Ultra 2 - Blood Oxygen

[butterwm]

I updated to 11.16.1. When I try and run a blood oxygen test I am getting this error. Anyone experiencing the same?

 

[SierraVista]

Have you also updated the paired iPhone to 18.6.1?

 

[butterwm]

Have you also updated the paired iPhone to 18.6.1?

I have. The update for the watch wouldn’t even show up until I updated the iPhone to 18.6.1.

 

[doogm]

See https://daringfireball.net/2025/08/apple_workaround_blood_oxygen_ban

Also important, and not clear at all from Apple’s initial announcement this morning: After the iOS 18.6.1 and WatchOS 11.6.1 software updates, the iPhone and Apple Watch need to download an over-the-air asset to enable the redesigned Blood Oxygen feature. This apparently may take up to 24 hours. Until this asset download happens, the Blood Oxygen app on your Apple Watch will still say “The Blood Oxygen app is no longer available”. To jump-start the download, users can open the Health app on their iPhone, and the ECG app on their Apple Watch. I was in this boat personally with an Ultra 2 from last year, and opening the Health app on my iPhone and taking an ECG reading on the watch did the trick

 

[BigMcGuire]

Maybe I'm not applicable here - I have an almost 2 year old Apple Watch Ultra 2 that had the Blood Oxygen sensor - I never lost it despite the lawsuit. But still works for me even after 11.6.1. <shrug>

 

[butterwm]

See https://daringfireball.net/2025/08/apple_workaround_blood_oxygen_ban

Perfect—thanks so much for this! The jumpstart procedure worked for me too.