OK, I have an odd situation where I'm trying to figure out what happened. I only use my Watch (S3) occasionally, and actually keep it powered off much of the time, so I'm not intimately familiar with the mechanics of how the AW pairing/update mechanics work.
Parts are a bit foggy, but this is the general sequence of events:
1) Watch running 5.3. Update iPhone to iOS 14, and it starts giving nags about the Watch needing an update, presumably because 14/7 are a required pairing.
2) Open Watch app, and only presents the update screen. I allow, then change my mind, and the only option is to go "back," which I do, and close the app. I will get to it later.
3) Something obviously happened, and it didn't like that disruption, because the next time I open the Watch app, it acts like I don't have any watch paired at all. Some sort of unpairing, whether explicit, or not, must have occurred during #2. I double check the app storage, and my backups are intact, so no worries. Watch seems to act ok, briefly flashes broken iPhone connection upon wake, but it goes away. I'll update later.
4) Ready to update. Since people have been suggesting that unpairing/wiping clean may prevent battery drain issues with 7, I figure I'll reset the watch on its own, since I have backups anyway.
5) Erase watch, begin setup process, which says update needs to occur. Initiate update. Progress bar bounces between 17-19 hours. I wait a little while, to see if the download speed increases and stabilizes, are reflects a more realistic period. It doesn't, and I need to go out, so I cancel the process, and plan to do it during off hours, when there's less server load, and it can take all the time it needs.
6) I go out for a few hours, return, and set the phone aside, with the watch still sitting on the charger.
7) A few hours later, now I'm really, and finally ready to give it all the time it needs, and expect to start the update process. Open Watch app, and instead of asking to do an update, it asks whether I want to restore from backup, or set up as new. WTF?
8) I restore from backup, and after syncing, the watch now says it's running OS 7. Huh, when did that happen? I look for some of the new features, like the new workout types, and indeed, it does seem to be running OS 7, without my ever completing any sort of explicit update process. It seems to function ok, aside from some stuttering when changing faces, but I figure that's just the old hardware struggling with the newer OS. I check for pending updates on the watch, and none are found.
How did that happen? Did it download the payload on its own after I returned, update, and then delete it without any intervention? Does the update process occur in the background anyway, once started, and did it occur after I returned?
I'm genuinely puzzled as to how this immaculate conception of an update took place.
TL;DR -- I started and aborted a couple Watch OS update processes, and somehow it occurred anyway. Trying to figure out how, and why.
Parts are a bit foggy, but this is the general sequence of events:
1) Watch running 5.3. Update iPhone to iOS 14, and it starts giving nags about the Watch needing an update, presumably because 14/7 are a required pairing.
2) Open Watch app, and only presents the update screen. I allow, then change my mind, and the only option is to go "back," which I do, and close the app. I will get to it later.
3) Something obviously happened, and it didn't like that disruption, because the next time I open the Watch app, it acts like I don't have any watch paired at all. Some sort of unpairing, whether explicit, or not, must have occurred during #2. I double check the app storage, and my backups are intact, so no worries. Watch seems to act ok, briefly flashes broken iPhone connection upon wake, but it goes away. I'll update later.
4) Ready to update. Since people have been suggesting that unpairing/wiping clean may prevent battery drain issues with 7, I figure I'll reset the watch on its own, since I have backups anyway.
5) Erase watch, begin setup process, which says update needs to occur. Initiate update. Progress bar bounces between 17-19 hours. I wait a little while, to see if the download speed increases and stabilizes, are reflects a more realistic period. It doesn't, and I need to go out, so I cancel the process, and plan to do it during off hours, when there's less server load, and it can take all the time it needs.
6) I go out for a few hours, return, and set the phone aside, with the watch still sitting on the charger.
7) A few hours later, now I'm really, and finally ready to give it all the time it needs, and expect to start the update process. Open Watch app, and instead of asking to do an update, it asks whether I want to restore from backup, or set up as new. WTF?
8) I restore from backup, and after syncing, the watch now says it's running OS 7. Huh, when did that happen? I look for some of the new features, like the new workout types, and indeed, it does seem to be running OS 7, without my ever completing any sort of explicit update process. It seems to function ok, aside from some stuttering when changing faces, but I figure that's just the old hardware struggling with the newer OS. I check for pending updates on the watch, and none are found.
How did that happen? Did it download the payload on its own after I returned, update, and then delete it without any intervention? Does the update process occur in the background anyway, once started, and did it occur after I returned?
I'm genuinely puzzled as to how this immaculate conception of an update took place.
TL;DR -- I started and aborted a couple Watch OS update processes, and somehow it occurred anyway. Trying to figure out how, and why.