Apple Watch Not Sense S ome User Having Tatto- Do You Have

it seems like Apple users are always looking for the next AntennaGate or Bendgate, often with no luck, but some Apple Watch users may indeed have a problem, and it's being called TattooGate.

A couple of users with dark wrist tattoos have posted videos showing the Apple Watch not sensing contact with their wrist as it does on non-tattooed wrists.

In one video (below), the user, Nathan Hodgetts, enters his passcode to access the watch, but is repeatedly prompted to re-enter it because the Apple Watch doesn't sense contact with his skin.

Another video (top of the page), posted by tattooed Apple Watch user Michael Lovell, shows the same result, and adds a visual example of how the device's workout app performs when the device is worn on a heavily tattooed wrist.

"[T]he workout app would keep pausing every few seconds when doing an outdoor walk or run," wrote Lovell on his YouTube page. "I called apple support today, Tuesday 28th April. 

They said it must be something to do with the sensors losing contact with the skin and will replace it

They said it must be something to do with the sensors losing contact with the skin and will replace it."

But the tattoo glitch isn't limited to a couple of YouTube users. Another tattooed Apple Watch owner also weighed in on Reddit.

A user called guinne55fan claims that the tattoo issue also extends to notifications. "[I]t seems like notifications in general won't come through unless it senses it's on your skin," wrote guinne55fan. "So when my friend texts me and the watch is on my wrist my phone shows an incoming text...when I move the watch to the top of my hand which is not tattooed the watch gets notifications."

Several other users commented on the thread reporting similar issues.

Although Apple's support page for the Apple Watch sensor makes no mention of potential tattoo issues, the company does explain how its sensing technology works, offering a possible clue as to what might be behind the problems tattooed users are experiencing.

The heart rate sensor in Apple Watch uses what is known as photoplethysmography. This technology, while difficult to pronounce, is based on a very simple fact: Blood is red because it reflects red light and absorbs green light. Apple Watch uses green LED lights paired with light sensitive photodiodes to detect the amount of blood flowing through your wrist at any given moment. When your heart beats, the blood flow in your wrist — and the green light absorption — is greater. Between beats, it’s less. By flashing its LED lights hundreds of times per second, Apple Watch can calculate the number of times the heart beats each minute — your heart rate.

We haven't confirmed through testing whether or not the tattoo issue some users are experiencing is due to Apple's photoplethysmograph sensing technology. However, if it is linked to the tattoo issue, it would raise the question of why Lovell was offered a replacement Apple Watch, rather than simply having the technology explained to him by the Apple rep.

About 23% of all Americans have some sort of tattoo, according to a 2010 Pew Research Center poll, although it's nearly impossible to say how many of those are wrist tattoos. Nevertheless, Apple may need to publicly address the issue before more inked consumers post videos of their disappointing results.

As a temporary measure, one user turned off the "wrist detection" feature and is now receiving notifications on his Apple Watch without any problems.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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