Your Polar Vantage, Grit X, Ignite, or Pacer collects detailed workout data, sleep metrics, and heart rate readings throughout the day. To get that data into Apple Health — where apps like ScoreVitals can read it — you need to enable the connection inside Polar Flow. The process takes about two minutes, but there are a few things to know about what transfers and what stays locked inside Polar’s ecosystem.
How Do You Connect Polar Flow to Apple Health?
The connection is managed entirely within the Polar Flow app on your iPhone. Your Polar watch doesn’t communicate with Apple Health directly — it syncs to Polar Flow, and Polar Flow pushes data to Apple Health.
Step 1: Open Polar Flow on your iPhone. Tap More (bottom right corner of the screen).
Step 2: Tap General Settings. You’ll see an Apple Health option with a toggle switch.
Step 3: Tap the toggle to enable it. Polar Flow will display a list of health data categories. Tap Turn All Categories On to enable every available data type, then tap Allow when iOS asks for permissions.
Step 4: To force an immediate sync of your most recent data, use the Sync Now button that appears beneath the Apple Health toggle. Polar’s support documentation confirms this can retroactively push up to two weeks of historical data.
Step 5: On your iPhone, go to Settings → General → Background App Refresh and confirm Polar Flow is enabled. This allows the app to push data even when you haven’t opened it recently.
What Polar Data Reaches Apple Health?
Polar Flow sends a solid set of core fitness metrics to Apple Health: workout sessions (type, duration, distance, average heart rate, calories), sleep analysis (duration and timing), steps, active and resting energy, and weight.
However, the integration has notable gaps. The following data types do NOT sync to Apple Health: continuous 24/7 heart rate readings (only workout heart rate transfers), HRV and Nightly Recharge metrics, detailed sleep stages (REM, deep, light), Training Load, Recovery metrics, VO₂ max, running power, running index, orthostatic test results, and GPS route data.
The biggest gap for ScoreVitals users is the lack of continuous heart rate and HRV data. Workout heart rate does transfer, so session scoring based on TRIMP works correctly. But the recovery pillar will rely primarily on other available signals rather than Polar’s HRV data, since it doesn’t cross the bridge to Apple Health.
How Do You Fix Polar Flow Sync Delays?
Polar Flow’s Apple Health sync is not instantaneous. Unlike Apple Watch, which syncs continuously in the background, Polar Flow typically pushes data when you open the app or when background refresh triggers.
Open Polar Flow after every workout. The most reliable way to ensure data reaches Apple Health is to open the app and let it sync with your watch first, then push to Apple Health. Simply finishing a workout on your watch isn’t enough — the data sits on the watch until the phone app retrieves it.
Use the Sync Now button. If you notice missing data, go to General Settings → Apple Health and tap Sync Now. This forces Polar Flow to re-push recent data to Apple Health.
Update Polar Flow regularly. A September 2025 update (version 6.31.0) specifically fixed delayed Apple Health syncing that affected many users. Keeping the app current prevents known sync bugs from resurfacing.
Check for battery optimisation interference. If your iPhone aggressively manages battery, it may prevent Polar Flow from running in the background. Go to Settings → Battery and confirm Polar Flow isn’t being restricted.
Your Polar watch captures quality workout data — the key is getting it to Apple Health consistently. Once the connection is working, ScoreVitals can score your sessions automatically using the heart rate data from every workout.