Mike Wuerthele
Starting January 18, Apple will sell the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 with pulse oximetry disabled in software. Here's how to tell if an Apple Watch has pulse oximetry or doesn't.
Apple has a how to identify your Apple Watch webpage. It's great for figuring out generally which model you have, but it still has yet to be updated with one key feature — how to tell if an Apple Watch has pulse oximetry.
There's one way to tell. Check the part number on the Apple Watch.
Apple says on its Apple Watch Ultra 2, Apple Watch Hermes, and Apple Watch Series 9 pages that "the ability to measure blood oxygen is no longer available on Apple Watch units sold by Apple in the United States after January 18, 2024. These are indicated with part numbers ending in LW/A."
You're safe if you're reading this on January 18 or within a few days or have an Apple Watch that you bought before January 18. The current ban is only on imports and sales via Apple on the device.
For now, the best way to check pre-purchase is on the device's box. There is a string of characters starting with M and ending either in LL/A or LW/A. The former has pulse oximetry, and the latter does not.
The model number is shown here, on the right side of the back of the box, towards the bottom.
Failing the box, the unit itself can be checked if the watch is set up.
- Select the Settings app on the watch
- Tap General
- Tap About
- Scroll down to Model
- Tap the five-character model number that starts with A to see the full model number
If it has LW/A on the end instead of LL/A, the pulse oximetry feature is disabled in the software as a result of the import ban. This watch is an original Apple Watch Ultra, so obviously, it has pulse oximetry.
Third-party vendors like Amazon and Best Buy can continue to sell through what they have with pulse oximetry. On the morning of January 18, listings are still unmodified, suggesting they all still have the feature.
It's unclear if they will alter listings after that stock runs out to reflect that feature, but it seems likely that they will.tho
Charles Martin
Malcolm Owen
Andrew O'Hara
14 Comments
Is Apple required to, or planning to, disable pulse oximetry on older model 9’s through iOS updates? I’m on 10.2, but can I safely accept new updates without killing this feature? I would expect that the release notes would mention it, but who knows!
hi, one thing that is not clear for me… does this only affect Apple Watches sold in the USA? For those of us north of the USA board (aka Canada) will the LL/A still be sold, or because most shipments come into Canada via USA, we'll be affected too?