Apple Watch Series 3 won’t update to WatchOS 7

Set up mode? As in it is starting fresh and needs to be paired with your phone? If so, then you need to pair it. Once that’s done you’ll be able to use the various features of your watch including Bluetooth.

Pausing Bluetooth on the iPhone and turning it back on worked to restart the installing process from the "preparing" state for 7.0.1 update as well. Apple ought to make this part of the routine if that is what it takes going forward. Thank you everyone for saving me untold time and frustration.

I ran my first marathon with an Apple watch. An Apple watch is fun if you do a weekly 5k on sunday. Trust me the moment you use a garmin you wont believe you ever ran with an touchscreen watch before. Hope you had a good experience with your first marathon!

Apple tells me on the iPhone Watch app (under General/Software Update) “Do not restart”, but on this Communities support thread, Apple recommends “Try restarting both your devices Apple Watch 3 and your iPhone”.  I dislike this mixed message, and I am frustrated with this slow and poorly working process. Apple, if you are listening, please reply ASAP with either 1) clear and non-conflicting instructions on how to solve this problem, or 2) a promise to upgrade me (for free) with a new and better watch!

Hallelujah! After about 6 tries and hours of time finally updated my S3 to 7.0.3. I had to reset my watch (no big deal since it was empty). After I setup my watch I rebooted it and my iPhone. Then I turned off Bluetooth on both devices. I kept Bluetooth of the entire time the update was doing it’s thing. Worst update experience ever. I complain, but love my Apple Watch and will get a S6 or S7 whenever I can afford it. Will be nice to get an Apple Watch with a real-world amount of storage.

I need to update to 7.03 because my watch keeps restarting, however I cannot download the update, I’ve tried everything here. My download gets stuck on preparing then after a while says I’m not connected to WiFi. It is connected to WiFi and Apple has sent me a new watch and I still have the same issues. Next step is they want to send a box to send it in. Simply unacceptable, if this update doesn’t work on series 3 then why can you still buy a series 3 brand new on their website. I’m flat out disgusted.

Same issue here. I tried all the tips given here and I am on attempt number 5 now. Very frustrating as one would think a company like Apple would test all compatible devices before releasing iOS 14. At least give me a warning that the watch may experience problems, and I can choose not to update.

Things were a heck of a lot better when Steve Jobs ran things.

I quit fiddling with it and ordered an SE non cellular. I updated my husband’s 4 with no issues at all—and I know there are a lot of people with 3s that aren’t having any issues so wonder if its a setting or an app that is causing problems for some of us-I( get a lot of notifications, have a number of 3rd party apps/complications and stopped my Verizon connection about a month before trying to update). That happens with phone or Ipad updates too occasionally so that’s why I’m wondering. I have done betas with phones and Ipads where some have issues, some don’t—but that’s why there are betas. I have never done a beta with a watch—wonder how many do and if a lot of issues are found ahead. Whatever, its a pain—I expected to keep my 3 for another year—altho’ I traded it so wasn’t so awful to buy the SE.

Interesting—which makes me wonder what the issue is—yours would be set to factory settings—many of ours have been updated over a number of years with WAtch OS updates and with 3rd party apps and complications—and the answer for us seemed to be to set back to default and reinstall. Glad yours is working. The 3 is a very nice Iwatch and was such a big update from the original watch (which I had before 3).

So I should also add Apple had sent me a previous new watch set to factory settings as well however it would not download and install 7.02 or 7.03 . And even this latest watch didn’t take it the first try.

Updated last night. As others on this thread, I believed that my watch was 'stuck' on preparing. That wasn't the case, it just took a real long time to prepare and install (2+ hours). Don't give up just keep letting it do it's thing.

I am RAGING with you Apple. I have had my Apple Watch for barely two years, and the latest software update has nearly broken me! I have had all of the problems on this thread. Prompted to upgrade to the new software, then it didn't work because my watch did not have enough memory. I was told to delete apps. There is nothing IN any of the apps I have, but I deleted them all anyway - every single one that it would allow me to delete. Still not enough memory. The only other option was to 'unpair' and try that way - and this took four hours (the Bluetooth trick definitely helped - thank you to those who suggested this). Even so, the very very last bit would not go through - even though the watch said it was ready to be paired, the iPhone was hanging. So I said 'cancel' - and THEN it allowed me to pair it. Phew! 30 mins more whirring, and then it worked. BUT it has deleted the last two days of my data, and thus ended my 130 day streak of closing all of my activity rings!!!!!!!!!!

Apple - if anyone from your company reads the teeth gnashing of your loyal customers on this thread - how dare you do this to us? It might not seem like much to you, that you have deleted my streak, but this was such a huge motivation to me to keep going with my exercise regime under lockdown. I have lost nearly two stone (28 pounds) since March, and the psychological boost of knowing that I was keeping active and keeping up my streak was a massively positive thing for me, and made me keep going when all I wanted to do was stay in bed. After you deleted my last two days of activity, plus a record breaking work out, I cried my eyes out and drank half a bottle of wine and ate a chocolate bar. I also had a massive row with my husband, as he couldn't understand why I was so upset about a 'streak' (or indeed what one was, as he is a luddite and does not even have a watch, let alone an Apple one). I share this message with you so you can take it home to your tech teams how much pain these ill-thought through software upgrades are affecting your community. I should not NEED to buy a new smart watch after two years. It should not be this difficult to upgrade the software, and to see that there's HUNDREDS of messages on this thread, and no acknowledgement whatsoever from yourselves, is shameful. Apple, thought you were better than this. Anyway, I WILL NOT BE DEFEATED by your cruel deletion of my activity data. I ran 5k this morning and I am going to shift the rest of the weight with or without your help. And when this Apple Watch gives up the ghost, I will certainly not be buying another one from you unless I receive a proper reply and explanation / apology from you. So there. I feel a lot better for typing this and I hope it helps you other disgruntled customers, as there appear to be many of them!

I am RAGING with you Apple. I have had my Apple Watch for barely two years, and the latest software update has nearly broken me! I have had all of the problems on this thread. Prompted to upgrade to the new software, then it didn't work because my watch did not have enough memory. I was told to delete apps. There is nothing IN any of the apps I have, but I deleted them all anyway - every single one that it would allow me to delete. Still not enough memory. The only other option was to 'unpair' and try that way - and this took four hours (the Bluetooth trick definitely helped - thank you to those who suggested this). Even so, the very very last bit would not go through - even though the watch said it was ready to be paired, the iPhone was hanging. So I said 'cancel' - and THEN it allowed me to pair it. Phew! 30 mins more whirring, and then it worked. BUT it has deleted the last two days of my data, and thus ended my 130 day streak of closing all of my activity rings!!!!!!!!!!

Apple - if anyone from your company reads the teeth gnashing of your loyal customers on this thread - how dare you do this to us? It might not seem like much to you, that you have deleted my streak, but this was such a huge motivation to me to keep going with my exercise regime under lockdown. I have lost nearly two stone (28 pounds) since March, and the psychological boost of knowing that I was keeping active and keeping up my streak was a massively positive thing for me, and made me keep going when all I wanted to do was stay in bed. After you deleted my last two days of activity, plus a record breaking work out, I cried my eyes out and drank half a bottle of wine and ate a chocolate bar. I also had a massive row with my husband, as he couldn't understand why I was so upset about a 'streak' (or indeed what one was, as he is a luddite and does not even have a watch, let alone an Apple one). I share this message with you so you can take it home to your tech teams how much pain these ill-thought through software upgrades are affecting your community. I should not NEED to buy a new smart watch after two years. It should not be this difficult to upgrade the software, and to see that there's HUNDREDS of messages on this thread, and no acknowledgement whatsoever from yourselves, is shameful. Apple, thought you were better than this. Anyway, I WILL NOT BE DEFEATED by your cruel deletion of my activity data. I ran 5k this morning and I am going to shift the rest of the weight with or without your help. And when this Apple Watch gives up the ghost, I will certainly not be buying another one from you unless I receive a proper reply and explanation / apology from you. So there. I feel a lot better for typing this and I hope it helps you other disgruntled customers, as there appear to be many of them!

My wife's Series 3 tried to auto update and failed. During the several attempts after that it somehow unpaired from the phone so now no WiFi and it won't pair without the update and it can't update due to no WiFi. End result an endless loop and a non-watch that doubles as a paperweight.

Called Apple support and they went thru all the regular trouble shooting steps but told me even though the watch had a factory reset, I still need to go thru the troubleshooting steps again with them with my wife's phone before they will send me a box to send it in, along with a $159 service fee to fix their software error.

So in the end, I need to pay $159 for them to possibly not fix their ****** software problem and get me a working watch or spend hundreds more on a new one. I think this is my last Apple product!

Same problem I’ve been updating my Apple Watch series 3 for 3 hours now and still hasn’t finished. It’s stuck on preparing..