watchOS 3.1.1 Bricking Some Apple Watch Series 2 Models

[5105973]

My "Series 0" got bricked and Apple is being difficult about doing anything about it because its out of warranty.

Edit: Mobile wanted to post the whole article, fixed it.

Thanks for the warning. I bought the extended warranty but need to check that I'm still covered in case of any disasters. The last time I did an update of my watch OS I thought it had bricked. It seemed to stall out and took forever. I just left it alone. It seemed to finish but the watch wouldn't turn back on and there was all kinds of crazy behavior like it was having the equivalent of a nervous breakdown before it suddenly normalized.

I've had my watch try to imitate a brick before for no apparent reason when putting it on first thing in the morning after a night on the charger. I never figured out what was going on with it because it would eventually turn back on and run fine like nothing had happened. 😕 It's a peculiar device but overall I find it very useful and a great match with my SE.

Good luck to you and everyone who needs service.

 

[avanpelt]

My "Series 0" got bricked and Apple is being difficult about doing anything about it because its out of warranty.

Seriously?! That's BS! Fight it and fight it hard. If Apple's OS update bricks a watch, it should be their responsibility to make the situation right. Whether the device is still covered under the warranty or not should be immaterial.

As someone else said earlier in this thread -- and this company wants to be in the car business?! HA! Imagine them pushing a software update that keeps the car from starting and then telling you it's your responsibility to pay to get the car fixed because it's out of warranty.

 

[Bazooka-joe]

Yeah, right. If an OS update bricks my watch after Apple Care ends, Apple is not going to be getting another penny from me to fix the watch. If their software update was faulty, that's not the end user's fault.

If your watch is damaged because of an update issued and endorsed by Apple then you have a case for a free repair or replacement no matter whether its in warranty or not.
[doublepost=1481668321][/doublepost]

Thanks for the warning. I bought the extended warranty but need to check that I'm still covered in case of any disasters. The last time I did an update of my watch OS I thought it had bricked. It seemed to stall out and took forever. I just left it alone. It seemed to finish but the watch wouldn't turn back on and there was all kinds of crazy behavior like it was having the equivalent of a nervous breakdown before it suddenly normalized.

I've had my watch try to imitate a brick before for no apparent reason when putting it on first thing in the morning after a night on the charger. I never figured out what was going on with it because it would eventually turn back on and run fine like nothing had happened. 😕 It's a peculiar device but overall I find it very useful and a great match with my SE.

Good luck to you and everyone who needs service.

Funnily before reading your post, I sent an email to Tim asking for Apples position on repairing items that are out of warranty but have suffered damage through Apples own software updates.

 

[tywebb13]

This is stupid. You can actually download the installer via a browser, just as you can ipsw files for iphones, apple tv, ipods, ipads as well as standalone macos updates.

It is useless to download it however because unlike those other devices, there is no way to install it manually via the diagnostics port yourself (i.e., no way to clean install it). For the watch, it has to be ota.

It is easy to access the diagnostics port, just by taking the cover off with a pin.

So all we need is a device to attach the watch to a computer, some sort of lead or adapter with usb on one end and 6 pins on the other - and some software to facilitate a clean install of the appropriate update for your particular model - and I would suggest that itunes should be able to do this - as well as xcode - just as they can for ipsw files for other devices.

 

[nt5672]

The value of the closed Apple ecosystem is going down, down, and down.

 

[sladey]

Woke up to the light of my Stainless Series 2 stuck updating itself at 3am. Was quite warm and I left it running. Went back to sleep then woke at 6am to find it in the same stuck state and very hot.

I could have rebooted or just left for another 3 hours and used it to hear my breakfast. Of course I rebooted - into the unusable state. Now its off to Apple for a rant.

 

[profets]

Has anyone recently tried to update to 3.1.1 that hasn't already?

This morning when it happened to me, I immediately warned 3 close friends of mine to not update to 3.1.1 on the watch.

Now, this evening, all 3 of them, along with the original I'm temporarily using all show 'software is up to date at 3.1". Could Apple have pulled the update?

 

[Phogro]

Has anyone recently tried to update to 3.1.1 that hasn't already?

This morning when it happened to me, I immediately warned 3 close friends of mine to not update to 3.1.1 on the watch.

Now, this evening, all 3 of them, along with the original I'm temporarily using all show 'software is up to date at 3.1". Could Apple have pulled the update?

I've seen others mention that 3.1 is now listed as up to date. Seems like Apple has quietly pulled 3.1.1 for the time being. I'm wondering if they'll give some statement about what went wrong or just issue 3.1.2 in a few days?

 

[profets]

I've seen others mention that 3.1 is now listed as up to date. Seems like Apple has quietly pulled 3.1.1 for the time being. I'm wondering if they'll give some statement about what went wrong or just issue 3.1.2 in a few days?

Incredible. It's good they're addressing it, but doing it in complete silence is really disappointing. Especially after being accused online and even in store that I must have done something to cause the update to fail.

 

[dannyyankou]

Guessing people got impatient and took them off the charger or worse forced restart them. It can take up to an hour to update your watch...

Then they need to put safeguards in place.

They should require you to update when it's at least at 75% so that if it's disconnected from the charger, it can continue updating.

 

[Lost Hills]

Has anyone recently tried to update to 3.1.1 that hasn't already?

This morning when it happened to me, I immediately warned 3 close friends of mine to not update to 3.1.1 on the watch.

Now, this evening, all 3 of them, along with the original I'm temporarily using all show 'software is up to date at 3.1". Could Apple have pulled the update?

Its been pulled, no longer on the developer page either

 

[Abazigal]

You shouldn't need "luck" when buying expensive devices. They should be relatively bug free and just work. "It just works" is an old saying that seemingly can't be applied to apple when we talk about the reasons we are willing to pay the apple tax on their products.

Well, Apple products have pretty much "just work" for me. I have consistently updated my software on day 1 and never had any issues. And I will continue to do so with every new software update from Apple.

With tens and hundreds of millions of devices out on the wild, it's impossible to ensure that each and every one of them updates smoothly with no issues. For all we know, some of the bricking issues could have been inadvertently brought about by the owner's own carelessness.

 

[Ghost31]

Well, Apple products have pretty much "just work" for me. I have consistently updated my software on day 1 and never had any issues. And I will continue to do so with every new software update from Apple.

With tens and hundreds of millions of devices out on the wild, it's impossible to ensure that each and every one of them updates smoothly with no issues. For all we know, some of the bricking issues could have been inadvertently brought about by the owner's own carelessness.

I mean...i agree in a sense, but take the new MacBook Pro for example. Terrible battery life, graphics issue, overheating, touchbar failing and or the touchbar graphics going up to the screen....these are things that just shouldn't happen. 1 bug? Sure. ALLLLL this? And for a super expensive product? I don't think even the biggest of apple fans could excuse this BS. Quality control has really gone down the crapper

 

[Abazigal]

I mean...i agree in a sense, but take the new MacBook Pro for example. Terrible battery life, graphics issue, overheating, touchbar failing and or the touchbar graphics going up to the screen....these are things that just shouldn't happen. 1 bug? Sure. ALLLLL this? And for a super expensive product? I don't think even the biggest of apple fans could excuse this BS. Quality control has really gone down the crapper

Well, many of those issues appear to have been fixed with the latest software update. We are left with overheating and poor battery life issues, which seem due to the choice of dedicated graphics. So I guess it's just a conscious tradeoff users will have to make.

 

[44267547]

Incredible. It's good they're addressing it, but doing it in complete silence is really disappointing. Especially after being accused online and even in store that I must have done something to cause the update to fail.

The question is, what is Apple addressing exactly? I'm curious to know what really happened and what is the remedy?

 

[MrGimper]

The question is, what is Apple addressing exactly? I'm curious to know what really happened and what is the remedy?

I didn't hear of any bricking due to installing the last beta, which is supposed to be the same build...

 

[Defender2010]

I didn't hear of any bricking due to installing the last beta, which is supposed to be the same build...

Me either. Mine updated fine but it's gen 1 so maybe that's why.

 

[Ghost31]

Well, many of those issues appear to have been fixed with the latest software update. We are left with overheating and poor battery life issues, which seem due to the choice of dedicated graphics. So I guess it's just a conscious tradeoff users will have to make.

Genuinely curious if the battery issues will ever be fixed. Putting in a smaller battery doesn't leave them much wiggle room and there's only so many improvements that can be made via software updates. The reports of battery life are all over the place. Who knows what to think at this point?

 

[Abazigal]

Genuinely curious if the battery issues will ever be fixed. Putting in a smaller battery doesn't leave them much wiggle room and there's only so many improvements that can be made via software updates. The reports of battery life are all over the place. Who knows what to think at this point?

I just want to know how Apple got their battery life estimates in the first place. They are usually quite conservative about this sort of stuff, and tend to err on the side of caution.

 

[sladey]

Anyone had any luck getting their watch repaired/replaced?

Apple has had mine for 8 days with no sign of when its coming back and no one at Apple seems to know anything.

 

[rowi1de]

Anyone had any luck getting their watch repaired/replaced?

Apple has had mine for 8 days with no sign of when its coming back and no one at Apple seems to know anything.

Ordered my "Express" Replacement on 13th of December, the UPS Guy will deliver it tomorrow.
I guess they've a litte shortage for some models, with an unknown number of bricked devices and x-mas knocking at the door.

 

[diggator]

So anyone have any news on 3.1.1? Been quite and no update on a re-release.