.

… but it’s still not hot enough to burn you.

For it to burn you, the thermal runaway would have to continue to escalate even after you said, “Ow! My watch is super hot!” If this actually happened, it would actually catch fire, flames and all, shortly afterwards. Hopefully you would have already had the good sense to take it off your wrist.

Since this is not what happened, we know that your *VERY REAL INJURY* is not a thermal burn.

It actually, in fact, really, truly, honestly, is contact dermatitis. Which is a very common condition that manifests exactly as you’ve described. It has a number of possible causes as already discussed above, and is almost always easily treatable by a general practitioner (and nearly certainly by a dermatologist). (At the top of the short list is a very thin schmear of over-the-counter topical antibiotic ointment such as Neosporin, but check with your doctor just to be sure.)

b&

Thanks for your detail. Much appreciated and a summation I failed to achieve originally.

Yes, it’s not a burn as such, but a skin reaction that looks like a burn, hence it is easy to so define it. It is not like psoriasis. The skin is just reacting to what the sensor is doing every so often. The mark on the wrist being directly under the sensor. There are many creams for the skin. Last time, a few years ago, I tried a prescribed one, but it did nothing. The “burn” just went away when I stopped wearing it on that wrist. But appeared one the other wrist in just the same manner. As in the past my suspicions point to software changes in the operation of the sensor software. Perhaps increasing its intensity. I don’t know. This then with some creates a reaction. It was cured a few years ago with a quick release of an update. No doubt the same will apply today with the latest update issued on the 25th July. Certainly since then, the problem has not appeared again on my right wrist where the watch has been temporarily relocated. I have no doubt Apple know what the issue is.

 

[BenGoren]

The skin is just reacting to what the sensor is doing every so often.

The sensors have even less to do with it than heat.

If you can demonstrate otherwise, you’ll win as many Nobel prizes as Madame Curie.

It was cured a few years ago with a quick release of an update.

Apple is constantly releasing updates. The timing is pure coincidence.

Indeed, the phase of the moon likely aligns just as well with your symptoms. I can guarantee with absolute certainty that there’s some stock price that’s an absolute perfect match. Daily high temperatures in some seemingly-random location.

Why you insist on suffering for the sake of blaming Apple software is utterly beyond me. Will you please just go to your doctor already?

It’s a medical condition. You’re not a cyborg. You don’t catch computer viruses. Software updates aren’t going to heal your wrist.

b&