How to tell if Oura Ring is working properly and giving you accurate data?
Your Oura Ring tracks your health and wellness metrics to help you optimize your fitness levels.
Knowing if it’s working is important so you’ll know which habits and activities to change.
To know your Oura Ring is working, several visual indicators like the LED and heart sensor lights exist. You also want to check your smartphone to see if it’s paired and connected to the app.
Let’s know your ring a bit better.
10 Best Methods How to Tell If Oura Ring Is Working
There are several ways to check the status of your Oura Ring and confirm that it’s working and recording your metrics accurately.
Here are the best methods to give you that peace of mind:
Visual Indicators
One of the easiest ways to tell if Oura Ring is working is to look at its visual indicators.
Now, it’s not going to have a screen like smartwatches, but it comes with LED lights that let you know it’s running.
1. LED Light Indicators
The LED light on your Oura Ring is capable of showing different colors and patterns depending on its status.
Here’s what you need to look out for:
Note: If you see any of these colors, your ring is working and responding to your actions.
There are instances where you won’t be able to see any light, which means that your ring is either turned off, has no battery, or has a hardware problem.
2. Heart Rate Sensor
Another quick visual indicator you need to look out for to confirm if your ring is working is the heart rate sensor.
It emits a faint red light when it’s measuring, and you should be able to see this on your skin.
Here’s how to check the heart rate sensor visually:
- Find the sensor on your ring next to the LED light.
- Check if you see it emitting a faint red glow.
- Put your ring on and turn it to see if a red light is reflecting on your skin.
Tip: If you don’t see any light, the sensor is blocked by dirt and dust, so you must wipe it with a clean cloth.
Pairing and Connectivity Indicators
Another way to tell if your Oura Ring works is to check its pairing and connectivity status with your phone and app.
Here’s how to do it:
3. Bluetooth Pairing
Your Oura Ring must be paired to your smartphone’s Bluetooth to communicate with the app properly.
It allows the ring to sync its data and receive updates from it. Here’s how to know if your device is connected via Bluetooth:
On iOS
- Open the Settings app on your phone.
- Tap on Bluetooth.
- Look for your Oura Ring on the list of paired devices.
On Android
- Open the Settings app.
- Tap on Connections.
- Select Bluetooth.
- Find the Oura Ring from the list of devices.
Pro Tip: If you’re unable to find your ring from the list of connected devices, you’ll need to pair it for it to work.
4. Oura App Connection
After confirming that your Oura Ring is connected via Bluetooth, you want to ensure it’s communicating with the Oura app.
It allows the app to display your health and wellness data for you to review and analyze.
Here’s how to do it:
- Open the Oura app on your smartphone.
- Locate the Oura Ring icon at the top of the screen.
- Check if the icon is green.
- If it is, it means your ring is connected.
- If it’s gray, your ring is not connected.
Note: To ensure that your device connects to the app, you need it to be charged, and the Bluetooth module on your phone is switched on.
Mobile App Activity
Activity on your Oura mobile app means your ring is connected and saving its data to the app.
Let’s look at the different indicators to know if the connection with the app is working:
5. Updated Tracking Data
Whenever you open the app and see updates on your health and fitness data, your Oura Ring is doing its job.
There is a possibility for some delay from a few seconds to several minutes.
Here’s how to check your data:
- Open the Oura app on your smartphone.
- Tap on the different tabs at the bottom of the screen.
- Swipe left or right to view the data for your other metrics.
- Look at the numbers, graphs, and scores.
- Compare the time and date of the last saved data.
Note: If your data is out of sync by over a few hours, consider restarting your Oura Ring and phone to refresh their connection.
6. App Notifications
One way to tell how do you know if your Oura Ring is working is by the number of app notifications you’re getting on your phone.
These are related to the status of your ring or any important reminders about your health and wellness.
Here are some of the notifications to watch out for:
- Low battery notification that tells you to charge your device
- Inactivity notification that tells you to stand up and move
- Activity progress notification that tells you about your activities throughout the day
- Bedtime notification that reminds you it’s time to go to sleep
- Insights notification that shares analyzed insights about your data
Tip: If you’re not receiving any notifications from the app on your phone, check the notification settings so it’s not disabled.
Fitness Tracking Data
Your Oura Ring is more than just a health and wellness device.
It’s also a fitness tracker that measures and displays your physical activity level and fitness goals.
It tracks various metrics, and when you can see them, it means your ring is working fine.
7. Daily Step Count
One of the data that your Oura Ring saves is your daily step count and activity score.
These numbers measure how much you move throughout the day and how active you are.
Here’s how to check them:
- Open the Oura app on your smartphone.
- Tap on the Activity tab at the bottom of the screen.
- Swipe left or right to see your data for different days.
- Look at your numbers and graphs that show your step count and activity score.
- Make sure that the last report is updated to the most recent date.
8. Live Heart Rate
Your Oura Ring is also capable of measuring your heart rate.
However, the live feature allows you to check it on demand, which quickly confirms if it’s working or not.
Here’s how to check your heart rate using your Oura Ring:
- Open the Oura app on your phone.
- Tap on the Live HR tab to know your heart rate.
- Hold still for 10 seconds.
- Your heart rate will be displayed on the screen.
Note: Ensure your ring fits snuggly on your finger but not too tight to get an accurate measurement.
Automatic Sleep and Activity Monitoring
One of the most advanced and unique features of the Oura Ring is its automatic sleep and activity monitoring.
This feature lets the ring detect when you’re sleeping or active and tracks your data accordingly.
9. Sleep Data
Checking the saved sleep data on the Oura app will tell you whether it works properly.
It means you’ll know how well your sleep is based on various metrics such as sleep stages, efficiency, and resting heart rate.
Here’s how to check your sleep data on the app:
- Open the Oura app on your phone.
- Select the Sleep tab at the bottom of the screen.
- Make sure that the saved data is from the most recent night.
Note: If your sleep data is not showing or has inconsistent results, check the fit and make sure the sensors are clean before going to bed.
10. Readiness Score
The readiness score is a report that your ring shows you every morning, telling you how ready you are to face the day ahead.
It’s mainly based on your sleep and activity data from the previous days.
Here’s how to check your readiness score:
- Launch the Oura app on your phone.
- Tap on the Readiness tab at the bottom of the screen.
- Swipe left or right to see your score for different days.
- Make sure that you get your readiness score for today.
If you’re not getting accurate reports, there is an issue with your ring or the app. Reinstall the app or reset your ring to ensure it works properly.
If all else fails, contact Oura Support for technical assistance.
Conclusion
We’ve shown you how to tell if Oura Ring is working properly or not.
Look at the visual indicators, like the LED lights, as it’s a telltale sign that your device is working and recording your stats.
Check the app, review your metrics, and make sure they’re current.
To know how to troubleshoot your Oura Ring and read up on more guides, visit our blog!
Finn Wheatley holds a Master’s Degree in Computer Science from UCL, London. He helped small data science consultancy firms, helping large corporations to grow their data capabilities, deploy advanced machine learning-based analytics and troubleshoot tech-related issues. Check out more about him here.