A guide to help users troubleshoot common issues they may encounter with their Apple Watch Ultra, such as connectivity problems or software glitches.
At Know Your Mobile, we LOVE the Apple Watch Ultra. To see just how much we love the wearable, check out our Apple Watch Ultra review here.
That being said, while the Apple Watch Ultra has worked flawlessly for us, there have been reports on the web of various issues popping up with the device. This doesn’t mean that there are wide-scale problems with the Apple Watch Ultra, just that some people are having random issues.
The most likely cause for these random issues is likely a software bug or glitch that impacts a limited number of users. But sometimes there are other issues that are causing the problem. With that in mind, we’ve assembled this list of the most common Apple Watch Ultra issues and how to troubleshoot them.
Apple Watch Ultra Troubleshooting: Slow To Charge
One of the big benefits of the Apple Watch Ultra is that the device offers fast charging. The Apple Watch Ultra can be charged from 0% to 80% in just one hour. And it can be charged from 0% to 100% in just 90 minutes.
But what if your Apple Watch Ultra is charging much slower than this? There are then two likely culprits.
The first is that you are likely not changing your Apple Watch Ultra with the Apple Watch Magnetic Fast Charging USB-C Cable that came with the device. Perhaps you are using a third-party charging cable or an older Apple Watch charging cable. These cables can charge your Apple Watch Ultra, but they may do so much more slowly.
However, the second reason is the most likely one as to why your Apple Watch Ultra is charging slowly. And that is because you are not using at least a 20-watt power adapter to charge the Apple Watch Ultra. If you are using a power adapter with a lower wattage, say 5-watt or 10-watt, it will take the Apple Watch Ultra much longer to charge.
So be sure to make sure you are using the appropriate power adapter with the Apple Watch Ultra.
Apple Watch Ultra Troubleshooting: Watch Locked Due To Water
Sometimes you may find you look at your Apple Watch Ultra screen and find you can’t interact with it. If you see an icon that looks like a blue drop of water, this means the Apple Watch Ultra has detected water inside the device and it needs to eject it before it will let you use it again.
You may see this error if you shower with your Apple Watch Ultra or even if you are caught outside in heavy rain and your Apple Watch Ultra gets soaked.
Thankfully, this issue is easy to rectify: just press and hold the Digital Crown on the Apple Watch Ultra for a few seconds and then your Apple Watch Ultra will vibrate, thus ejecting the trapped water.
Apple Watch Ultra Troubleshooting: App Not Working
Sometimes you may find that an app on your Apple Watch Ultra is frozen or not working as expected. It’s likely the app just encountered a temporary bug. The quickest way to resolve this is to force quit the app. Do this by:
- Pressing the Side button once.
- When the app launcher shows up (the tiles that represent open apps, find the problematic app and swipe left on its tile.
- Now press the red X button.
The app will now be forced quit. You can now relaunch it and hopefully, the issue will be resolved.
Apple Watch Ultra Troubleshooting: Display Doesn’t Brighten When Wrist Is Raised
When you raise your wrist to look at the Apple Watch Ultra, the screen should brighten. If it doesn’t you probably just have raise-to-wake feature disabled. Here’s how to turn it back on:
- Press the Digital Crown on your Apple Watch Ultra.
- Tap the Settings app.
- Tap Display & Brightness.
- Toggle the “Wake on Wrist Raise” switch to ON (green).
The display on your Apple Watch Ultra should now brighten and/or turn on when you raise your wrist.
Apple Watch Ultra Troubleshooting: Not Getting Notifications
Some people will find that their Apple Watch Ultra is no longer alerting them to notifications. What most people don’t realize is that this is because of a feature they’ve set up on their iPhone called Do Not Disturb.
The Do Not Disturb feature tells your iPhone not to alert you to notifications during a specific timeframe. But when that timeframe comes around and the iPhone automatically enters Do Not Disturb mode, it also activates the DND mode on your Apple Watch Ultra.
So if you are suddenly not getting notifications on your Apple Watch Ultra, check to see if the Do Not Disturb function has been activated – and deactivate it if you want by:
- Swiping up from the bottom of your Apple Watch Ultra display.
- In Control Center, make sure the button with the moon icon is not colored purple.
- If it is, tap it to turn off Do Not Disturb.
With Do Not Disturb turned off, you should get notifications on your Apple Watch Ultra again.
Apple Watch Ultra Troubleshooting: Restarting Your Apple Watch
Finally, know that simply restarting your Apple Watch Ultra can resolve a number of odd issues and errors. To restart your Apple Watch Ultra:
- Press and hold the Side button.
- On the screen that appears, tap the power button.
- On the next screen, slide the Power Off slider to the right.
Your Apple Watch Ultra will now turn off. To turn it back on, press and hold the Side button until you see the Apple logo appear on the display.
