Some Tattoos Found to Interfere With Apple Watch's Sensors
A growing number of users have turned to social networks claiming that full sleeve tattoos, ones that stretch to cover the wrist, interfere with the Apple Watch's heart rate sensor and skin contact registration. Consequently, some Apple Watch users with tattoos have been unable to receive notifications and are frequently prompted to re-enter their passcode, if one is set, on the wrist-worn device.
A popular Reddit thread discussing the issue has received nearly 700 upvotes and 300 comments since being posted on Tuesday, and some users have unfortunately already coined the phrase "Tattoogate" to describe the problem. iMore soon followed up with a report confirming the issue, with the Apple Watch displaying inaccurate heart rate readings on the wrists of people with dark-colored tattoos.
"So I thought my shiny new 42mm SS watch had a bad wrist detector sensor," writes Reddit user guinne55fan. "The watch would lock up every time the screen went dark and prompted me for my password. I wouldn't receive notifications. I couldn't figure out why especially since the watch was definitely not losing contact with my skin. also I couldn't find anything online with people experiencing this issue. I was about to give up and call Apple tomorrow when I decided to try holding it against my hand (my left arm is sleeved and where I wear my watch is tattooed as well) and it worked. My hand isn't tattooed and the Watch stayed unlocked. Once I put it back on the area that is tattooed with black ink the watch would automatically lock again."
The severity of problem appears to depend on the color and ink saturation of the tattoo, with darker, solid tattoos causing the most interference with the Apple Watch's sensors. A temporary solution for affected users is to toggle off Wrist Detection in the Apple Watch app under the General menu on the main settings tab, but doing so will disable Apple Pay from being used on the Apple Watch.
iMore also points out that natural skin pigmentation does not have the same affect on the Apple Watch's sensors, so there is no reason to be worried if you have darker skin. But if you have tattoos, the best advice for now is to try out the Apple Watch yourself and rest assured that the device has a 14-day return policy. Apple has not provided comment on the matter, but we'll keep you posted if we hear anything.
Popular Stories
Apple today announced that its next-generation CarPlay experience, now dubbed "CarPlay Ultra" begins rolling out today, starting with Aston Martin vehicles.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.
CarPlay Ultra is now available with new Aston Martin vehicle orders in the U.S. and Canada. It will also be available for existing models that feature the brand's next-generation ...
Apple's recently announced CarPlay Ultra promises a deeply integrated in-car experience, but not all iPhone users will be able to take advantage of the new feature.
According to Apple's press release, CarPlay Ultra requires an iPhone 12 or later running iOS 18.5 or later. This means if you're using an iPhone 11, iPhone XR, or any older model, you'll need to upgrade your device to access...
Apple today announced the launch of CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles.
CarPlay Ultra features deep integration with a vehicle's instrument cluster and systems, built-in Radio and Climate apps, customizable widgets, and more. The interface is tailored to each vehicle model and automaker's identity, and drivers can also adjust...
President Donald Trump has asked Apple CEO Tim Cook to halt the company's manufacturing expansion in India, in a potential disruption of Apple's plan to shift iPhone production away from China.
"I had a little problem with Tim Cook yesterday," Trump said during his state visit to Qatar, according to Bloomberg. "He is building all over India."
"They [India] have offered us a deal where...
Apple this week introduced a new feature designed to allow prospective Apple Music users to import their saved music and playlists from third-party music services to Apple Music.
The feature is either in an expanded testing phase or it has started rolling out, and it is available in Australia and New Zealand according to an Apple Support document. Signs of the transfer option first surfaced...
The first videos of Apple's CarPlay Ultra experience are now available, providing a never-before-seen look at the long-anticipated iPhone-linked infotainment software.
British automaker Aston Martin today shared the first video of Apple's CarPlay Ultra experience in-action, followed by a detailed walk-through of the CarPlay Ultra system on Top Gear's YouTube channel, which provides the...
Apple today released iOS 18.5 and iPadOS 18.5, the fifth updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating systems that came out last September. iOS 18.5 and iPadOS 18.5 come a little over a month after Apple released iOS 18.4 and iPadOS 18.4.
The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. The iOS 18.5 update has a...
On Friday, Epic Games submitted Fortnite to the U.S. App Store, and since then, we've been waiting to see if Apple would approve the game and allow it back on the iPhone and the iPad. There's been no word from Apple so far, but Epic Games opted to pull its first App Store review request, and has now resubmitted Fortnite.
Fortnite leaker Shiina shared the news, with the information reposted by...
