Some Apple Watch Series 8 and Ultra Users Experiencing Microphone Issues - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Some Apple Watch Series 8 and Ultra Users Experiencing Microphone Issues

A growing number of user reports online suggest the microphone on some new Apple Watch Series 8 and Ultra models can become persistently unresponsive after an unspecified amount of time, causing apps that rely on the mic to throw up errors and stop working.

measurement suspended apple watch bug

Photo shared by MacRumors forum member 2259 depicting the issue

Users have taken to the MacRumors forums and the Apple Support Community forums to relate the issue, which results in the following error notification from the Noise app, and also prevents system functions including Siri, Dictation, and Handwashing detection from working:

Measurement Suspended
The Noise app cannot check sound levels when Apple Watch is in Water Lock or while the microphone or speaker is in use.

Based on reports, the issue can be temporarily resolved by restarting the Apple Watch until the bug eventually manifests itself again, suggesting the problem is software-related rather than a hardware defect.

Updating affected Ultra watches to the latest post-release version of watchOS 9 doesn't fix the issue, which Apple is apparently aware of. The company has been replacing new models under warranty, presumably until it patches the bug in a forthcoming software update. We'll update this article if we learn more.

(Thanks, Henrik and Anthony!)

Related Forum: Apple Watch

Popular Stories

iphone 17 pro dark blue 1

Apple Preparing 'Most Significant Overhaul in the iPhone's History'

Sunday March 29, 2026 8:18 am PDT by
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has high expectations for Apple's first foldable iPhone. In his Power On newsletter today, he said the foldable iPhone will be "the most significant overhaul in the iPhone's history." "iPhone 4, iPhone 6 and iPhone X were clearly a big deal, but this is a whole new design," he said. Like Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 7, the foldable iPhone will reportedly open up like ...
Apple Event Logo

Apple to Launch These 15+ New Products Later This Year

Friday March 27, 2026 2:03 pm PDT by
March has been an incredibly busy month for Apple, with the company unveiling more than 10 new products and accessories. We said hello to the MacBook Neo at the start of the month, and we bid farewell to the Mac Pro at the end of it. Nevertheless, there is still a lot more to come this year. Beyond the usual annual updates to iPhones and Apple Watches, Apple's all-new smart home hub is...
Apple Apps Grid

Apple Releasing Two New iPhone Apps This Year

Saturday March 28, 2026 8:00 am PDT by
Apple is expected to release two new iPhone apps this year, including an Apple Business app and a Siri app with chatbot-like functionality. With the Apple Business app, employees at businesses using the new Apple Business platform will be able to install apps for work, view contact information for colleagues, and request support. Apple Business is launching on April 14, and it replaces Apple ...

Top Rated Comments

David1964 Avatar
46 months ago
Problem after problem after problem 🤷‍♂️
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
46 months ago

Microphones, and quality sound in general, have never been a thing for Apple. For each sound engineer there are probably five accountants watching over them, forbidding and admonishing absolutely anything and everything they want to do to improve the sound.

Quality microphones are EXPENSIVE, and Apple excels at “the cheapest possible component that is just barely good enough” sold with the finest marketing, and with a higher than previously considered possible price.

Sound engineering is probably the saddest job at Apple.
Lol. The OG HomePod is the most sophisticated piece of engineering feat Apple has ever created. The beamforming mics on those things are absolutely bonkers. They’re so good that they’re able to pick up sound from the other side of my house and I have a pretty big house (just for reference). The speakers on the iPhone 14 Pro are crystal clear and have an incredibly wide soundstage. The APP2’s are very pleasant to listen to without developing any ear fatigue. Apple’s sound engineering is close to stellar and I’m not an Apple fanboy.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
aries81 Avatar
46 months ago
In before “this would not have happened if Steve Jobs was still around”
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
contacos Avatar
46 months ago

I've got the exactly same issue on my Series 7.
I randomly have had that issue on Series 6 as well. Not even on the latest OS
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
FridgeToaster Avatar
46 months ago
I've got the exactly same issue on my Series 7.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JonathanParker Avatar
46 months ago
Here we go again
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)