The user manual won't mention anything about this
The Apple Watch has slowly evolved into a robust smartwatch with good health features in recent years, and it’s only going to get better as Apple explores atrial fibrillation, smart bands and more. However, it turns out the Series 3 has seen some random restarts in an unexpected place.
Some Apple Watch Series 3 users have been reporting the device is unexpectedly restarting in hospitals, according to 9to5Mac. A reader tells the site that his wife’s Apple Watch would restart every 60 to 90 minutes while working in a hospital’s intensive care unit.
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Back in October, a posting on Apple’s support communities about random restarts featured over a dozen replies coming from users experiencing the same exact problem. The Series 3 would unexpectedly and consistently restart while near ICU equipment.
The only apparent solution seems to be turning on Airplane Mode, which isn’t ideal because that cuts off the Watch from any data, turning off things like notifications and data-using apps.
This makes it likely that the Series 3’s connections, whether it be LTE, Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, aren’t mixing well with medical equipment. It’s hard to discern which connectivity option is the issue, but a crash report shared on Apple’s support forums hint at the Wi-Fi chip freaking out, crashing, and taking the rest of the Apple Watch down with it.
In its Apple Watch Series 3 user manual, Apple says that the Watch “contains components and radios that emit electromagnetic fields” and that those fields and magnets may interfere with “pacemakers, defibrillators and other medical devices.” However, that’s all about how the Apple Watch may affect how those devices work, it says nothing about how those devices may affect the Apple Watch.
For the most part, this issue seems to mostly affect hospital workers who ply their trade near or in the ICU. Hopefully it’s simply a software issue that can be resolved through a software update in the future.
