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What I find interesting is they could easily connect the Watch to iTunes through the phone. Look at Xcode. If I connect my phone, it'll show not only my phone, but the Watch paired to the phone. Obviously, DFU mode is there on the Watch. If they make it so when the Watch is in DFU mode it can establish a Bluetooth connection to the connected iPhone, then the user plugs the phone into iTunes, I don't see how a software restore cannot be done OTA.

I'm not one to go off spurting 'Apple is scamming us out of money', but for those people who have had their Apple Watch bricked, it certainly seems like this is the case. I know its a beta, but at least if stuff happened on pervious devices you could DFU it and restore it. Another way would be to allow people to send in the device to Apple or take it in the Genius Bar and have it done there. I'm sure that diagnostic port is how they are reloading the factory image. Why not give each store a way to access the port, and plug it in to a computer to restore it to an image stored on the central server for each store? Maybe charge for shipping if it has to go the facility, but that's it. They aren't replacing it, just flashing the firmware back.
Accessing the port will ruin the ipsx7 rating. Sorry your not thinking things through here.
 
Accessing the port will ruin the ipsx7 rating. Sorry your not thinking things through here.

Ok then, how is Apple flashing the firmware back to the devices? Has anyone who has sent their watch in to get reflashed gotten the same watch back with the same serial, or is it a completely new replacement? An even bigger reason then why it should be able to wireless connect to iTunes through your iPhone. Imagine if an Apple Watch gets bricked during a regular upgrade, there is no way to even try a restore, its just an automatic replacement. Considering they aren't even giving iPhone replacements for battery or screen problems due to costs, why would they replace a Watch for a software problem?

Idk, something still doesn't add up here.

EDIT: I'd also like to point something else out here. In iFixit's teardown, it looks like there is a rubber gasket around the diagnostic port. I'm thinking removing the door and putting it back on (IDK how that would work) would allow the watch to retain the IPX7 rating.

jHPGP55GDlcvRINf.huge
 
Idk, something still doesn't add up here.

I'm guessing they've thought this through and under normal circumstances, there's enough fault tolerance in watchOS boot loader to prevent the watch from bricking...provided you don't install a developer preview without reading the directions that clearly state it is impossible to downgrade. How many bricked Apple TVs have you heard of? Only when I upgraded to a DP did I have to put my ATV in DFU mode. I'm not saying it's "impossible" but I'd wager it would take some specialized hardware as well as software to hack into the watch.
 
I'm guessing they've thought this through and under normal circumstances, there's enough fault tolerance in watchOS boot loader to prevent the watch from bricking...provided you don't install a developer preview without reading the directions that clearly state it is impossible to downgrade. How many bricked Apple TVs have you heard of? Only when I upgraded to a DP did I have to put my ATV in DFU mode. I'm not saying it's "impossible" but I'd wager it would take some specialized hardware as well as software to hack into the watch.

I have never heard about an Apple TV being bricked very often, however iPhones and iPads yes. The Apple TV is also a much more mature product then the Watch. Why would they include the ability to do a DFU mode restore on a TV set-top box that cost $70 and probably $40 to make, and not on a (minimum) $350 Watch that costs at least $130 to make.

Now, just because not very many get bricked, doesn't mean some won't. Imagine someone with a gold Watch and their's gets bricked. Wow, the OOW cost would be, what, $2500? Really? Common, from a software update? They want everyone on the latest release, and if an update is all of sudden bricking thousands of Watches why would anyone want to update? I don't think they thought this through at all. I think it was just passed over.
 
Got my replacement watch today from Apple. They didn't charge me anything and just replaced the watch. It came with 1.0 on it.
 
Took mine to Apple Store last week they sent it away to their service centre and its costing nothing to do it to revert back to 1.01 just waiting for it to come back to the store
 
Just so you're aware, the watch certainly DOES have a DFU mode. Hold digital crown and power button until unit restarts, then just after you see Apple logo, release the digital crown and continue holding the power button. This places the unit into DFU mode. Although it sure doesn't matter since no one here has a diagnostic cable to restore firmware while in DFU...

Would you capture the screen in DFU node and post it?

Thank you!
 
So you guys know they didn't re flash the watch they replaced it.

I was told they would flash mine in the Apple store. Seems to vary.

If that's the case, it seems completely IDIOTIC on Apple's part to not have thought this through.

They clearly did not think this through at all, which is why they're probably bending over backwards to just get these watches operational again.
 
So you guys know they didn't re flash the watch they replaced it.

FYI, Apple support chat just set up an appointment for me, and advised that Apple stores now have the ability to flash Watches back to older software. Will report back if I get a replacement instead.
 
If that's the case, it seems completely IDIOTIC on Apple's part to not have thought this through.

Not idiotic at all. They did think it through, and clearly posted not to install beta's on devices you really need to use before the GM comes out. They also posted that you can update the beta to the GM or released version. Somewhere, you likely clicked that you agree with those statements.

So buy a 2nd Watch if you really want to both try the beta and also have a usable device without waiting for the GM.
 
Not idiotic at all. They did think it through, and clearly posted not to install beta's on devices you really need to use before the GM comes out. They also posted that you can update the beta to the GM or released version. Somewhere, you likely clicked that you agree with those statements.

So buy a 2nd Watch if you really want to both try the beta and also have a usable device without waiting for the GM.
I'm not talking about a beta OS. I'm saying that Apple apparently needs to replace watches altogether when something as simple as an OS flash would suffice. THAT'S idiotic. Even Pebble's engineers were bright enough to include an emergency tethered flash mode; the Apple Watch also has a hardware port that could EASILY be used for this purpose, but instead they have to replace the whole damn watch when it needs the OS reinstalled. That's absurd, no matter how you slice it.
 
They are re flashing them, but they have to use the diagnostic port, which we don't have the ability to access yet. I bet you that anyone who is getting a replacement is just getting a refurbished one to speed up turnaround time. Then the watch that apple receives will be re-flashed, "refurbished", and sent out to the next moron who bricked their watch.
 
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