Missing Some Activity Awards on iOS 12? Apple Says They'll Be Restored in a Future Software Update

If you updated your iPhone to iOS 12 this week and noticed that some Activity Challenge awards are missing, you're not alone.

activity challenge awards
In a new support document, Apple has acknowledged that five limited edition awards may be temporarily unavailable in the Activity app after updating to iOS 12, presumably due to a minor software bug of some kind.

They include:

  • Thanksgiving Day Challenge 2016

  • Mother's Day Challenge 2017

  • Veterans Day Challenge 2017

  • Thanksgiving Day Challenge 2017

  • China National Fitness Day 2018

Apple is aware of this issue and will address it in an upcoming software update, according to the support document.

MacRumors has been affected by this issue on at least one of our iPhones, with a few awards missing on both iOS 12 and the first beta of iOS 12.1, seeded to registered Apple developers earlier today. There's a chance the awards could be restored in a subsequent beta version of iOS 12.1 in the days to come.

Of note, the Mother's Day Challenge award was still visible on another one of our iPhones running Monday's publicly released version of iOS 12, so it appears that not everyone is affected to begin with.

Related Roundup: Apple Watch 11
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Buy Now)
Related Forum: iOS 12

Popular Stories

iphone 17 models

No iPhone 18 Launch This Year, Reports Suggest

Thursday January 1, 2026 8:43 am PST by
Apple is not expected to release a standard iPhone 18 model this year, according to a growing number of reports that suggest the company is planning a significant change to its long-standing annual iPhone launch cycle. Despite the immense success of the iPhone 17 in 2025, the iPhone 18 is not expected to arrive until the spring of 2027, leaving the iPhone 17 in the lineup as the latest...
apple intelligence black

Report: Apple's AI Strategy Could Finally Pay Off in 2026

Tuesday December 30, 2025 9:01 am PST by
Apple's restrained artificial intelligence strategy may pay off in 2026 amid the arrival of a revamped Siri and concerns around the AI market "bubble" bursting, The Information argues. The speculative report notes that Apple has taken a restrained approach with AI innovations compared with peers such as OpenAI, Google, and Meta, which are investing hundreds of billions of dollars in data...
apple fitness 2026 1

Apple Teases 'Something Big' Coming Soon to Apple Fitness+

Tuesday December 30, 2025 2:11 pm PST by
The Apple Fitness+ Instagram account today teased that the service has "big plans" for 2026. In a video, several Apple Fitness+ trainers are shown holding up newspapers with headlines related to Apple Fitness+. What's Apple Fitness+ Planning for the New Year? Something Big is Coming to Apple Fitness+ The Countdown Begins. Apple Fitness+ 2026 is Almost Here 2026 Plans Still Under ...
iphone 17 pro dark blue 1

iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max Users Report Static Speaker Noise While Charging

Tuesday December 30, 2025 10:39 am PST by
iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max owners are having trouble with the speakers of their devices, and have complained about a static or hissing noise that occurs when the iPhone is charging. There are multiple discussions about the issue on Reddit, the MacRumors forums, and Apple's Support Community, where affected users say there is a noticeable static noise "like an old radio." Some people report...
maxresdefault

Hands-On With a Rough iPhone Fold Mockup

Monday December 29, 2025 10:55 am PST by
Apple is rumored to be introducing a foldable iPhone in September 2026, and since it will bring the biggest form factor change since the iPhone was introduced in 2007, curiosity about the design is high. A 3D designer created an iPhone Fold design based on rumors, and we printed it out to see how it compares to Apple's current iPhones. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more ...
maxresdefault

Where's the New Apple TV?

Monday December 22, 2025 11:30 am PST by
Apple hasn't updated the Apple TV 4K since 2022, and 2025 was supposed to be the year that we got a refresh. There were rumors suggesting Apple would release the new Apple TV before the end of 2025, but it looks like that's not going to happen now. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said several times across 2024 and 2025 that Apple would...
Mac Pro Feature Blue

What's Happening With the Mac Pro?

Wednesday December 31, 2025 9:59 am PST by
Apple hasn't updated the Mac Pro since 2023, and according to recent rumors, there's no update coming in the near future. In fact, Apple might be finished with the Mac Pro. Bloomberg recently said that the Mac Pro is "on the back burner" and has been "largely written off" by Apple. Apple apparently views the more compact Mac Studio as the ideal high-end pro-level desktop, and it has almost...
macbook air march 2020

Apple Says Final Intel MacBook Air and Apple Watch Series 5 Now 'Vintage'

Wednesday December 31, 2025 8:39 am PST by
Apple today added the final 13-inch MacBook Air powered by Intel processors, the Apple Watch Series 5, and additional products to its vintage products list. The iPhone 11 Pro was also added to the list after the iPhone 11 Pro Max was added back in September. The full list of products added to Apple's vintage and obsolete list today: MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2020) iPhone 8 Plus 128GB ...

Top Rated Comments

OldSchoolMacGuy Avatar
95 months ago
BUT I CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT MY REWARDS FOR A SECOND!

THIS IS IT! INDICATION THAT APPLE IS DOOMED AND CAN'T PRODUCE A QUALITY PRODUCT ANYMORE!
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
munpip214 Avatar
95 months ago
I feel like there have been regular issues with Activity challenges since they introduced the special monthly challenges last year. They don't always register as being done, or don't show up until halfway through the month. September for instance, I started with my challenge being 30 days closing my rings, then it changed to 6. I got that, but then got a notification that I have a September challenge for 20 days... I also never got the 50 minute park challenge either. Also, when looking at other peoples achievements, it is very buggy and doesn't always show the accurate ones.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
magicschoolbus Avatar
95 months ago
What am I going to do without China fitness day.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Menopause Avatar
95 months ago

BUT I CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT MY REWARDS FOR A SECOND!

THIS IS IT! INDICATION THAT APPLE IS DOOMED AND CAN'T PRODUCE A QUALITY PRODUCT ANYMORE!

Part of what you said is definitely true: Apple's quality control has been beyond crap in the last couple of years.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
anthonyzp Avatar
95 months ago
Achievements I earn now don't appear in Activity app on iPhone until I reboot iPhone. Anyone else experiencing this? ie: I'll earn Move Goal 200%, won't show up on iPhone in the Activity app until I reboot iPhone. Running iOS 12 and watchOS 5. Noticed this behaviour when upgraded to iOS 12 and watchOS 5. Anyone else?
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
OldSchoolMacGuy Avatar
95 months ago
Part of what you said is definitely true: Apple's quality control has been beyond crap in the last couple of years.
I've actually taken a look at it and there hasn't really been an increase in reported issues in recent years. Current events always stick out in our mind far more than past. The reality is that there are just as many issues with Apple products now as there were when Jobs was still running things. The media certainly makes a FAR bigger deal of even the smallest issue these days too, which makes everything appear bigger than it is.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)