[Updated] Apple Watch Ultra 2 & Series 9 'screen flickering on raising to wake' bug troubles WatchOS 10.0.2 users (workarounds available)

New updates are being added at the bottom of this story…….

Original story (published on October 12, 2023) follows:

Apple Watch Ultra 2 screen flickering on raising to wake is a major pain point for users. Despite paying a premium price for the device, they endure a subpar experience.

The Apple Watch has been a groundbreaking product since its inception, offering a wide array of features that have made it a must-have for tech enthusiasts and fitness aficionados alike. But this issue proves that even the most meticulously crafted products are not immune to software glitches and bugs

For Apple Watch Ultra 2 users running WatchOS 10.0.2, an unexpected and puzzling problem has cast a shadow over their experience. Users have been reporting a peculiar bug where the watch screen exhibits flickering upon raising it to wake.

Picture this: you’re a proud owner of an Apple Watch Ultra 2 and you’ve customized your watch face to the sleek and information-packed ‘Modular Ultra’ option. You’ve added a timer complication, which is incredibly useful for timing tasks or workouts. But little did you know that this simple customization would lead to a bug.

The issue occurs when users raise their wrist to activate the watch’s display, intending to check the time or access a quick glance at their timer. Instead, what greets them is a screen that’s gone haywire. It’s as if someone has painted the display with fleeting strokes of pink and purple. The result is a display that’s momentarily distorted, and this can be quite disconcerting for users who rely on their Apple Watches for quick, accurate information.

In the most severe instances of this ‘screen flickering on raising to wake’ issue, things escalate to a point where the watch takes matters into its own hands. Following the erratic flickering, the Apple Watch decides to do a sudden reboot.

One might hope that this issue is an isolated incident limited to the Apple Watch Ultra 2. However, it’s worth noting that users of the Apple Watch Series 9 have also raised their voices about similar problems.

The bug can be reliably reproduced through a specific set of steps, which include the following:

1. Set your watch face to ‘Modular Ultra’ with a timer complication displayed.
2. Initiate a timer for any duration (e.g., 10 minutes) – the specific timer duration does not appear to affect the issue.
3. Exit the timer application.
4. Allow the watch screen to dim after a few seconds.
5. The flickering issue commences, with the display exhibiting pink or purple flashes.

This sequence of events has been documented by numerous affected users, who have shared video clips showcasing the glitch in action.

In the absence of an official fix, some resourceful users have discovered potential workarounds that can temporarily alleviate the issue. These include:

1. Switch to Modular Watch Face: Changing your watch face from ‘Modular Ultra’ to ‘Modular’ has been reported to prevent the flickering problem.

2. Enable Always-On Display: Enabling the always-on display mode seems to mitigate the flickering problem. However, this may not be an ideal solution for users concerned about battery life, as it can lead to increased power consumption.

3. Turn Off Night Mode: Some users have found success by turning off night mode.

Some users have reported that the ‘screen flickering on raising to wake’ issue has been resolved after they updated to WatchOS 10.1 beta 3. So, we hope that this issue will be fixed soon.

That said, stay tuned for the latest updates on this matter.

06:26 pm (IST): MacRumors suggests that Apple is delving into an issue involving brief display brightness flickers or ‘pulses’ on specific Apple Watch models, based on an internal service memo shared with Apple Authorized Service Providers.

Note: We have more such stories in our dedicated Apple section, so make sure to follow them as well.

Featured image: Apple Watch

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