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Seems okay to me, both manual and background readings.

C909A625-3848-4798-8254-03BC7228DB90_1_201_a.jpeg
 
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I don't know what is wrong with my hand, but blood oxygen meter is able to show results in 5-10%. I mean I tried to measure about 30 times and saw results about 3 times only :( Then I exchanged watches and got the same experience with the new one. I tried different locations on my hand. Of course I didn't move my hand. I tried to press watch to hand to have better contact.
Finally I returned series 6 back to Apple Store and continue use series 5.
 
Mine works every time .... however my wife has problems getting a reading and it seems it’s the way the AW sits on her wrist when she wears a Nike sport band. If she wears a sport loop then it’s generally fine. I guess just the shape and fit for some people it is unreliable. Interestingly for her it either takes a sensible reading or none at all.
 
I'm wondering if it's quite sensitive to how the watch is sitting on my wrist. I have it set to do automatic readings but am also doing manual readings a few times a day (it's day 2 with my first ever Apple Watch so I can't leave the thing alone!). I'm finding that the automatic readings tend to be in the 88% - 95% range whereas when I take a reading manually it is pretty much always in the 98% - 100% range. It's most likely that when an automatic reading is triggered I might have my arm/wrist hanging down by my side if I'm walking or my wrist might be jiggling around if I'm at my PC typing whereas if I do a manual reading I have my wrist dead still with the watch facing upwards hence my theory that good consistent contact between the sensor and the wrist might be an issue that affects readings.

I might be able to compensate by setting my watch strap a bit tighter but I don't really want to do that, it is already quite snug already. Perhaps I should at least do that for a day as an experiment.
 
Doesn’t work on beta.
Have you seen confirmation from Apple that it won't work on beta? Any indication if we should try and get out of the beta or if it will be available in 14.2.1 or farther down the line?

I ask because I bought this dumb thing 100% for o2 readings and now I can't even try it. I've been on os 14beta so long I'd lose too much stuff too much stuff to go back to last non beta backup.
 
I just did it again and now I got a 95 % :D so yeah, I am not surprised its not recommended as a medical device. Either way, any idea on how to get it "higher". Like what does one have to change in life to get it to improve
Your blood ox sat will vary a bit based on your position in the respiratory cycle as well, so a few % variation between tests is expected. That, and you have to factor in a ~2% variation between tests just from tech being imperfect.
 
As a person who has COPD, I’ve become an expert on this. The bottom line is if you’re above 95-all is good. between 90 and 95% you’re starting to have a problem, anything less than 90 you got to see a pulmonologist/doctor. You’re not getting enough oxygen to your tissues. It can lead to huge problems down the road, also if you’re waking up with a headache or fatigued, that’s another symptom of what they call oxygen starvation or hypoxia.

Take a few deep breath’s before you run the test, and you’ll get a higher score, a few deep breath’s are acceptable according to my pulmonologist. Because it shows you still have the ability to process oxygen.

I'm usually at 89 or 90 (not on an apple watch but I currently wear a Garmin Vivosmart - gave my version 3 to my wife to get her more excited when I get us both newer Apple Watches. :D). I will sometimes take an unexpected deep gasp of air. I will tell my wife I forgot to breath. She tell me I am nuts. I know I am constantly breathing but I will sometimes not breath deeply enough if I am concentrating on something else.
 
Have you seen confirmation from Apple that it won't work on beta? Any indication if we should try and get out of the beta or if it will be available in 14.2.1 or farther down the line?

I ask because I bought this dumb thing 100% for o2 readings and now I can't even try it. I've been on os 14beta so long I'd lose too much stuff too much stuff to go back to last non beta backup.
What would you lose? All your health data is stored in the cloud. Do an encrypted back up to the computer and you should be fine, if you want to go back to 14.

At this point, there is no mention of when the beta will bring back SPo2
 
Have you seen confirmation from Apple that it won't work on beta? Any indication if we should try and get out of the beta or if it will be available in 14.2.1 or farther down the line?

I ask because I bought this dumb thing 100% for o2 readings and now I can't even try it. I've been on os 14beta so long I'd lose too much stuff too much stuff to go back to last non beta backup.
Yes it's actually in the beta release notes for WatchOS 7.1.
Health
Known Issues
  • The Blood Oxygen feature isn’t currently available. (68668093)
 
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That’s ridiculous… It works fine, Mine is doing the exact same reading as my finger sp02 device.

On another note, I’d be very interested in what people are showing in the health app for sleeping oxygen pct data…

And unlike in Antennagate, Steve Jobs is right; if you’re getting inaccurate Ox data, “you’re holding it wrong”.
 
Geoffrey Fowler of the Washington Post just wrote an article on the inaccuracy of the oxygen sensor in both the AW6 and the Fitbit Sense. "Both [devices] have new blood-oxygen apps. They're mostly useless."


Most should know this by now but you still have a few in here desperate to justify their purchases.
 
That’s ridiculous… It works fine, Mine is doing the exact same reading as my finger sp02 device.

On another note, I’d be very interested in what people are showing in the health app for sleeping oxygen pct data…

And unlike in Antennagate, Steve Jobs is right; if you’re getting inaccurate Ox data, “you’re holding it wrong”.
I’ve gotten as low as 88% once or twice during sleep but since my normal sleeping range is about 94%, I’m guessing those are just inaccurate readings. If it was consistently that low, I would probably go talk to my doctor about sleep apnea. When I test manually during the day, I’ve gotten 96-100% consistently.
 
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It can't give you a recommendation because it's not a medical device. That said, 88 is pretty low. Normal readings are between 95-100. 88 would be considered the low end of normal for someone with COPD, if you continually get readings that low you should probably consult a doctor.
Yea and 88 would probably have some sort of symptoms if that is at rest.
 
Most should know this by now but you still have a few in here desperate to justify their purchases.
I’m happy with the AW6 because overall it’s a significant upgrade from my AW3. As one example, it does a better job of tracking my heart rate during high intensity interval training. But I’ve turned off the blood oxygen sensor.
 
I was hoping Apple had come up with some way to make these wrist sensors accurate but it appears that they have not. I don’t think they should have included this sensor as it is not accurate enough to be useful and it’s just going to freak people out. It’s irresponsible to give people inaccurate health data no matter what the fine print says.
 
It's about 50-50 failed vs successful readings. The successful readings have been consistent though. Got one 99% and three 100% readings so there haven't been weird fluctuations.
 
Geoffrey Fowler of the Washington Post just wrote an article on the inaccuracy of the oxygen sensor in both the AW6 and the Fitbit Sense. "Both [devices] have new blood-oxygen apps. They're mostly useless."

My readings thus far (manual and automatic) have been consistent. I think Fowler doesn’t know what he is doing.
 
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My readings are from 92-95 but I also have a sleeve tattoo not sure if it interferes with the sensor or not and of course it sits right on the black part of the tattoo .. I was going to switch to the other hand for a day or so and see if i get similar readings unless someone has done this and its pointless ..
 
My readings are from 92-95 but I also have a sleeve tattoo not sure if it interferes with the sensor or not and of course it sits right on the black part of the tattoo .. I was going to switch to the other hand for a day or so and see if i get similar readings unless someone has done this and its pointless ..
I think you will find your readings a little higher on the other wrist.
 
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Watch is new, but I seem to be getting a reading at all about 50% of the time, maybe less.. most times it says “inconclusive”.. Even if I hold the watch lightly down on the wrist. Not sure if it is me, or the watch or the function overall.
 
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