ECG+ stopped showing your new ECGs? Here's why, and how to fix it
If ECG+ shows your older recordings but has stopped picking up the ones you've taken recently, the cause is almost never ECG+ itself. ECG+ doesn't store your ECGs, it only reads what's in your iPhone's Apple Health. When new recordings stop appearing, it's because they never reached Apple Health in the first place, and that's nearly always iCloud Health sync. Here's how to confirm it and turn it back on.
First, check the Apple Health app, this is the key test
One quick look tells you exactly where the problem is. On your iPhone, open the Apple Health app and go to Search → Heart → Electrocardiograms (ECG).
In almost every case, your recent ECGs are missing here too, not just in ECG+. That's the important clue: it means the recordings never made it from your watch into your iPhone's Health data. ECG+ can only show what Apple Health contains, so if Health doesn't have them, nothing ECG+ does, refreshing, reinstalling, can bring them in. The fix is on the Apple side.
Why this happens: iCloud Health sync
Apple Watch ECGs don't travel to your iPhone over the normal Bluetooth pairing, the way most people assume. They sync through iCloud Health. If iCloud Health sync gets switched off, your watch still records and saves each ECG, but those recordings never reach your iPhone's Apple Health, so neither the Health app nor ECG+ can see them.
This is why the problem tends to start on a specific date and why ordinary fixes (restarting, re-pairing the watch) never help, it isn't a pairing problem. iCloud Health sync most often gets turned off or disrupted by:
- An iOS update, the date your ECGs stopped appearing often matches an update.
- Full iCloud storage or an iCloud sync conflict.
- A change of Apple ID, Health only syncs across devices signed in to the same Apple Account, so if your watch or iPhone is on a different Apple ID, new recordings go somewhere your Health app can't see.
The fix: turn iCloud Health sync back on
- Open Settings and tap your name at the top.
- Tap iCloud, then See All (under “Saved to iCloud”).
- Tap Health and make sure Sync this iPhone is turned on.
- Check your iPhone and Apple Watch are signed in to the same Apple ID, and that iCloud storage isn't full.
- Keep both devices unlocked, connected to Wi-Fi, and give them a few minutes. New ECGs you record from now on will flow into Apple Health, and ECG+ will show them automatically.
One honest caveat. Turning iCloud Health sync back on fixes things going forward, but ECGs recorded while it was off do not sync retroactively. Those earlier recordings usually can't be recovered, only the ones you take after re-enabling sync will appear.
If your recent ECGs are in Apple Health but not in ECG+
This is rare, ECG+ re-reads Apple Health every time you open it. If the recordings are clearly present in the Apple Health app but still missing from ECG+, check that no date or quality filter is hiding them, then contact ECG+ support and let us know, and we'll look into it with you.
Still stuck? If your recent ECGs aren't in Apple Health and the steps above haven't brought them in, it's worth raising with Apple, since it's their sync. We're also glad to help you work through it.
Contact ECG+ support, it helps if you mention whether the missing recordings appear in the Apple Health app.
Frequently asked questions
Why did my Apple Watch ECGs stop showing in ECG+ and the Health app?
Apple Watch ECGs reach your iPhone through iCloud Health sync, not the Bluetooth pairing. If iCloud Health sync is turned off, new ECGs stay on the watch and never reach your iPhone's Apple Health, so neither the Health app nor ECG+ can show them. Turn it on in Settings → your name → iCloud → See All → Health, and make sure “Sync this iPhone” is on.
I turned iCloud Health sync back on but my old missing ECGs still aren't there. Why?
ECGs recorded while iCloud Health sync was off do not sync retroactively when you turn it back on. Re-enabling it restores syncing for new recordings, but recordings taken while it was off usually can't be recovered.
Does ECG+ store my ECG recordings?
No. ECG+ only reads ECGs from Apple Health; it never stores them itself. If a recording isn't in the Apple Health app, ECG+ has nothing to read, which is why missing new recordings are an Apple iCloud sync issue, not an ECG+ one.