Apple Investigating Display Flickering Issue Affecting Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2

Apple is investigating an issue where the display brightness briefly flickers or "pulses" on some Apple Watch models when Always On mode is enabled, according to an internal service memo shared with Apple Authorized Service Providers today.

Apple Watch Ultra 2 hero feature white
The memo does not indicate which Apple Watch models are affected, but the issue appears to be most prevalent on the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 models released last month. There are complaints from customers about this issue across the MacRumors Forums, Reddit, and the Apple Support Community website. The issue appears to be present on all watchOS 10 versions, including the latest watchOS 10.0.2 release.

Apple says service providers should not repair affected watches, and instead advise customers to keep their Apple Watch software up to date, suggesting that Apple will eventually make a fix available in a watchOS update. It's unclear if Apple has addressed the issue in watchOS 10.1, which is expected to be released to the public next week.

As a temporary solution, Apple says customers can turn off Always On mode in the Settings app under Display & Brightness → Always On.

Apple Watch Pink Complications
Apple is also investigating an issue where complications like Activity rings on a watch face might "temporarily turn pink," according to the memo. This is another issue that has been reported by some customers online in recent weeks.

Related Forum: Apple Watch

Popular Stories

Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock Light

iOS 19 Will Bring Biggest Design Overhaul Since iOS 7

Monday March 10, 2025 12:17 pm PDT by
Apple is planning for a major design overhaul of the iPhone, iPad, and Mac interfaces with the introduction of iOS 19, iPadOS 19, and macOS 16 later this year, reports Bloomberg. The update will "fundamentally change" the look of Apple's operating system, introducing a more consistent cross-platform experience. Apple plans to update the style of icons, menus, apps, windows, and system...
ios 18 4 carplay

Apple Upgrades CarPlay in Two Ways

Wednesday March 12, 2025 6:05 am PDT by
The upcoming iOS 18.4 update for the iPhone includes a smaller but meaningful improvement for Apple's in-car iPhone mirroring system CarPlay. Specifically, CarPlay now shows a third row of icons, up from two rows previously. However, this change is only visible in vehicles with a larger center display. For example, a MacRumors Forums member noticed the change in a Toyota Tundra with a...
Apple One Apps Feature 2

Apple One's Best Plan Now Includes Two More Perks For Free

Monday March 10, 2025 6:40 am PDT by
Apple One allows you to subscribe to up to six Apple services for one discounted monthly price. There are three Apple One tiers: Individual, Family, and Premier. Over the last month, the highest-end ‌Apple One‌ Premier plan has gained two additional perks. Here is what Apple One Premier already included, for $37.95 per month:Apple Music Apple TV+ Apple Arcade Apple News+ Apple Fitness+...
airpods pro 2 gradient

AirPods Pro 3 Launch Now Just Months Away: Here's What We Know

Tuesday March 11, 2025 3:26 am PDT by
Despite being released over two years ago, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 continue to dominate the wireless earbud market. However, with the AirPods Pro 3 expected to launch in 2025, anyone thinking of buying Apple's premium earbuds may be wondering if the next generation is worth holding out for. Apart from their audio and noise-canceling performance, which are generally regarded as excellent for...
iOS 18

12 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.4

Monday March 10, 2025 9:28 am PDT by
Apple is set to release iOS 18.4 in early April, bringing further refinements to Apple Intelligence features, a neat new capability to iPhone 15 Pro devices, new emoji, and more. While not quite as packed with new features as Apple's preceding iOS 18 point releases, iOS 18.4 still introduces enhancements that aim to make your iPhone smarter and more intuitive. Below, we've listed 12 new...
iphone 17 mockups idevicehelp

Video Shows iPhone 17 Mockups Based on 'Internal Documents'

Monday March 10, 2025 4:41 am PDT by
YouTuber iDeviceHelp on Friday posted a video that shows off mockups of Apple's forthcoming iPhone 17 models that are purportedly based on "internal documents." We're sharing the video here since it was made in collaboration with leaker Majin Bu, who last month published similar iPhone 17 renders that were widely corroborated by separate leakers with links to Apple's Chinese supply chain....
iOS 18

iOS 18.3.2 Update Coming Soon for iPhones

Monday March 10, 2025 7:25 am PDT by
Apple employees are internally testing iOS 18.3.2 for iPhones, according to our website's visitor logs, which have been a reliable indicator of upcoming iOS versions. The software update should be released in the next week or two. iOS 18.3.2 will be a minor update that addresses software bugs and/or security vulnerabilities. Don't expect any new features. iOS 18.3.2 will be an interim...
Apple Maps vs Google Maps Feature

iOS 18.4 Adds a Highly-Requested Setting to iPhones — But Not in U.S.

Wednesday March 12, 2025 1:05 pm PDT by
iPhones are finally getting a much-requested setting, but availability is limited. The upcoming iOS 18.4 update introduces an option to set a default navigation app, other than Apple Maps, but unfortunately this new setting is limited to users in the EU. There, you can now set an app like Google Maps or Waze as your default navigation app on the iPhone by opening the Settings app and tapping ...
iOS 18

Apple Releases iOS 18.3.2 With Bug Fixes

Tuesday March 11, 2025 10:33 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 18.3.2 and iPadOS 18.3.2, minor updates for the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating systems that came out last September. iOS 18.3.2 and iOS 18.3.2 come a month after Apple released iOS 18.3.1 and iPadOS 18.3.1. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. According to Apple's release...

Top Rated Comments

whoknows2597 Avatar
18 months ago
Here for the “quality control under Tim Apple” posts
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Royksöpp Avatar
18 months ago
Jesus H Christ. What is going on this year? Did they lose all their top software engineers? Overheating iPhones and Screen Retention are huge issues. Now, one of the headline features of the premium Apple watches should be turned off as a workaround? Simply unacceptable for a company of this caliber.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
1369281 Avatar
18 months ago

Jesus H Christ. What is going on this year? Did they lose all their top software engineers? Overheating iPhones and Screen Retention are huge issues. Now, one of the headline features of the premium Apple watches should be turned off as a workaround? Simply unacceptable for a company of this caliber.
It’s possible. Apple is very strict about their employees only working in the office. That’s not attractive to talented software engineers who can work anywhere.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mxrider88 Avatar
18 months ago
We came to a point where we are excited about new iOS updates not for the features but for the bug fixes. It’s a joke.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mxrider88 Avatar
18 months ago
Let me guess…. It’s a software issue!

What a bunch of morons they have in the software department. I don’t understand why they don’t give a termination letter to the one in charge of software over there. They terminated Forstall over maps. Why can’t they terminate this one over the mess that the whole ecosystem turned out to be???
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
synv Avatar
18 months ago
10.1 Beta RC appears to have addressed the issue, for anyone curious.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)