WatchOS 10.3 Stuck At Preparing

[DrBubba]

My Apple Watch 9 is stuck at “Preparing” while trying to update to WatchOS 10.3. It’s been on the charger next to my iPhone for well over two hours with progress. I know I’m not the only one with this problem, but there seems to be no way to resolve it at present. Any suggestions would be welcome.

UPDATE: Thanks to everyone who replied. After trying several of the suggestions, I rebooted my watch first, then rebooted my phone, and the update continued until completed. So, problem resolved. Again, Thank You to everyone for your replies, suggestions, and assistance.

 

[RicOliveira89]

I just had the same problem with my Apple watch 7. Turn off your watch and turn it back on. With me it works.

 

[kirbalo]

I just had the same problem with my Apple watch 7. Turn off your watch and turn it back on. With me it works.

I had the same also...rebooted both the iPhone and Apple Watch 9 and then it proceeded to update.

 

[stevemiller]

what is wrong with technology anymore? i've had to reset the watch twice and its still stuck on 'preparing update' (the first reset was to get past being stuck on 'checking for update'). not to mention its then a dance back and forth of wanting you to be wearing the watch to authenticate for the update and have the watch on its charger to apply the update. and sometimes i'll authenticate the update on the watch and it'll still say its waiting for the authentication on the iphone.

and this isn't just a one off issue with this particular update. it usually takes days to get any watch update to apply because of all this glitchy nonsense.

can i also add that its impossible to even write this post because the browser cache or something keeps corrupting the text - literally rearranging the words i've typed into incomprehensible garble. its a race to type this out before it corrupts! seriously. technology. why.

update - now its saying the whole thing failed. cool. having to restart all over.

 

[chabig]

On your iPhone, open the Watch App > General > Storage and delete the update file. Then try the update again.

 

[DrBubba]

I just had the same problem with my Apple watch 7. Turn off your watch and turn it back on. With me it works.

Thanks. Already tried that - didn’t work.

 

[DrBubba]

On your iPhone, open the Watch App > General > Storage and delete the update file. Then try the update again.

Thanks. I don’t see any update file when I do this.

 

[DrBubba]

I had the same also...rebooted both the iPhone and Apple Watch 9 and then it proceeded to update.

Thanks. Already tried that - didn’t work.

Thanks again. I rebooted watch then rebooted phone and it then updated.

 

[DrBubba]

Thanks. Already tried that - didn’t work.

Thanks again. I rebooted watch then rebooted phone and it proceede to upate.

 

[-Gonzo-]

Same here, been stuck on preparing since yesterday.
Deleted update file, restarted both phone and watch and now seems to be progressing, still preparing but the lines moved along a bit.

 

[SW3029]

Where is this "update file" you can delete? I don't see it under Watch app > General > Storage

 

[generdude]

what is wrong with technology anymore? i've had to reset the watch twice and its still stuck on 'preparing update' (the first reset was to get past being stuck on 'checking for update'). not to mention its then a dance back and forth of wanting you to be wearing the watch to authenticate for the update and have the watch on its charger to apply the update. and sometimes i'll authenticate the update on the watch and it'll still say its waiting for the authentication on the iphone.

and this isn't just a one off issue with this particular update. it usually takes days to get any watch update to apply because of all this glitchy nonsense.

can i also add that its impossible to even write this post because the browser cache or something keeps corrupting the text - literally rearranging the words i've typed into incomprehensible garble. its a race to type this out before it corrupts! seriously. technology. why.

update - now its saying the whole thing failed. cool. having to restart all over.

Steve has been turning over in his grave for years now. I used to always and absolutely tell people to get Apple products when asked. I no longer give "absolute" recommendations. I'll stick with Apple stuff only because I've been in its system for so many years (1980's) and have no experience with anything else. But if I were just starting out I would be looking at alternatives. Maybe I'd still choose Apple because it might be like voting: the lesser of the evils.

 

[SW3029]

No matter what I try I cannot get watchOS 10.3 to download to my Ultra.

I can't get it to download on the iPhone Watch app or on the Ultra itself.

I've even reformatted my Ultra to factory conditions. But nope: still get the "An error occurred downloading the latest version of watchOS on your Apple Watch." message.

 

[stevemiller]

Steve has been turning over in his grave for years now. I used to always and absolutely tell people to get Apple products when asked. I no longer give "absolute" recommendations. I'll stick with Apple stuff only because I've been in its system for so many years (1980's) and have no experience with anything else. But if I were just starting out I would be looking at alternatives. Maybe I'd still choose Apple because it might be like voting: the lesser of the evils.

i work with technology and i appreciate how complex and difficult some things can be (and how its not just an apple problem). but especially with things like a watch, the sheer number of issues i've had, coupled with it essentially being an accessory thats supposed to be a convenience rather than an essential... the value proposition given all the headaches it gives me is extremely murky.

 

[mrscott4]

No matter what I try I cannot get watchOS 10.3 to download to my Ultra.

I can't get it to download on the iPhone Watch app or on the Ultra itself.

I've even reformatted my Ultra to factory conditions. But nope: still get the "An error occurred downloading the latest version of watchOS on your Apple Watch." message.

I‘ve been having the exact same issue with the exact same error message. I just now figured it out. Do a force restart of the Ultra Watch (not an off/on power cycle) and then after that do a force restart of the phone (not an off/on power cycle). Once I did this a few minutes ago, it finally started to download the update with no error message, and has now fully been updated to watchOS 10.3

 

[SW3029]

I‘ve been having the exact same issue with the exact same error message. I just now figured it out. Do a force restart of the Ultra Watch (not an off/on power cycle) and then after that do a force restart of the phone (not an off/on power cycle). Once I did this a few minutes ago, it finally started to download the update with no error message, and has now fully been updated to watchOS 10.3

thank you so much for this. it worked perfectly.