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PSA - watchOS 3.1.1 is bricking Series 2 Watches
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Nice catch - just looked at my email, got it about an hour ago and have the same Problem Description.
No problem when I updated a few days back. Been running the betas and have developer profile. Guess I was lucky.
[doublepost=1481740627][/doublepost]mine went well will it brick later ??It seems that many Series 2 owners have been ending up with bricked watches after doing the 3.1.1 update yesterday.
I started mine at 9pm when I was going to sleep. Multiple times during the night when I opened my eyes the watch was on the progress screen (Apple logo in centre with white ring showing progress around it). Once it was full it stayed like that for hours. Pressing the power button caused it to boot to the red exclamation mark screen:
I quoted many of the Series 2 owners responses on the following post:
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...nce-improvements-and-new-emoji.2021203/page-3
Any others experience this? Any Watch Series 2 owners do the update and it finished without issue?
Would love for MacRumors to mention this somewhere so others can be warned if it's really an issue.
Update: Shyos mentioned that his install went smooth, took 20 minutes on a Series 2.
If you have AppleCare, you get Apple to replace it. If you don't, I suppose you buy a new watch, or pay Apple to fix/reload the bricked unit. AFAIK, there is no magic fix, just a factory reload.
Essentially it needs to go back to Apple for repair/replacement.
Unlike iPhone/iPad, there's no user accessible port to connect it to a computer (and iTunes). If this had happened to an iPhone for example, you could put it into recovery mode and use iTunes to restore it. But the only diagnostic port on the watch is hidden underneath a small cover below the cavity where the watch straps connect. Not even Apple Stores have the ability to access it.
If you have Apple Care +, you can use what's called Express Replacement and have a replacement watch sent to you, and then you send back the bricked one. During this time, they put a hold on your credit card for the value of the replacement watch.
If you don't have Apple Care +, you either send it back to Apple (via post or through one of their stores) and it takes some time for them to receive it, assess it, and either repair or replace and send it back to you. This method could take up to 2 weeks or more, depending on how busy they are.
Express Replacement isn't bad, but both of these options are far from ideal, especially coming from Apple, a company that has done such a good job of being able to repair and replace most devices at their stores. Considering the stores don't have the ability to repair or restore a Watch, I think it would be a no brainer to have refurbs on hand to use as replacements.
Quite disappointing the situation overall, especially now that Apple knows there's an issue and has pulled the update.
Yes it is disappointing but it is good they have seen the issue and reacted by pulling it preventing potentially HUGE numbers of bricked watches
[doublepost=1481744439][/doublepost]
Best I get AppleCare asap then lol
[doublepost=1481744439][/doublepost]
Best I get AppleCare asap then lol
I wouldn't have thought they would leave customers without AC high and dry lol but to have one shipped out then send one back is a nice shout.
[doublepost=1481745860][/doublepost]Trying to buy AppleCare online as it says Im eligible but after entering my serial number and continuing the page goes blank? Not a good sign lol
And this is why I have stopped downloading App!e updates the same day they come out. I no longer have any confidence in any update Apple releases for any of their products. If I owned an Apple Watch, I would be extremely pissed.
Just wonder if we can book a section at Genius bar and ask the staff there to update our watch (I mean we just sits at there, and looking at them to use our phone to update the watch). So if anything goes wrong, they have to take the responsibility, not us.
My replacement arrived yesterday and bricked watch is shipped back to Apple. Watch arrived with 3.0 installed so I had to upgrade to 3.1 which was probably the most uneasy I've ever been during an Apple upgrade. Knowing that if anything goes wrong during this process I could end up with a brick makes me not want to ever upgrade again. 3.1 is stable and provides amazing battery life - I'm definitely going to be waiting a few days from here on out to upgrade my watch.
Why has apple not even publicly acknowledged the issue and apologized to those of us impacted? A freaking software update has put those (without AppleCare) without their device for days/weeks. IMO they should have offered express replacement to all impacted, regardless if you have AppleCare or not.
well mine may not be bricked but now it switches on and on with the apple logo every 1-2 mins..making my watch unusable. Not sure what to do.
Ugh
Ugh
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I emailed Tim Cook's office two days ago asking if Apple would repair or replace watches that were out of warranty and got bricked due to the misendeavours of 3.11.
No reply as yet
No reply as yet
Completely agree with you.
Very frustrating that I'm without my watch as a result of their issue.
I did not have AppleCare, but my watch is less than two months old. I can still purchase it. At a minimum, they could have told me I could get it and then get an immediate replacement. I wasn't even aware that was an option until I read this thread. Since it's out for "repair" now...getting AC wouldn't help now.
Still upset! And hope I can get my watch back soon. Yes...my phone does everything. But I now see what a great "toy" this is. And I want it back!!
well mine may not be bricked but now it switches on and on with the apple logo every 1-2 mins..making my watch unusable. Not sure what to do.
Ugh
are you able to unpair it before it reboots then reset it? Maybe start from scratch?
unpairing it should reset it. SO once the watch is working then go into the watch app and unpair before it reboots. Not sure it will work, but hell you can use it anyways right?
Just unpaired and started from a previous backup and so far seems to be going ok. Will see if it lasts.
before it was resetting every few mins and so far after 10 it's ok. cheers dude