A barberpole magnetoresistive (MR) sensor has a series of permanent magnet strips interleaved with a series of magnetoresistive strips. Conductive barberpole strips are canted across the sensor and connect one magnetoresistive strip, over a permanent magnet strip, to another magnetoresistive strip. The permanent magnet strips help to provide a uniform magnetic field throughout the sensor, thereby making the sensor more immune to harm from an external magnetic field and more likely to reset into a single magnetic domain oriented as desired if an external magnetic field should cause the sensor to fracture into multiple magnetic domains.