Shortly after the release of iOS 14 and watchOS 7, many users ran into problems with their iPhone and Apple Watch.
Multiple online support threads including our own found GPS data was not being properly recorded during activities. The issue appeared to affect all models of Apple Watches.
In the majority of cases, users record a workout on their watch while leaving their iPhone at home, but when they later look at the Activity app it only shows the workout's starting point on the GPS map, and nothing else.
In addition, some users have been reporting excess battery drain of their Apple Watch, iPhone or both under iOS 14 and watchOS 7. In the support threads, the unofficial fix seemed to be unpairing and restoring your Apple Watch. Jack Taylor from our forums reported resolving both issues with this method:
Both the GPS and severe battery drain issues on watchOS 7 were fixed for me simply by in-pairing and re-pairing my watch. Both issues resolved themselves immediately after as noted in many of the support groups
It appears that Apple has adopted this advice as the official solution to this problem. In a newly published support document titled If you're missing Workout GPS routes or Health data after updating to iOS 14 and watchOS 7, Apple writes that users may see the following issues after upgrading to iOS 14 and watchOS 7:
Possible Symptoms
Your workout route maps are missing in the Fitness app on iPhone for previous GPS-enabled workouts from your Apple Watch.
The Activity, Heart Rate, or other health-related apps fail to launch or load data on your Apple Watch.
The Fitness app or Health app fail to launch or load data on your iPhone.
The Health app or Fitness app is reporting an inaccurate amount of data storage on your iPhone.
The Activity app is reporting an inaccurate amount of data storage on your Apple Watch.
Your environmental sound levels data or headphone audio levels data from Apple Watch is missing in the Health app on iPhone.
Increased battery drain on your iPhone or Apple Watch.
If you are experiencing two or more of these symptoms, Apple suggests unpairing your Apple Watch, backing up both your iPhone and Apple Watch, wiping both devices and restoring from backup. Apple provides steps to accomplish these tasks in their support document which was published today.
This is horrible. Most people won't know how to do this or read Macrumors to find out to do this. They'll just notice the excessive battery drain and be unhappy about it. :/ Makes one wonder if an update wouldn't fix this because they put the time into suggesting people unpair/pair.
I've done this several times with my AW3 and AW5 and it does seem to help when I've had problems in the past.
to be clear my issue was missing health data. My watch and activity app and even the rings summary in the health app would say a number of active cals, but the health app active cals would be about 1/3rd. Other data like steps and stuff would show similar patterns. Also heart rate data would not make it to the workout section in the activity app despite being in the watch end if without summation.
It fixed the issue moving forward but I lost all the missing health data between the iOS upgrade and this procedure... 1.5 weeks worth.
additionally, I lost my Apple Watch restore point. It simply wasn’t there despite unpairing properly. This might have been the main contributor to losing the data in between.
and since the watch backup was gone I had to set up the watch as a new one.
And then of course you have to go re-pair all your things and re login to all the apps that aren’t saved as part of the iCloud backup. You have to set up Apple Pay and Face ID again.
and then you lose the apps that aren’t in the App Store anymore.
etc...
not a great user experience on that one. So decide long and hard how important this issue is before going down this path. That’s all.
Apple today released watchOS 7.5, the fifth major update to the watchOS 7 operating system that was released in September 2020. watchOS 7.5 comes one month after the release of watchOS 7.4, an update that added Apple Watch iPhone unlocking and other features.
The watchOS 7.5 update can be downloaded for free through the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General >...
Amazon today has discounted the 40mm GPS Apple Watch SE to $259.00, down from $279.00. We have seen the Apple Watch SE drop to a lower price during Black Friday last year, but since then deals have been few and far between. That makes Amazon's new discount among the first sales on the Apple Watch SE in 2021.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a...
Last week we shared a lowest-ever price on the 40mm GPS Apple Watch Series 6, and this week Target is offering a deal on the 44mm models. You can get the 44mm GPS Apple Watch Series 6 for $379.99, down from $429.00. This is the second-best price we've ever seen for this model, and the current cheapest deal online.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with these vendors. When you click a...
Tuesday April 20, 2021 11:05 am PDT by Juli Clover
Apple today seeded the RC version of an upcoming watchOS 7.4 update to developers for testing purposes, with the new beta coming two weeks release of the seventh beta and over two months after the launch of watchOS 7.3 with "Time to Walk" functionality, expanded ECG availability, and a new Unity watch face.
To install the watchOS 7.4 beta, developers need to download the proper...
Tuesday March 23, 2021 10:08 am PDT by Juli Clover
Apple today seeded the fifth beta of an upcoming watchOS 7.4 update to developers for testing purposes, with the new beta coming one week release of the fourth beta and over a month after the launch of watchOS 7.3 with "Time to Walk" functionality, expanded ECG availability, and a new Unity watch face.
To install the watchOS 7.4 beta, developers need to download the proper configuration...
Apple today released watchOS 7.4, the fourth major update to the watchOS 7 operating system that was released in September 2020. watchOS 7.4 comes three months after watchOS 7.3, an update that introduced a new watch face, a Time to Walk feature, and expanded ECG availability.
The watchOS 7.4 update can be downloaded for free through the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by ...
Apple today announced a few workout-related features coming to watchOS 8 and Apple Fitness+. Starting with watchOS 8, users will be able to track Tai Chi and Pilates workout styles on their Apple Watch. Apple said that the new workouts are supported by powerful custom-built heart rate and motion algorithms to provide users with accurate metrics.
Apple Fitness+ is also gaining a few...
Wednesday September 23, 2020 2:52 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
A number of Apple Watch owners who have updated to watchOS 7 are reporting an issue involving missing GPS mapping data after recording exercise in Apple's wrist-based Workout app. Several MacRumors readers have been in touch to highlight the problem, which was first noted in a thread on Apple's support communities by a user who upgraded their iPhone XS Max to iOS 14 and Apple Watch Series 4 ...
Peloton appears to be rolling back its support for Apple GymKit on the Bike+, which was one of the first consumer-oriented machines to feature the option of Apple Watch integration, according to Connect The Watts.
Peloton was among the first companies to support GymKit on its home fitness machines, allowing users to easily and directly pair their Apple Watch with their bike. This meant that...
Apple today revealed watchOS 8, the next major version of its watchOS operating system, with brand new features, including enhancements to health tracking including a new Mindfulness app and improvements to the way users interact with their Apple Watch.
Referring to the Apple Watch face, watchOS 8 now supports using portrait mode photos in the watch face, using data from the image to layer...
Top Rated Comments
I've done this several times with my AW3 and AW5 and it does seem to help when I've had problems in the past.
to be clear my issue was missing health data. My watch and activity app and even the rings summary in the health app would say a number of active cals, but the health app active cals would be about 1/3rd. Other data like steps and stuff would show similar patterns. Also heart rate data would not make it to the workout section in the activity app despite being in the watch end if without summation.
It fixed the issue moving forward but I lost all the missing health data between the iOS upgrade and this procedure... 1.5 weeks worth.
additionally, I lost my Apple Watch restore point. It simply wasn’t there despite unpairing properly. This might have been the main contributor to losing the data in between.
and since the watch backup was gone I had to set up the watch as a new one.
And then of course you have to go re-pair all your things and re login to all the apps that aren’t saved as part of the iCloud backup.
You have to set up Apple Pay and Face ID again.
and then you lose the apps that aren’t in the App Store anymore.
etc...
not a great user experience on that one. So decide long and hard how important this issue is before going down this path. That’s all.