How to turn on handwashing detection on the apple watch

Apple Watch могут определять, когда Вы начинаете мыть руки, и советовать Вам делать это в течение времени, рекомендованного мировыми организациями здравоохранения (20 секунд). Если Вы, вернувшись домой, забыли помыть руки, Ваши Apple Watch также могут напомнить Вам об этом через несколько минут.

Включение режима мытья рук

Откройте приложение «Настройки» на Apple Watch.

Коснитесь «Мытье рук», затем включите таймер мытья рук.

Когда Apple Watch обнаруживают, что Вы начали мыть руки, они запускают таймер на 20 секунд. Если Вы заканчиваете мыть руки раньше, часы советуют Вам продолжить.

Получение уведомлений о мытье рук

Apple Watch могут напоминать Вам помыть руки, когда Вы возвращаетесь домой.

Откройте приложение «Настройки» на Apple Watch.

Коснитесь «Мытье рук», затем включите «Напоминания помыть руки».

Примечание. Напоминания помыть руки также можно включить на Apple Watch, которые настроены для члена семьи. Откройте приложение «Настройки» на управляемых Apple Watch, коснитесь «Мытье рук», включите таймер мытья рук, затем включите «Напоминания помыть руки».

Чтобы получать напоминания помыть руки, необходимо указать домашний адрес в своей карточке в приложении «Контакты» на iPhone.

Чтобы посмотреть отчет о Вашем среднем времени мытья рук, откройте приложение «Здоровье» на iPhone, выберите «Обзор» > «Другие данные», затем коснитесь «Мытье рук».

With a heightened emphasis on health and hygiene in the news, the latest version of the Apple Watch’s operating system, watchOS 7, now includes a handwashing detection feature. It automatically senses when you’re washing your hands and provides a helpful timer to ensure you keep washing for the time recommended by the World Health Organization — 20 seconds.

As long as you have a compatible version of the Apple Watch, detection is automatic, based on a combination of hand movement and the sound of running water. It’s not foolproof, but should automatically detect handwashing the vast majority of the time.

How to check if your Apple Watch has handwashing capability

To turn on handwashing detection, you need to have an Apple Watch Series 4 or higher. Older watches lack the microphone needed to listen for running water. You also need to be running watchOS 7. Your watch should update automatically, but you can also check manually.

1. On your iPhone, start the Watch app and tap “General.”

2. Tap “Software Update.”

3. You should be running watchOS 7. If not, you can install the latest update from this screen.

How to turn on handwashing detection on a compatible Apple Watch

1. On your watch, press the Digital Crown to see a list of your installed apps.

2. Tap the Settings app.

3. Scroll down and tap “Handwashing.”

4. Turn it on by swiping the button to the right.

5. Your watch will detect when you’re washing your hands, and a timer will appear.

How to turn on handwashing detection on Apple Watch using an iPhone

If you prefer, you can turn on handwashing detection using your phone. Turning it on from your phone gives you an additional setup option.

1. Start the Watch app on your iPhone.

2. Scroll down and tap “Handwashing.”

3. Turn on “Handwashing Timer” by swiping the button to the right.

4. If you want to be reminded to wash your hands when you return home, turn on “Handwashing Reminders” by swiping the button to the right.

The Handwashing feature is an example of how technology can help us with small things that make a huge difference. Using hand motions and the sound of running tap water, your Apple Watch automatically detects when you are washing hands and starts a 20-second timer. However, some times the watchOS 7 Handwashing timer might not work correctly. To help, let us start with the basic solutions and eventually get this problem fixed successfully.

1. Make Sure Handwashing is Enabled

By default, this handy feature is disabled. Therefore, the first step is to ensure Handwashing is turned on.

Secondly, only Apple Watch Series 4, Series 5, and the newest Series 6 and SE running watchOS 7 have this option.

Note: Though Series 3 supports watchOS 7, it does not have ambient sound detection, and thus Hand Washing feature (and the Noise app) aren’t available. Many publications falsely mention that Series 3 supports this.

2. Do Not Stop Washing to Check the Timer

When you start washing your hands, the Apple Watch sensors read from your hand movements and the sound of flowing tap water. Soon, the 20-second Handwashing timer automatically starts displaying on the screen.

You do not have to stop washing to check the timer. If you do, it pauses and asks you to continue. So, make sure to keep washing usually. After 20 seconds, you will feel haptic feedback, sound (if you have turned these on), and also see a message on the screen.

3. Restart, or Force Restart Your Apple Watch

One of the quickest fixes to solve the Handwashing problem is to restart the Apple Watch. Switching off and then switching on the wearable takes care of several temporary glitches. In case a simple restart fails to bring success, go ahead with a hard reboot.

4. Make Sure Microphone is Enabled

Handwashing uses the microphone to recognize the sound of tap water. Thus it is essential to ensure that settings for this are perfect.

1. Press the Digital Crown and tap on the Settings icon from the bubble of apps.
2. Scroll down and tap on Privacy. Enter the Screen Time passcode, if asked.
3. Tap on Microphone.
4. Make sure the toggle for Measure Sounds is enabled.

5. Turn ON Significant Locations

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone and tap on Privacy.
2. Tap on Location Services → System Services.
3. Scroll down to the bottom and tap on Significant Locations. On the next screen, ensure the toggle for Significant Locations is ON.

6. List Home Address in your Contact Card

For the Handwashing reminders feature to work correctly, you must have your home address listed in your contact card. After this, Apple Watch can remind you to wash your hands when you reach home.

1. Open the Contacts app and tap on My Card from the top. You may also open the Phone app and tap on the Contacts tab.
2. Tap on Edit.
3. Tap on add address. Fill in all the details and tap on Done.

7. Remove any Cover or Protector

Many people use full-body cover or case to protect their expensive Apple Watch. Cases from reputed brands have proper cutouts for the speaker, microphone, and the sensor. However, if you use a fully covered case that blocks the microphone, remove it.

Secondly, you may also consider cleaning the microphone using a soft, tiny brush or cloth. Make sure to take extreme care.

8. Update to the Latest Software

With each watchOS update, Apple brings bug fixes and improvements. To have the best possible user experience, you must have the latest version of watchOS on your Apple Watch. You can easily update straight from your watch or follow the steps below.

1. Open the Watch app on the companion iPhone and ensure you are in the ‘My Watch‘ tab.
2. Tap on the General → Software Update.
3. Tap on Download and Install or Install Now if you see either.

Note: If you are running developer or public beta of watchOS, consider switching to the regular (non-beta) version.

9. Unpair and Repair the Apple Watch

Finally, if nothing works, unpair the Apple Watch and pair it again. This will erase everything that is currently on the watch. However, when you unpair using the Watch app, it creates a backup automatically. You can use it to restore and get back the current data.

Signing Off

These are some of the ways to get Handwashing working again on your Apple Watch. I hope the solutions above worked for you. Kindly share your opinion in the comments section below.

People are usually in a hurry, and this handy feature is just a delight to have. Though Handwashing was made available during the pandemic, Apple’s VP of technology, Kevin Lynch, told TechCrunch that this feature was in work for years!

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One of the new features of watchOS 7 highlighted at WWDC 2020 is the handwashing detection, which helps users wash their hands properly to eliminate germs. This feature is disabled by default, so read on as we explain how to enable and use handwashing detection in watchOS 7.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends washing hands for at least 20 seconds to ensure that most germs are eliminated. While handwashing is crucial in any situation, this habit became even more essential during the COVID-19 pandemic as the virus can be transmitted by hand contact.

Apple Watch now shows a countdown to help you wash your hands for 20 seconds. There are also haptic feedbacks and sounds to make the process more intuitive, so users don’t have to look at the screen while washing their hands.

The best part of the handwashing feature of watchOS 7 is that it works automatically, so you don’t need to open any app to get started. The system can identify sounds of water and soap when you rub your hands. The combination of these sounds with the movements of the hand triggers the handwashing countdown.

Apple has opted to not enable handwashing detection by default, but if you’re already running watchOS 7 on your Apple Watch, here’s how to enable it:

1. Open the Settings app on Apple Watch
2. Scroll down and tap Handwashing
3. Turn on the Timer toggle
4. Turn on the Haptics toggle (optional)

Once you’ve enabled handwashing detection, you can check more details about each time you washed your hands in the Health app on your iPhone. Just follow the steps below:

1. Open the Health app on iPhone (it requires iOS 14)
2. Tap the Browse tab
3. Search for Handwashing
4. Tap the Handwashing option

Personally, the feature worked as promised most of the time with my Apple Watch, although it was randomly activated in some situations. Keep in mind that watchOS 7 is still a beta software and handwashing detection is likely to be improved until the final release.

watchOS 7 is available as a developer beta and it’s expected to be released for everyone this fall. A public beta version will be available later this month.

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The addition of the Handwashing Timer to watchOS 7 is meant to encourage Apple Watch users to properly wash their hands for at least 20 seconds. Here’s how to get the feature working, to remind you to keep your hands clean.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has caused health-related organizations and governments around the world to come up with ways to encourage people to be more hygienic. One idea that has been adopted around the world is that of regularly washing hands, and doing so for at least 20 seconds to minimize the risk of infection by touch.

Memes have been circulated, proposing songs and other ways people can use to time themselves washing their hands, with social pressure helping to enforce the washing of hands in the first place.

With the Handwashing feature of watchOS 7, Apple has added a function to the Apple Watch that is a fairly simple concept, namely a timer that appears whenever the user starts to wash their hands, counting down from 20 seconds. With the release of watchOS 7, it is now available to enable and use on supported devices.

Handwashing requires users to update their iPhone to run iOS 14, and their Apple Watch to watchOS 7, in order to function.

How to turn Handwashing detection on and off via your iPhone

• Open the Watch app on your iPhone.
• Under My Watch, scroll down and tap Handwashing.
• Tap the toggle next to Handwashing Timer.

How to turn Handwashing detection on and off via your Apple Watch

• Press the Digital Crown and select the Settings app.
• Scroll down and tap Handwashing.
• Tap the toggle next to Handwashing Timer.

How to use the Handwashing timer

• Start washing your hands.
• If the Apple Watch detects correct hand movements and the sound of running water, the timer will appear. It will automatically adjust to have started the timer when it thinks handwashing started, and will show a countdown timer with the remaining time.
• Continue washing until the Apple Watch chimes and displays a “Thumbs Up” symbol.

It is advised to not bother to stop and look at the timer on the Apple Watch, as it will cease the countdown and may stop the timer altogether. AppleInsider has encountered situations where the timer stopped abruptly, such as water being registered as a screen tap, which may be an issue for some users.

Along with the default timer, Apple has also included Handwashing Reminders, which will use location tracking to determine if the user has been outside of home, and has returned. The reminder is to encourage users to wash their hands on arrival at home, again to minimize any bacteria or virus transference to other family members by bringing them into the house.

How to turn Handwashing notifications on and off via your iPhone

• Open the Watch app on your iPhone.
• Under My Watch, scroll down and tap Handwashing.
• Ensure the toggle next to Handwashing Timer is enabled to see the Handwashing Reminders toggle.
• Tap the toggle next to Handwashing Reminders.

As handwashing is an important part of staying healthy, especially in the current COVID-19 climate, the Apple Watch collects data on handwashing activities. This includes times when the counter is enacted, how many times the user successfully reaches 20 seconds, the average time spent handwashing, and other data which can be reviewed over a longer period of time.

How to view Handwashing data on the iPhone

• Open the Health app.
• If it doesn’t appear in the Summary page when entering the app, select Browse.
• Select Other Data.
• Select Handwashing.

Like other metrics the app tracks, users can see how many times they washed their hands in a day, week, month, or year, as well as how long for, averages, and even timestamped data. This feature may be especially useful for families, with parents able to check if their children are washing their hands sufficiently throughout the day.

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If you told people a few years back that Apple would release a feature that helps Apple Watch users wash their hands properly, most of them would’ve laughed. However, in this day and age, washing your hands could quite literally save your life, even if it still sounds a little silly.

Regardless of the current situation in the world, washing your hands should always be a top priority, even if some of us didn’t see it that way previously. We constantly get germs in our hands because of everything we touch. And even if most of the time our bodies can fight these germs, washing your hands helps with other germs your body might not be ready to handle.

The World Health Organization, or WHO for short, suggests that you wash your hands for at least 20 seconds to kill most of the germs you’ve been in contact with. It seems easy, but many of us overlook this advice without giving it a second thought.

That’s why Apple came up with a simple solution for all Apple Watch users and introduced a new handwashing feature that’s available with watchOS 7.

How Does the Handwashing Feature Work?

Just like you would expect from Apple, the new handwashing feature is pretty simple to use.

Once you start washing your hands, your Apple Watch will use its motion sensors and microphone to detect your hand movements, hear the sound of water and soap, and will automatically start the handwashing feature.

A countdown timer will pop up on your Apple Watch, letting you know when you reach the 20-second mark. Once you’re done, your Apple Watch will congratulate you and will save that information in your Health app.

And, in case you were wondering, Apple states that the sounds used to detect handwashing are not recorded or saved on your Apple Watch or Health app.

If you want, you can go check the Health app and see the frequency and duration of your handwashing in any given day, week, month, or year.

Plus, you can also set your Apple Watch so it gives you a reminder to wash your hands as soon as you get home.

Granted, the handwashing feature isn’t perfect yet, since watchOS 7 is still in beta version. Nevertheless, it works well and is worth trying it out.

How to Enable Handwashing Detection on Your Apple Watch

Even if you’ve already installed watchOS 7 on your Apple Watch, the Handwashing feature is disabled by default. Luckily, turning it on is really easy. Here’s what you need to do:

1. On your Apple Watch, open Settings.
2. Scroll down and select Handwashing.
3. Turn the Time and the Haptics options on.

You’re all set. Now you can give it a try by washing your hands and it’ll automatically start working.

How to Check Your Handwashing Routine on Your iPhone

As I mentioned before, you can also check your handwashing daily, weekly and monthly routine on your iPhone. The Health app shows how many times you’ve washed your hands and how much time it took you to do it. The Health app will give you some information about the importance of washing your hands as well.

Here’s where you can find all of this:

1. On your iPhone, go to your Health app.
2. Tap on the Browse tab.
3. Search for Handwashing.
4. Select Handwashing.

Here you’ll see all your handwashing information. Keep in mind though, you’ll also need iOS 14 on your iPhone for this to work.

The Apple Watch’s watchOS 7 update introduced a smart new feature for anyone concerned about hand hygiene in a post-COVID world: Handwashing detection. Here’s how it works and how you can turn it on or off.

How to Enable or Disable Handwashing Detection

To enable or disable handwashing detection, first launch the Watch app on your iPhone.

Scroll down to find the Handwashing section and tap the “Handwashing Timer” option to enable it (or to disable it if it’s already enabled.)

You can also enable Handwashing Reminders, which sends you a push notification if your Watch detects that you haven’t washed your hands within a few minutes of returning home.

You can also enable or disable the timer directly from on your Apple Watch. Launch the Settings app, then enable Handwashing Timer under the Handwashing section.

If you don’t see the option available then you probably need to install the watchOS update. You’ll need iOS 14 installed in order to do this, then you can head to Watch > General > Software Update to apply the update.

How Handwashing Detection Works

With the timer enabled, your Apple Watch will trigger a 20-second countdown whenever it thinks you are washing your hands. The Watch detects the sound of running water and movement patterns associated with lathering and scrubbing your hands to start the timer.

Your iPhone will tap your wrist when the timer starts, and tap twice when the countdown is complete. If you move your wrist as to check your watch, the timer will pause until you get back to scrubbing.

There’s a slight delay between when you start to wash your hands and when the timer kicks in, which Apple accounts for by reducing the timer appropriately. The 20-second window might feel a bit short to you if you’ve been singing “Happy Birthday” in your head twice, as some have suggested during the COVID-19 pandemic.

With your hands nice and clean, your Apple Watch will display a thumbs up to signify that you are done. If you tire of the feature you can head back to the Watch app and disable Handwashing Timer under the Handwashing section (or launch Settings > Handwashing on your Apple Watch).

The good news is that handwashing detection works well. The timer starts within around five seconds and congratulates you on a job well done. There’s no need to count to 20 in your head anymore because the Apple Watch is more accurate.

One issue you might run into are false positives while cleaning vegetables or dishes in a kitchen sink or similar.

How to See Your Handwashing Data

While the Handwashing Timer is enabled, your Apple Watch will log every time you wash your hands under the Health app. It will also log the duration of each wash, and average your time over a day, week, month, or year. After testing, it doesn’t seem that this information is logged unless you explicitly enable the Handwashing Timer.

You can view your hand hygiene data in the Health app under Health > Other Data. At the bottom, there’s an option to add the feature to your favorites, which will show it in your Health dashboard when you launch the app. It doesn’t seem like this data is useful beyond bragging to your friends about how spotless your digits are, however.

With watchOS 7, Apple has introduced a new feature called Hand Washing Detection. After you enable it, whenever you are washing your hands and wear Apple Watch, an automatic timer of 20 seconds will start. If you stop washing hands before 20 seconds, it will ask you to continue. Apple calls it ‘first-of-its-kind innovation for a wearable.’ Additionally, it can also remind you to wash your hands when you return home. Let’s learn how to use handwashing detection feature on your Apple Watch, and see its data.

List of Apple Watch that Supports Handwashing Feature

• Apple Watch Series 4
• Apple Watch Series 5
• Apple Watch Series 6 and SE

Important Note: Though Apple Watch Series 3 supports watchOS 7, it does not have the Handwashing feature.

How to Enable Handwashing Detection Feature in watchOS 7

1. Press the digital crown and tap on the Settings app icon
2. Scroll down using touch or digital crown. Tap on Handwashing.
3. Turn on the toggle for Timer to activate the Handwashing feature on Apple Watch.
4. Haptics is enabled by default. I love it. However, you may choose to turn it off

Now, your Apple Watch will use the motion sensors, microphone (to detect water running sounds), and on-device machine learning to automatically know when you start washing your hands.

How to Test Handwashing Detection on Apple Watch

Start washing your hand and this feature will automatically come to action. A 20-second timer will display on the screen.

If you stop before twenty seconds, the Apple Watch will ask you to continue. Once it is over, you will feel haptic feedback (in case you left it enabled) and hear a sound.

How to Check Handwashing Data in Health App on iPhone

The Health app on the iPhone syncs and shows Handwashing data as well. Here is how to see it and add it to favorite.

1. Open the Health app on your iOS 14 device
2. Tap on Browse
3. Tap on Other Data.
4. Tap on Handwashing. Here is your data.
5. If you would like to see this information under Summary on the main Health app screen, scroll down and tap on Add to Favorites.

Signing off…

This is how you can enable, use, and know whether you have been washing hands properly or not.

Amid a global pandemic, it is excellent for Apple to introduce this feature. Once the world is out of COVID-19, I would still love this feature on my watch. In fact, more wearable companies should do something like this. Washing hands properly must be an everyday life habit. Most of the germs and diseases are transmitted inside us via our own hands.

Finally, on the privacy side, Apple mentions that the sound used to detect Handwashing is not recorded or stored in the Health app or the watch itself.

I would not recommend, but if you wish to turn Handwashing off, follow the same steps, and disable the toggle for Timer.

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iGeeksBlog has affiliate and sponsored partnerships. We may earn commissions on purchases made using our links. However, this doesn’t affect the recommendations our writers make. You can read more about our review and editorial process here.

Even before the pandemic of 2020, people knew that washing their hands was important. To reduce the risk of spreading illness, washing your hands for at least 20 seconds is the key. With this in mind, Apple introduced an Apple Watch feature to help.

With Automatic Handwashing Detection in watchOS 7, your Apple Watch can sense when you begin washing your hands. And with that, a 20-second timer begins. This lets you know when time is up and you’re good to go. There is also a setting to remind you to wash your hands when you return home.

Here, we’ll show you how to enable and use the Automatic Handwashing Detection feature as well as check how well you’re doing with your handwashing rituals.

Automatic Handwashing Detection on Apple Watch

Enable the Handwashing Timer

As with many settings for your wearable, you can enable Automatic Handwashing Detection on both Apple Watch and the Watch app on your iPhone.

Turn on the setting on Apple Watch

To enable the feature on your Apple Watch, follow these simple steps.

1) Open the Settings app on your Watch.

2) Scroll down under the list of apps and select Handwashing.

3) Turn on the toggle for Handwashing Timer.

Turn on the setting on iPhone

If you prefer to use your iPhone to enable this feature or also want to turn on the arrival reminder, open the Watch app on your iPhone and do the following.

1) On the My Watch tab, scroll down and tap Handwashing. This option sits within the list of Apple apps on your Watch.

2) Turn on the toggle for Handwashing Timer.

3) To receive a notification for the timer, enable an option at the top.

Now when you wash your hands, your Apple Watch uses a combination of:

…the motion sensors, microphone, and on-device machine learning to automatically detect handwashing motions and sounds.

A 20-second timer will begin and count down for you, letting you know when you’re done.

Get a notification to wash hands when returning home

If you’d like a reminder to wash your hands within minutes of arriving at home, turn on the toggle for Handwashing Reminders in Watch on iPhone.

If this option is grayed out, you’ll need to enable Significant Locations in your iPhone settings with these steps.

1) Open your iPhone Settings and tap Privacy.

2) Select Location Services (which must be enabled).

3) Scroll to the bottom and pick System Services.

4) Choose Significant Locations and enable the toggle on the next screen. If Home is not set, you can tap it and add it.

Once you enable Significant Locations, the Handwashing Reminders setting will be available for you to enable back in the Watch app as described above. And the next time you venture out and return home, you should receive a reminder to wash your hands.

Check your handwashing stats

After you enable the Automatic Handwashing Detection feature, you might want to see how well you’re doing with it. Are you remembering to wash often? Are you washing for at least 20 seconds? Here’s how to find out.

1) Open the Health app on your iPhone

2) Tap the Browse tab at the bottom.

3) Enter “handwashing” into the search at the top and then select it from the list.

You can then see a helpful graph at the top that shows you your handwashing data. You can view the number of washes detected by day, week, month, or year. You’ll also see the average time overall. Tap a bar on the graph for further details. And if you need to add data manually, for example, maybe you weren’t wearing your Watch at a time you washed your hands, tap Add Data at the top and enter the details.

To keep this handy, you can add Handwashing to your Health Summary tab. Just tap the star next to Add to Favorites on the Handwashing detail screen. Then when you open the Health app, you’ll see Handwashing under Favorites and can simply tap from there to see your data.

Wrapping it up

Keeping your hands clean and free from germs and bacteria is more crucial now than ever. So if you own an Apple Watch with watchOS 7 or later, be sure to enable and use this handy feature.

What do you think of Automatic Handwashing Detection on the Watch? Will you use it yourself or maybe set it up on an Apple Watch that one of your loved ones wears? Let us know!