How to sync Polar with Apple Health
Yes, one way. The Polar Flow iPhone app writes workouts, workout heart rate, active and resting energy, sleep duration, steps and weight to Apple Health; it cannot read anything from Health.
Key caveats: continuous heart rate, sleep stages, Nightly Recharge/HRV, resting heart rate, VO2 max and GPS routes are not written.
- App
- Polar Flow
- Method
- NativeThe official app writes to Apple Health
- Data types
- 4 of 13 sync, 2 partly
- Checked
What Polar syncs to Apple Health
Apple Health data types, checked against official documentation on October 27, 2026.
| Data type | Apple Health | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Workouts | Syncs | Sport type, duration, distance, start/end, total active energy and average heart rate. GPS routes: not listed by Polar. |
| Steps | Syncs | |
| Active energy | Syncs | Calories burned during workouts; resting energy (BMR) is written separately. |
| Heart rate | Partly | Workout heart rate only; continuous heart rate is not synced. |
| Resting heart rate | Doesn’t sync | |
| HRV | Doesn’t sync | Nightly Recharge / ANS data stays in Polar Flow. |
| Sleep | Partly | Duration, time asleep and wake time only; Sleep Plus Stages are not written. |
| Blood oxygen | Doesn’t sync | |
| Respiratory rate | Doesn’t sync | |
| VO2 max | Doesn’t sync | |
| Weight / body composition | Syncs | Weight from Polar Flow settings only. |
| Menstrual cycle | Doesn’t sync | |
| Mindful minutes | Doesn’t sync |
How to connect Polar to Apple Health
4 steps on your iPhone, about two minutes.
Before you start
- iPhone with the Polar Flow app, signed in to your Polar account
- A Polar watch, Polar Loop or sensor that syncs to Polar Flow
- Permission granted to Polar Flow in Apple Health
Open Polar Flow settings
Polar Flow app → More (bottom right) → General settings.
- Polar Flow app
- More
- General settings
Enable Apple Health
Tap the Apple Health toggle.
Choose categories
Select categories or tap Turn All Categories On, then tap Allow (top right).
Resend recent data if needed
Under the Apple Health toggle tap Sync now to send the last two weeks again.
Menu names checked against Polar’s help pages on October 27, 2026. Apps change; if a menu looks different, see the sources below.
After setup
From then on, new data that reaches Polar Flow (after your watch syncs to the app) is written to Apple Health. Nothing is read back from Health. Older data can be pushed with Sync now, which covers the last two weeks.
Avoid double-counting
Polar tells you to make Polar Flow the top source: Health app → Browse → tap a metric Polar writes (e.g. Steps) → Data Sources & Access → Edit → drag Polar Flow to first → Done; repeat for Active Energy and Sleep. With an Apple Watch, choose one top source per metric. Polar also mentions turning off iPhone step counting (Settings → Privacy & Security → Motion & Fitness → Fitness Tracking off), but that stops iPhone motion data for all apps.
Put Polar Flow first in Apple Health
- Health
- Browse
- Activity
- Steps
- Data Sources & Access
- Edit
- Open the Health app and tap Browse.
- Choose a category and a data type, for example Activity → Steps.
- Scroll down and tap Data Sources & Access.
- Tap Edit, then touch and hold the handle next to your device’s app and drag it to the top.
- Tap Done. Repeat for other data types you track with more than one device, such as Active Energy or Walking + Running Distance.
The source at the top wins when several write the same data type. New apps and devices are added at the top automatically. Apple Support ↗
Polar not syncing to Apple Health?
New Polar data is not appearing in Apple Health
Polar Flow → More → General settings → Sync now (resends two weeks). Then check Health → profile → Apps → Polar Flow that all categories are on.
Data is in Health but not used in totals
Polar Flow is not the top source. Move it to first in Data Sources & Access for each metric.
No heart rate outside workouts
Expected: Polar does not sync continuous heart rate to Apple Health.
Sleep shows no stages
Expected: Polar writes only sleep duration and times.
Sync still broken
Update Polar Flow. If it persists, uninstall it (tap Keep when asked about Health data), reinstall, sign in, re-enable Apple Health in General settings and tap Sync now.
Can I import Apple Watch data into Polar Flow?
No. Polar states syncing from Health to Polar Flow is not possible.
WHAT TO DO WITH YOUR POLAR DATA
Your Polar data, with an AI coach
Once Polar syncs to Apple Health, P.R.O. reads it. Ask the AI coach about your training and it answers with your real numbers.
- AI coach chat grounded in your own workouts, sleep and heart rate
- Widget dashboards for the numbers you care about
- Training history across 50+ sports, with records and trends
- Adaptive training plans that follow your load and recovery
- Sleep score for every night
You can also ask ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or Perplexity about your Polar data through the free P.R.O. connector.
Polar and Apple Health: questions
Does Polar sync with Apple Health?
Yes, one way from Polar Flow to Apple Health.
Does Polar send sleep stages or Nightly Recharge to Apple Health?
No. Only sleep duration, fall-asleep and wake times are written; HRV and Nightly Recharge stay in Polar Flow.
Does Polar sync 24/7 heart rate to Apple Health?
No, only heart rate during workouts.
Does Polar Flow send GPS routes to Apple Health?
Polar's list of synced workout data does not include routes. Third-party apps such as RunGap can copy Polar workouts with routes into Health.
How do I resync old Polar data to Apple Health?
Polar Flow → More → General settings → Sync now; it resends the last two weeks.