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Apple Watch Series 3 software update bug

R

ryanissamson

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 30, 2015
21
52
According to this Reddit post edit, Apple has confirmed that there is a known issue with the Series 3 update process. I know that I have been trying for a week unsuccessfully to update using multiple devices and "tricks" found online without success. Before anyone comments that it's old tech and an upgrade is needed, this Series 3 was literally working fine on my wrist last week. I then purchased the Series 8, unpaired the Series 3 and factory reset it, then attempted to pair it for a family member the next minute and it's been unsuccessful. There's a difference between hardware failing and a working device being bricked due to unpairing/pairing.

Anyway, making note here in case others have had the same experience, or in case anyone sees any other updates from Apple, officially or unofficially.
 
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I've been trying to update off and on for the past week. Trying all kinds of suggestions, depleting the battery right now. Wondering if I should wait until updating to iOS 16.1 on Monday first.
 
Same issue here. I did manage to get it “working” on an XR phone I borrowed that was on 15.7. It still failed to update but the watch would setup and was usable at least.

Edit: I’m on 16.1 and it doesn’t work still.
 
Same issue here, extremely frustrating. Absolutely nothing works. Might just buy a new Apple Watch and use it for the return window in hopes they roll out a fix by then. I need a heart rate monitor for my Peloton so right now I'm not even exercising because of this. Apple has gone so far downhill lately, absolutely pathetic.
 
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Annoying problem this was.

Spent 2 days trying to migrate my Applewatch 3 from iPhone8 to iPhone 11 Pro with iOS15.
The update kept failing, and restarting, repairing did not help, reboot did not help. Nothing seemed to help.
Even turning off equipment in the surrounding did not help.

Now i am updating to iOS16.1.2 and will try again.

Does anyone know if there are issues with 16.1.2 and iPhone 11 PRO?

All these updates are just a big mess..
Best solution is always to stay in iOS that is on phone when new.. It works for years until the apps starts dropping out. The nightmares start to descend moment that updates are accepted, and phone gets useless.
 
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After trying again after updating the iPhone to latest software, repeatedly, the Applewatch will not pair and not update.

The Watch app gets stuck on the Download of the update, or it displays "paused" on the download.

The update says 3h to download, even if the connection is way better then that.

Anyone got through this part? Is there any way to solve this problem?

EDIT: seems the Applewatch keeps rebooting itself during the update process, and when it does so the update time jumps from 34 minutes to 5 hours.
 
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goodfidelity said:
After trying again after updating the iPhone to latest software, repeatedly, the Applewatch will not pair and not update.

The Watch app gets stuck on the Download of the update, or it displays "paused" on the download.

The update says 3h to download, even if the connection is way better then that.

Anyone got through this part? Is there any way to solve this problem?

EDIT: seems the Applewatch keeps rebooting itself during the update process, and when it does so the update time jumps from 34 minutes to 5 hours.
Click to expand...
I have every single issue you are describing, I factory reset my watch in October, and it has been bricked ever since. Apple has done absolutely nothing about this issue.
 
I can confirm this is still an issue. I've tried every combination of cellular on/of, 2.4ghz network, wiped phone (no iCloud), older phone, newest phone. The best I can ever get to is preparing, which has happened twice out of many tries, but then the reboot loop just happens.

I have an appointment Friday for "update assistance" but unfortunately there isn't an Apple Store near me so it's going to Best Buy. I have no confidence all they'll be able to do anything as I've already tried everything. It needs to go back to Apple for a connected ipsw update and I'm sure they're going to tell me it's $150 like they've been telling everyone else.

Very frustrating for a fairly new watch and one that's still being sold directly by Apple to have such a serious issue.
 
Any news on this issue?

My watch keeps giving new strange problems, and i cant reset it with the power-button and force tap method as described in some videos and on some sites..

How to get this done properly?
 
update with description of the problem:

when using the watch app on the iPhone, the iPhone starts the download. After some time however, if the screen locks, the update will stop and the watch app goes back in to the loop of "looking for update".

The progressbar and any info related to the previously downloaded part of the update is gone.

I dont know how this update works, does the phone download update first and then transfer to watch, or does the watch get the update as it downloads via direct transfer from the phone?

Anyone knows if there is a way to completely clear the apple watch?

I have read somewhere that there might not be enough space on the watch to transfer the whole update, and it requires some special reset of the watch that clears the whole content of it and frees up space to fit the update.

//GF
 
Even if you can get past the downloading to watch, it will fail on the "Preparing" by going into the same boot-loop.

The memory clearing technique I've seen and tried is holding both buttons until the screen goes blank, then release both and hold the crown until you get the red (!) . at that point, double click the side button (not crown) and the watch will reboot.

I've tried this, along with rebooting the phone, deleting/adding the watch app, using a fresh phone without any iCloud account, using an older phone, using a newer phone, using beta iOS, etc, etc, etc. None of it works.

At this point my efforts in $/hr far exceed the value of this watch (maybe even an ultra), but it's the principle. My daughter bought this on her own and it's frustrating that it no longer works specifically due to a forced update.
 
Also, to update my previous post... as expected, Best Buy is worse than useless. The "Geek" told me the watch is too old and won't take any more updates. He said he talked to his "Apple guy" who confirmed it. I argued with him for about a minute about the special 8.7.1 update, which he was totally unaware of before just leaving. I'm honestly very disappointed in Apple for partnering with Best Buy as they are probably the worst "tech" store around but unfortunately the only option for so many people.
 
SqB said:
Even if you can get past the downloading to watch, it will fail on the "Preparing" by going into the same boot-loop.

The memory clearing technique I've seen and tried is holding both buttons until the screen goes blank, then release both and hold the crown until you get the red (!) . at that point, double click the side button (not crown) and the watch will reboot.

I've tried this, along with rebooting the phone, deleting/adding the watch app, using a fresh phone without any iCloud account, using an older phone, using a newer phone, using beta iOS, etc, etc, etc. None of it works.

At this point my efforts in $/hr far exceed the value of this watch (maybe even an ultra), but it's the principle. My daughter bought this on her own and it's frustrating that it no longer works specifically due to a forced update.
Click to expand...

I now have tried the Tecnique for memory clering that you described, it was very difficult to get that working and i really dont know how i managed in the end. But the red exclamation mark came, and it stay. So i had to reboot it and try lots of stunts to get past it.


Somehow i held the two buttons like you wrote, starting from when watch was ON. And then i think i released and hit the crown. But man i did it exactly same many times and didn´t mangage. After trying it from different states, like watch off, watch on, release fast or slow or not release the crown at all eventually i managed to reach the red sign.

Then watch got stuck in that mode and didnt go past it, i tried several reboots and it just came back to red exclamation mark.. OMG.. I managed to press those buttons and holding them, tweaking and eventually got past the red sign..

After that the watch ended up stuck in the pairing mode when i launch Watch app, where if first makes a pairing to the watch, then automatically unpairs, then wants to pair again.. yeah. A loop,you get it right... never ending.

I then force shut down the Watch app to get out of the cycle.

After that i went in to settings on the iPhone, and deleted all what was in the watch app.
On your iPhone, head to Settings > General > iPhone Storage and check for watch app.

After deleting the app and all documents related, and downloading the app again i made reboot of the iPhone. i Also reboot the watch..

After that i turn off bluetooth on iPhone, and i hooked up iPhone to 2.4Ghz network (to force apple watch to the WiFi Mode) and now suddenly it says 30 minutes downloading and not 4-5 hours like before. I dont know if it is network related but it is my observation..

Man there is so much strange things going on i cant even start to describe. And new problems just keeps coming or showing up the more i go..

After all that work again watch is boot-looping between the apple logo and the "design by california" logo. And watch app says "preparing"..

Apple should fix this, obviously a software issue that multiple users struggle with.
 
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Apple has bricked our watches! Same exact issue and went to the Genius Bar for answers. They sent my watch in and I get an update that there is hardware failure and they want $229 to fix the watch. Knowing the watch worked fine before attempting to update I got really disgruntled and they gave me a “Customer satisfaction” fix and I received the new watch today.

Guess what? Trying to update and bam same problem. The watch keeps rebooting while attempting to update. This is a joke and I hope more people come forward about this. I will never buy another Apple Watch of this is how they roll… If I find a solution I will post back
 
Did anyone find more threads like this on other forums? I am sure Apple knows about this by now. And i am also sure they will minimise damage. Maybe this is even part of planned obsolescence?

I am sure they did try the update on Apple Watch 3 models before they roll it out. I am sure they have gotten hundreds or thousands of complaints by now..
 
goodfidelity said:
Did anyone find more threads like this on other forums? I am sure Apple knows about this by now. And i am also sure they will minimise damage. Maybe this is even part of planned obsolescence?

I am sure they did try the update on Apple Watch 3 models before they roll it out. I am sure they have gotten hundreds or thousands of complaints by now..
Click to expand...
Multiple threads about this exact same issue on different sites especially Reddit. I explained to them that I’m not the only one having this issue and message boards are flooded with the same issues. Im quite literally pissed off because my watch was working just fine….
 
Update:

Just talked to Apple again and they are sending me back to the Genius Bar. They are starting to become more aware of this issue and you guys need to keep calling. She advised me since it isn’t a hardware failure and it’s a software failure they will have to make it right. That could mean them having to give me a new watch that isn’t series 3. Y’all need to call and make the issue known. They bricked our watches!
 
Bassman82 said:
Update:

Just talked to Apple again and they are sending me back to the Genius Bar. They are starting to become more aware of this issue and you guys need to keep calling. She advised me since it isn’t a hardware failure and it’s a software failure they will have to make it right. That could mean them having to give me a new watch that isn’t series 3. Y’all need to call and make the issue known. They bricked our watches!
Click to expand...

Do you talk to Apple direct? I dont even know how to contact them, they sure dont have a phonenumber on the web-site..

//GF
 
Dont live
Bassman82 said:
1-800-APLCARE is the number I have called
Click to expand...
I dont live in US.. Thats the problem.

EDIT: after walking in to a specialised Apple retail shop they gave me a number to call and i ended up in the appe care department even if i dont have Apple car plan.

- They guided me through basically the same steps that i already did try, and was surprised i managed to try all these steps as some of them are "advanced".

- After that, he used screen sharing to see what it looks like on my phone.

- And then there was a new iOS update 16.3 available, and he advised me to Download that and try again after installing it.

- My phone refused at that time, to make a backup to iCloud. Even if there is enough space it gave me error message that this was full and backup cannot be completed. (at that time i had only 700Mb used and rest available, and the backup should be around 99Mb)

- So telephone was connected to iTunes on my High Sierra Macbook 2015, and i did a backup to iCloud from there.

- After that, i did the Update from iTunes, that used about 1 hour or more. iOS 16.3 was the update.

- After that, again, it refused pairing unless i update the Watch OS. And i accepted update, after forcing the watch to reset with the same technique as before.

- Update started to download, took about 25min, then it stated "preparing" for another 30min-1 hour or so. Then it went in to a boot and was showing a circular progress bar..

- The progress bar continued for maybe15 minutes, and then the iPhone watch app said "pairing complete" and i was allowed to choose hand for where i wear the watch and where i want the digital crown to be. And then i stated "connecting" again, for some minutes.

- By this time, the circular progress bar was about 50% on the watch face.

- When reaching about 60% the watch reboots again.

- Then "setting up language" shows up.

- After that the phone prompts to "accept licens agreement".

- After that the phone prompts to put the AppeID password. - Verification takes quite a bit time, maybe minutes.

- After that, i was asked to set passcode for the Apple Watch and some more minor setup things on the phone regarding health issues and stuff like that.

- After that came Apple Pay and settings for this feature.. Watch is still not showing its normal watch face.

- Watch reboots again and goes back to the circular progress bar with apple logo in middle.

- Apple Watch app needs a few more minutes to finish syncronization with the iPhone...

Just to sum it up, seems that the 16.3 update solves the issues with the update of the Apple Watch.

//GF
 
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Short description of content: Success.

Conclusion: I think many people already bought a new watch due to this problem. Not all of us will faithfully use 10 hours++ to resurrect/problem solve a watch and then take the time to find a specialised retailer (that maybe isn´t even avalible in your city) and hassle them about this. If i spent these hours working i would have enough money to buy a new one anyway..

Advice: If you have Apple Watch 3 and got stuck in bootloop, you most likley can solv it by following the advice in this thread.

1. Update phone 16.3 After making backup to iCloud, if it refuses use iTunes for this process.
2. Delete Apple Watch app and download it again
3. Use 2.4Ghz Wifi if avalible, turn off bluetooth on the Phone
4. Reset the Watch by holding both buttons like stated in this thread
5. Try new pairing with phone, and follow process. Will take couple of hours in total.

EDIT: after walking in to a specialised Apple retail shop they gave me a number to call and i ended up in the apple care department even if i dont have Apple car plan. I did not have to pay for this. The number they gave me was not listed on the Apple website, i got it straight from the dealer.

- They guided me through basically the same steps that i already did try, and was surprised i managed to try all these steps as some of them are "advanced".

- After that, he used screen sharing to see what it looks like on my phone.

- And then there was a new iOS update 16.3 available, and he advised me to Download that and try again after installing it.

- My phone refused at that time, to make a backup to iCloud. Even if there is enough space it gave me error message that this was full and backup cannot be completed. (at that time i had only 700Mb used and rest available, and the backup should be around 99Mb)

- So telephone was connected to iTunes on my High Sierra Macbook 2015, and i did a backup to iCloud from there.

- After that, i did the Update from iTunes, that used about 1 hour or more. iOS 16.3 was the update.

- After that, again, it refused pairing unless i update the Watch OS. And i accepted update, after forcing the watch to reset with the same technique as before.

- Update started to download, took about 25min, then it stated "preparing" for another 30min-1 hour or so. Then it went in to a boot and was showing a circular progress bar..

- The progress bar continued for maybe15 minutes, and then the iPhone watch app said "pairing complete" and i was allowed to choose hand for where i wear the watch and where i want the digital crown to be. And then i stated "connecting" again, for some minutes.

- By this time, the circular progress bar was about 50% on the watch face.

- When reaching about 60% the watch reboots again.

- Then "setting up language" shows up.

- After that the phone prompts to "accept licens agreement".

- After that the phone prompts to put the AppeID password. - Verification takes quite a bit time, maybe minutes.

- After that, i was asked to set passcode for the Apple Watch and some more minor setup things on the phone regarding health issues and stuff like that.

- After that came Apple Pay and settings for this feature.. Watch is still not showing its normal watch face.

- Watch reboots again and goes back to the circular progress bar with apple logo in middle.

- Apple Watch app needs a few more minutes to finish syncronization with the iPhone...

Just to sum it up, seems that the 16.3 update solves the issues with the update of the Apple Watch.

Godspeed.

//GF
 
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Followup after some times use.

New update reduces battery time alot, as previous watchOS (original) could give the watch about 2 full days, now the watch will die after one day use.

This is with 8.7.1 on the Apple Watch 3.

Smells like similar problem as on iPhones..

They really want us to phase out the old watches.

//GF
 
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