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I read this thread before i got my watch, my watch came with 1.0.0 OS, i keep getting notifications to update, but i think i'll give it a miss.

I think apple should give you a toggle if you want to check every 10 minutes or not, it should be up to the end user.
Just update. I'm sure there are a lot of bugs that have been fixed. Even if you were to lose the consistent frequency of heart rate checks, I'm sure it's more than balanced out by improved accuracy for other fitness data, as well as Siri improvements and snappier Safari.
 
In whose eyes? Yours? I prefer accuracy over quantity. And I seem to get readings every ten minutes unless I'm walking around anyway. Fiasco is a pretty strong word for something no one outside of MR is even talking about.

Pretty much every tech website is reporting it. Not just MR
 
No. I've had several odd systems. The two weirdest ones were:

1. On occasional bicycle rides, I'd have a period of time where every time I blinked, my vision would sort of "twist" and I'd seem to have a cone of darkness move in my peripheral vision - each lasting about as long as a blink themselves. Would tend to last for 30-45 minutes, gradually getting worse and then better. Haven't had that one in years.

2. General head discomfort during a bike ride. Would usually go away within a minute after taking off my helmet and bandana. Neither was especially tight though. Then one day it didn't go away, just better. Then over a period of weeks, it just kept getting worse. Never severe - just an annoying ache. Lasted for nearly a year I think before gradually going away. Haven't had that one for a long time either. Still get occasional light-headedness, but just for a moment each time.
You might want to google "atypical migraine" or "migraine variant" and see if other people's accounts of their odd symptoms reminds you of anything you've experienced. It might also benefit you to get checked out by a neurologist the next time you experience one of these.

I've had full MRIs both regular and contrasting due to experiencing vaguely similar problems plus different ones. They did rule out imminent potential for stroke or aneurysm and saw that I have not yet had a stroke despite having had an episode resembling one. Migraines aren't just headaches or even headaches at all for some people. They're actually a complex neurological dysfunction that can affect even your stomach and digestion and even cause stroke and/or seizure-like symptoms. People with odd collections of symptoms that defy conventional diagnosis often find they actually have a migraine variant.

Giving up caffeine can be a big help. I did and have far fewer episodes with fast or irregular heartbeats.

Getting back to the topic of the thread, we can still use the watch to take our heart rate measurement on command and screenshot and print the results and make notations of what we were doing, eating, drinking and keep our records that way. That might give you and me a better record for our unusual purposes rather than random samples throughout the day. There are also probably apps I've not yet looked into that would help compile any health data the sensors collect into journal form.
 
I've had full MRIs both regular and contrasting due to experiencing vaguely similar problems plus different ones. They did rule out imminent potential for stroke or aneurysm and saw that I have not yet had a stroke despite having had an episode resembling one. Migraines aren't just headaches or even headaches at all for some people. They're actually a complex neurological dysfunction that can affect even your stomach and digestion and even cause stroke and/or seizure-like symptoms. People with odd collections of symptoms that defy conventional diagnosis often find they actually have a migraine variant.

Getting back to the topic of the thread, we can still use the watch to take our heart rate measurement on command and screenshot and print the results and make notations of what we were doing, eating, drinking and keep our records that way. That might give you and me a better record for our unusual purposes rather than random samples throughout the day. There are also probably apps I've not yet looked into that would help compile any health data the sensors collect into journal form.

Oh, I've seen the neurologist a number of times - have an appointment again, soon. Done the MRIs too, though I don't know what you mean by the two different types. They did say that at some point in my past I had at least one stroke - I sure never knew it!

I do have ice tea once a day - the rest of the time is just water usually.

I do sometimes set the watch for the "Other" activity and just let it run, but any real chance - slim though it may be - would probably require full time running all day until something happens so I can look at what that data was at the time.

I usually do fine though. For some time now it's just the very occasional light-headedness for usually just a second and, far more rare, some "shimmering" in my vision that may last 20 minutes.
 
Oh, I've seen the neurologist a number of times - have an appointment again, soon. Done the MRIs too, though I don't know what you mean by the two different types. They did say that at some point in my past I had at least one stroke - I sure never knew it!

I do have ice tea once a day - the rest of the time is just water usually.

I do sometimes set the watch for the "Other" activity and just let it run, but any real chance - slim though it may be - would probably require full time running all day until something happens so I can look at what that data was at the time.

I usually do fine though. For some time now it's just the very occasional light-headedness for usually just a second and, far more rare, some "shimmering" in my vision that may last 20 minutes.
One type is the MRI without any contrast agent injected into your circulatory system. The other is with a contrasting agent, I can't remember what it's called, that helps certain details show up more clearly.

From Wisegeek health this is how it works:
"As good as a standard MRI image is, the image can be improved even further by adding contrast. Tumors and other abnormalities will absorb the contrast dye as it progresses through your blood vessels, and on the MRI scan this area will glow. This allows for the detection of even the smallest tumors, and it also gives your doctor a clearer idea about the location and size of a tumor and which organs or tissues are involved. In addition, contrast allows a doctor to observe functional abnormalities that are not visible on a regular scan, particularly problems with how well your blood is flowing through your vessels."

That's weird that you had a stroke and didn't know it and I had two episodes in my early 20's that seemed exactly like strokes but weren't!

I wish the best of luck to you in getting to the bottom of your health problems. Don't let the docs give you the brush off.
 
One type is the MRI without any contrast agent injected into your circulatory system. The other is with a contrasting agent, I can't remember what it's called, that helps certain details show up more clearly.

I did some searching about atypical migraines just now - the stuff about "visual auras" sounds a whole lot like what I have experienced. There are variations in some of mine, but these things are pretty hard to describe and we are limited to "artist's depictions". I suspect everyone will be slightly different. Anyway, it is the closest thing I've found to explain at least some of what I've had. Even the time they say they last fit my experience. They say up to 60 minutes and mine were usually 20-40 minutes.

I just emailed my neurologist about it. My appointment is next week. Would be nice to actually find a reason for what is going on!

Thanks for the tip! Never would have considered migraines otherwise.
 
I'm glad if this helps you get to the bottom of your problems. My mom and I both have this diagnosis but our symptom sets are pretty different. So much so, that when I first started mentioning my problems to her, she never made the connection to her own diagnosis and likewise, I never connected her long saga to a diagnosis to my own issues.

My neurologist pinpointed the problem right away after she got the MRI results and ruled out other problems like epilepsy. I have autoimmune problems as well, as do both of my parents, but autoimmune problems aren't necessarily connected to migraines. But sometimes a flare up with one can trigger the other.
 
Pretty much every tech website is reporting it. Not just MR
They're all reporting it because it's a change in function and that's what they write about. There's no heart rate gate news stories circulating on any real news outlet. The watch still does everything it was designed to do. If you have a specific medical condition that requires constant heart rate monitoring throughout the day then you will be using something that's specifically for that purpose. Currently there are medical institutions such as the Mayo Clinic that are partnering with Apple to monitor that and other such data. As time goes on there will be others and as patients are identified with such a need these functions will be active. For me and most people a resting heart rate is more indicative of general fitness and is helpful to track as your fitness improves or falls. So an at rest every 10 minutes recording is quite useful.

Even reading through the threads here on Macrumors I see an overwhelming positive trend on the watch. I know it does everything I expected and I couldn't go without it now. I see many others saying the same thing.
 
I think the main reason people are upset by the lack of heart rate monitoring is because they think it is contributing to inaccurate calories/exercise minutes when not using the Workout app.

From what I can gather, people on 1.0.0 don't even need to select a workout. They just strap on the watch and go about their day. The watch gives them credit for exercise they do. After the 1.0.1 update that passive credit is greatly reduced and if you want credit for the exercise you do, you must go into the workout app and select a workout.
 
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Even reading through the threads here on Macrumors I see an overwhelming positive trend on the watch. I know it does everything I expected and I couldn't go without it now. I see many others saying the same thing.

Just because people are overall positive on the watch, doesn't mean the change in the HR monitoring isn't a problem. I like the watch, and I wouldn't want to be without it, but I liked it better when I could slap it on my wrist and forget about it. Now I am constantly starting and stopping workout in order to fill up my excerise and activity rings, which is not as good an experience as it was pre-update. But I still like the watch overall, and if someone asked me about it, my response would be generally positive.
 
I think the main reason people are upset by the lack of heart rate monitoring is because they think it is contributing to inaccurate calories/exercise minutes when not using the Workout app.

From what I can gather, people on 1.0.0 don't even need to select a workout. They just strap on the watch and go about their day. The watch gives them credit for exercise they do. After the 1.0.1 update that passive credit is greatly reduced and if you want credit for the exercise you do, you must go into the workout app and select a workout.
That's pretty much it.

It's still giving me credit for exercise without going into the workout app, but it's the kind of activity most people would not consider "exercise". For example I'm earning exercise credits for cleaning my house. Like washing kitchen counters, mopping floors, stuff like that which frankly I barely break a sweat on. Yet activities one would think of as exercise, like a canyon hike or a brisk walk or the vigorous landscaping work I do on some days don't seem to budge the exercise meter very much if at all anymore. I am not fitness expert so maybe the watch is doing a better measure of activity that will make or keep me more fit.

Prior to the update I did get credit for the outdoor activities I mentioned. And I don't think I got credited for housework before the update. So I question the veracity of this change. It's such a turnaround and defies my ideas of what constitutes a good workout. But like I said, what do I know?
 
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Guys may be worth starting a new thread about your specific medical problems or communicate via IM
Oh don't worry, I think we are done. Sorry for taking off on a tangent like that, I did not mean to. Oh well at least we were trying to help each other and weren't arguing back and forth like people often do when they go off tangents here. My apologies, though.

Lol, and at least we can conclude some of us have issues too complex for an Apple Watch with a handful of sensors to handle. At this time anyway. The future of the Apple Watch as a medical device is interesting to contemplate...but not on THIS thread.
 
I have a friend with exactly the same sports watch as me. I have an elliptical cross trainer at home. I'll do a workout wearing both watches. One with the elliptical workout running and one without it running.

The results should be identical.



I'll post my results in the next couple of days.
 
That's pretty much it.

Yet activities one would think of as exercise, like a canyon hike or a brisk walk or the vigorous landscaping work I do on some days don't seem to budge the exercise meter very much if at all anymore. I am not fitness expert so maybe the watch is doing a better measure of activity that will make or keep me more fit.

Prior to the update I did get credit for the outdoor activities I mentioned. And I don't think I got credited for housework before the update. So I question the veracity of this change. It's such a turnaround and defies my ideas of what constitutes a good workout. But like I said, what do I know?
Actually what you are calling housework is a form of exercise. And I find that I get my 30 minutes credit as long as my pace is brisk enough. That's one of the things that improves with the calibration with your phone's gps. When I walk my dog who pokes and pauses at every bush and leaf I get about one or two minutes credit for a 30 - 40 minute walk. When I go out by myself and set a continuous pace for 30 minutes I get 30 minutes credit. I'm not certain how valid an every 10 minutes heart rate is for determining calories burned or activity done since one's heart rate can be elevated for various reasons while sitting still. But I won't debate that point, there are smarter people than me that can chime in.

As for checking a relevant heart rate during exertion it should be continuous which it essentially is on the watch once you engage one of the activity functions. The specific function may well change or evolve with software updates but currently it's doing exactly what I expected and what's useful for me. I get that not everyone will see it that way but there are still ways to get the results you want.
 
I think the main reason people are upset by the lack of heart rate monitoring is because they think it is contributing to inaccurate calories/exercise minutes when not using the Workout app.

From what I can gather, people on 1.0.0 don't even need to select a workout. They just strap on the watch and go about their day. The watch gives them credit for exercise they do. After the 1.0.1 update that passive credit is greatly reduced and if you want credit for the exercise you do, you must go into the workout app and select a workout.

Yes, this. Before the update, I could put the watch on in the morning and then not have to think about it all day long, it just seamlessly integrated with my life. Now, if I want it to register exercise/activity, then I have to open the Workout app and tell it what I'm about to do. Not so seamless. I actually don't mind doing it when I am intentionally exercising for a while, but it still misses all of the other minutes of activity I do throughout the day unintentionally. So now, if I haven't used the Workout app, I have nothing on my green ring at the end of the day. It's losing its motivational mojo for me, which is very sad.

Does anyone know if there's a way to revert back to the prior update?

Hopefully the next update (soon???) will at least give us the choice about HR monitoring. Sounds like some folks don't mind it staying the way it is, but some of us would like to go back to the way it was!
 
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You can't revert back and don't expect a "fix" anytime soon.

Apple does not see this as a bug. They actually designed this stupid thing this way.
 
I understand that they don't see this as a bug, but hopefully they have heard from enough users that they will provide this as a user choice in settings.
 
I just contacted Apple support and was told that it should still be tracking activity throughout the day, not only when using the Workout app. As is still says on their website, "Fitness isn’t just about running, biking, or hitting the gym. It’s also about being active throughout the day. So Apple Watch measures all the ways you move, such as walking the dog, taking the stairs, or playing with your kids. It even keeps track of when you stand up, and encourages you to keep moving. Because it all counts. And it all adds up."

The tech I spoke with had me unpair and then repair my watch, and will get in touch with me later today to see if that resolved it for me.
 
To those of you questioning if the fitness rings on the iPhone app updated at different speeds depending on whether you have the fitness app running on the watch or not I can confirm the following….

I have just competed a 10 minute elliptical exercise wearing 2 identical Apple Sports watches. One on each wrist and straps both tightened to the same fitting. Both watches are running V1.01. During the workout I reached a heart rate of approximately 140 on both watches.

At the end of the 10 minute exercise the following data was noted:

Watch running the elliptical activity app: 85 total calories and 10 minutes of exercise.
Watch not running any workout: 48 total calories and 6 minutes of exercise.

So you can see by doing exactly the same exercise at the same time on the same person you get 2 totally different results depending if you are running the watch’s activity app or not.

Further more, the actual watch activity app itself recorded 93 total calories. So why does that differ from the 85 total calories the SAME watch sends its paired iPhone fitness app? So now we have 3 different calorie burns for the same exercise: 93, 85 and 48!

While I agree I was wearing a friend’s watch as my second testing device, we are of similar build and fitness. Based on our daily resting calorie comparison we burn a difference of 3.5 calories every 10 minutes. In this exercise the difference was 37 calories over 10 minutes. Imagine how inaccurate it would be if I exercised for a couple of hours, then multiply that up into days, weeks and months.

Personally, I think the watch data is fundamentally broken and any data it produces should be taken with a pinch of salt.

I'll copy this post to Apple feedback.
 

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The tech I spoke with had me unpair and then repair my watch, and will get in touch with me later today to see if that resolved it for me.

Why is this their answer for everything? ... get them some new talking points already. Just like they had everyone wasting their time un-pairing/pairing for the HR frequency (non)issue. It does nothing other than make the customer feel like they are trying something to resolve the issue.

Next time someone is told to do the unpair/pair dance, please ask them what specifically/technically that will do to fix the issue...would be very interested in their answer.
 
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How many calories are in a slice of pizza? I generally estimate 200 for the type of pizza I eat. That's close enough for me. If I'm going to do a workout, I use the workout app on the watch to record the effort. Mostly for the time. All other activity is nice to track but absolute accuracy is not a huge deal like absolute accuracy of consumption is not a big deal either. (for me) Without a LAB with LAB gear I'm assuming close estimates on everything and at the end of the day looking for patterns of activity. If 30 calories one way or the other (100 even) were the difference in my health I would be more worried but the point here for me is that I can see day-to-day about how I'm doing. If its wrong but wrong on a consistent basis then I still have my day-to-day comparison. This is more than anything a motivational tool that reminds me not to sit around and do nothing.

Not saying the watch should not be as accurate or as consistent as any other device but generally it does what I'm asking of it. The readings between the activity app and just wearing the watch are to me a little like telling a story and asking the person if they heard the details. If you didn't get their attention to begin with (activity app) they may miss a few details since they are not checking in at a regular interval. No argument, just my thoughts.
 
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