Sense 2 Versa 4 and tattooed wrists.

[Professornuke]

Hi. I recently took the refund on my Ionic, and jumped ship to an Apple Watch 7, only to find that it doesn't work on my tattooed left wrist. I hate wearing it on my right wrist, but at least it works. Looking at this forum, I see lots of people having trouble with Versa watches not working on tattooed skin. Does the Sense 2 have the same sensor setup? I don't want to buy another watch and have it not work either.

[Guy_]

Hi @Professornuke  - the Sense 2 uses a different sensor but as no examples are available it has not yet had any reviews so it is too early to tell.

[Heather-S]

@Professornuke  My husband is heavily tattooed and he’s had no problems getting his Sense to read his heart rate. Whether or not the Sense 2 works the same remains to be seen, but with the Sense my husband didn’t have any problems. He has full black and grey work sleeves on both arms (covering his wrists). 

[N8teGee]

Hi @Professornuke.

I think there are too many variables here to know for sure how it will perform on your skin. As we know skin tones vary and also Tattoos come in many different colours, saturation and even depth within the skin. So what might work for one person may not work for you. 

Regardless of the watch or brand, they all use sensors based on the same technology, photoplethysmography (PPG). I guess some watches may shine lights at a higher intensity, but without testing it out for yourself it's hard for others to answer.

Ideally you would purchase the watch from a retailer with a generous returns policy. That way you can test it out for yourself and see if it performs to a satisfactory standard.