Many people with COVID-19 have low levels of oxygen in their blood, even when they feel well. Low oxygen levels (SpO2) can be an early warning sign that medical care is needed.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, along with masks and hand sanitizers, sales of pulse oximeter are on the rise.

Can you measure blood oxygen saturation without a pulse oximeter? Yes, you can. If your smartwatch or fitness tracker comes with the SpO2 feature, you can measure your blood oxygen level.

Read more Maxim Unveils the First Complete Wrist-Based Solution For Monitoring SpO2

When measuring blood oxygen level using fitness trackers and smartwatches, make sure:

1. The smartwatch or the fitness tracker is mounted properly on your hand
2. Always keep your hand steady while measuring blood oxygen
3. For better results, rest your hand on a flat surface
4. Factors that may affect results are shaking, hair, tattoos, improper wearing, and low temperature

How to use an Apple Watch to measure SpO2

Using an Apple Watch, you can take a blood oxygen measurement at any time with the Blood Oxygen app.

1. Make sure that your Apple Watch is snug but comfortable on your wrist.
2. Open the Blood Oxygen app on your Apple Watch.
3. Stay still, and make sure your wrist is flat with the Apple Watch facing up.
4. Tap Start, then keep your arm steady for 15 seconds.
5. The measurement takes 15 seconds. At the end of the measurement, you will receive the results.
6. Tap Done.

For best results

Rest your arms on a table or in your lap while you take a measurement. Keep your wrist and palm down and flat, and hold as still as you can.

Make sure that your Apple Watch isn’t loose on your wrist. The band should be snug but comfortable, and the back of your Apple Watch needs to be touching your wrist.

Make sure that the back of your Apple Watch is flush with the top of your wrist. If your wrist bones interfere with this, move your watch 1 to 2 inches up your arm away from your wrist bone.

Measuring SpO2 with Samsung Watch

1. Head into your Galaxy Watch3 Apps Tray and launch the full-screen icon Samsung Health
2. Scroll down the list of options and tap on the full-screen icon Blood Oxygen
3. Select
4. It is recommended to place your hand on a table and near your heart. Sit still while your watch measures your Blood Oxygen level.
5. Once measured you will be able to view your Blood Oxygen level and Beats per minute (bpm)

Read more Fitbit Adds Blood Oxygen Monitoring (SPO2) in its Versa, Charge, and Ionic Device

Measuring SpO2 with Fitbit Wearables

To measure SpO2 with a Fitbit wearable, you’ll need the latest version of Fitbit OS and a SpO2 clock face.

All you need to do is set the SpO2 clock face as default. This will show you details like SpO2, heart rate, step count, floor count, etc. Also, the clock face shows the average value from your most recent sleep session and the highest and lowest values recorded during the session, reports GadgetsNow.

This works on Iconic, Sense, Versa, Versa 2, and Versa Lite.

Measuring SpO2 with Amazfit Watch

1. Swipe left on the dial interface to open the application list, and select blood oxygen application to start measuring blood oxygen saturation
2. During mountaineering, the sports application can be run in the background, and then the oxygen saturation application can be started for blood oxygen measurement;
3. After the measurement, the watch will display the measurement result, or check the latest measurement result.

‍