Wrist Tattoos may stop Apple Watch from working
Tattoos may stop Apple Watch from working
By David Goldman
Your mother hates your tattoos. So does your Apple Watch,
apparently.
Tattooed wrists can prevent the Apple Watch's heart rate
sensor from functioning properly, according to some customers.
Since the Apple Watch uses your heart rate to determine
whether you're wearing it, you might not be able to use Apple Pay, receive
notifications, place calls, or use certain apps if you have tattoos on your
wrists.
Some Apple Watch wearers on Reddit and Twitter complained
about the tattoo issue, and Apple blog iMore confirmed that the problem exists.
The issue stems from the way that the Apple Watch senses
your heartbeat. According to Apple, the back of the Watch rapidly flashes green
and infrared light at your skin, which gets absorbed or reflected by your red
blood. When your heart beats, there is more blood in your wrist, and there is
less blood between beats. By sensing the timing between your heartbeats, the
Apple Watch can calculate your heart rate.
As it turns out, solid-colored tattoos -- particularly
red ones -- also absorb the green light and reflect red light. Black tattoos,
which absorb both green and red light, can also screw up the Apple Watch's
heart rate sensor.
The Apple Watch works fine with dark-colored skin, scars
and skin abrasions, which are translucent, allowing light to pass through.
Tattoo ink is opaque, preventing outside light from penetrating your skin.
One Reddit user found that he could turn off the Apple
Watch's wrist detection, allowing notifications to come in. But he couldn't use
Apple Pay or receive calls without the wrist detection setting turned on.
A spokeswoman from Apple did not respond to a request for
comment.
CNNMoney (New York)
April 29, 2015: 7:38 AM ET
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