Elevation Gain Problem With Series 4 Apple Watch

Ta,

As my Apple senior advisor suggested, I returned my iPhone X to the Apple Store this morning. It was a complete waste of time.  Despite freely acknowledging that the phone would not connect properly to my Apple Watch (probably due to a software issue), no one was willing or able to correct the problem for me. I wanted to exchange my iPhone X for a newer model and pay whatever price difference there was between the two.  I was told that Apple does not permit this.  After extensive discussion I was given four options:

1. (Preferred) Wait for a software upgrade to correct the problem (without any idea of if or when that might occur).

2. Trade in my new iPhone X for a $400 credit and buy a new iPhone XS for full price.  ($400 for a phone that I paid $1,205.12 three weeks ago? I don’t think so.)

3. (My favorite) Turn off the iPhone while I’m bicycling and use the Apple watch solo to record the elevation gain. (Brilliant.

Why didn’t I think of that? Turn off the power and the problem goes away. Why don’t I just smash the phone with a rock and fix it for good?)

1. Exchange my current iPhone X for another “refurbished” iPhone X and hope that this one will work better than the last two. (Right, take someone else’s problems in a new case and hope for the best. My last replacement has more problems than the original.)

My solution - continue to wear my old Garmin Forerunner on the other wrist when I exercise. It cost less than a tenth of the price of my iPhone and Apple Watch but it still works like a charm.  More than I can say for the fancy jewelry on the other arm.

It’s very disappointing to see a company admit that its product doesn’t work and still refuse to do the right thing for its customer.  Move over Sears, you’ve got company coming.

After weeks of working on this problem with Apple technical support I'm told that there currently is no solution. I'm told that Apple "engineers" are aware of the problem and it will be addressed in some future software update. Apple sent me a new replacement iPhone X but it had the same problem as my first one. In summary, whenever I pair my Apple watch series 4 GPS with an iPhone X it will always display "0 FT ELEV" in the workout app for hiking or cycling. The same thing happens with my wife's Apple watch 4 when I paired it with either one of the iPhone X's. Both watches, however, display the correct elevation gain when paired with my wife's iPhone 8 plus.

Thanks Ta,

That's interesting. So the elevation gain feature on the outside cycling workout app works on at lease one iPhone X and watch 4 combination. I don't know where to go from here. Apple has essentially told me to wait indefinitely for a software update fix. I'm considering upgrading to an iPhone XR or XS if I can be sure that I won't have the same problem. Or I may just live with the problem for another year. Right now I am wearing my old Garmin watch on the other wrist to track elevation gain.

Ta,

I'm unable to take the watch out alone. Both my and my wife's iWatch 4's are GPS units that must remain connected to an iPhone. Both watches work fine when paired to my wife's iPhone 8+. But neither watch will register elevation gain when paired to my old or replacement iPhone X. I've tried every combination I can with both outdoor cycling and outdoor walking.

Strange.

Ta,

Interesting results. I powered off both my replacement iPhone X and the iWatch 4 to break any connection. I then turned on just the watch and went for a walk uphill. For comparison, I brought along my wife's iWatch 4 connected to her iPhone 8+. I started up the outdoor walking workout app on both watches. When I reached my neighbor's driveway my wife's watch displayed 20 FT ELEV. My watch, which was not connected to anything, displayed 13 FT ELEV. Progress.

I then returned home to repeat the process with the replacement iPhone X. I powered off the iWatch 4, turned on the iPhone X and turned on the iWatch 4. I then set off on the same route that I had taken previously. The result: my wife's iWatch 4 displayed 21 FT ELEV. My watch, which was now connected to my replacement iPhone X, remained firmly stuck on 0 FT ELEV.

So again, my iWatch 4 works normally when connected to an iPhone 8+ or nothing at all. But it will display only zero elevation gain when connected to my original iPhone X or its replacement iPhone X.

Ta,

I don't how to post a screenshot, but I checked my compass app and it does display the elevation like in your screenshot. I also checked location services and it's already turned on like you suggested. In addition, the health app is recording the flights of stairs that I climb every day which is something like elevation gain. Puzzled.

I tried an interesting experiment this morning with similar results. With my iWatch 4 GPS connected to my replacement iPhone X, I went to the bottom of a long steep hill and turned on the outdoor cycling workout app. I then started up the hill and watched the elevation gain display on the watch. As expected, it remained stuck on "0 FT ELEV". After a few hundred yards I stopped and turned off the iPhone. I then continued up the hill with just the iWatch powered up. From that point the watch started registering elevation gain. After a few more hundred yards, when the elevation gain had reached 54 feet, I stopped and turned the iPhone back on. With the iPhone on the watch would not record any additional elevation gain. It remained unchanged at 54 feet. Several hundred yards further up the hill I repeated the process of turning the iPhone off and on. Each time that the iPhone was off the watch would accumulate elevation gain. When the iPhone was on, the watch would not record any additional gain.

Thanks Ta,

I think you're right. I'm going to try to upgrade to an iPhone ES and pay the difference. Requesting a replacement iPhone X will cost me another $31 shipping and probably get me a refurbished unit with the same problems.

Thank you very much for your help.

Ta,

I updated the software on my iPhone X to 12.1.3 and my Apple watch series 4 to 5.1.3.  I installed the same updates on my wife's Apple watch 4 and her iPhone 8 plus. Neither update had any effect on the elevation gain problem.

I tested them this morning with the outdoor walking and outdoor cycling parts of the workout app. As before, my watch would not record any elevation gain when paired to my iPhone X.  If I turned the phone off the watch would start recording elevation gain. When I turned the phone back on the watch stopped recording elevation gain.

Also as before, my wife's Apple watch series 4 works just fine with her iPhone 8 plus. The problem seems to be confined to the iPhone X, or more likely, its software.