Activity GPS issues after watchOS 7 and iOS 14 updates

I’ve tried that unpair and repair trick twice and it hasn’t worked. I don’t feel comfortable doing a whole rest and backing up data myself just with the amount of things that I could lose or go wrong. I don’t know how Apple have already released a new version of iOS14 with a bug fix and not addressed this. Clearly affecting so many people - guess I’m just waiting for them

I’ve got the same issue with my series 2. I updated my phone to ios14 and my watch is up to date on 6.8.1 for the series 2. After Tuesday’s run no outdoor walks or runs are showing gps data beside the start point. Apple support is baffled. I’ve got through all there suggestions

I had the same issue before upgrading to watch OS 7 on my series 3, after upgrading my phone to iOS 14 (11 pro max).

updated watch to OS7 and the same issue.

Also treated myself to a new Watch series 6 and the same issue. Apple have no answer currently!

The weirdest thing is; on my husbands phone and watch everything if working fine. He has a 11 Pro Max and I the normal 11. So there must be a difference in iOS for the pro max and the ‘normal 11 and 11 pro’????? He has zero issues!!

Pguich wrote:

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then wait until everything is restored, it will take a while until all apps are downloaded again, also until all health data is fully restored. I thought for a while that I lost most of my data, but it might take 24 hours until all data is back.

it will not correct any missing map data from past runs. But today’s run shows the course I took.

I followed the same steps as you. Can you please check on iPhone Health.app > Summary > Workouts > Show all workout routes (scroll down near the end)? Does it show any routes from workouts prior to iOS 14? My main problem now is that no workout routes prior to the iOS 14 update are there, just what was recorded after (and on top of that, for workouts recorded on watch Workout, only those that took place after the reset/restore).

No, there are no routes from before iOS 14. None. I still have them thanks to the app RunGap, but it’s not in the health app, nor the fitness app. Also, none of the workouts I did with the watch, that were not synchronized to the phone was restored. I guess it’s not a surprise. Data was missing or corrupted, and I wouldn’t expect the data to be fixed with a restore.

That’s my main concern. If the data was there, but rendered unreadable by the iOS 14 update then maybe a future update might make them readable again. When going through reset/restore though the data might not even get downloaded from the iCloud backup, since it’s not readable by current iOS, and get lost forever.

For those not having gone through reset/restore I think it’s wiser to wait in case Apple fixes the root cause.

I had the same problem but unlike you, I hadn’t updated my (series 3) watch. Only my iphoneXR had been updated a couple of days earlier.

It was working fine but of all days... the day I ran a race in an event, my GPS data didn’t pick up! The splits are all there and the elevation is too, but no map. I carried my phone with me too. I don’t understand. I have since updated my watch to IOS7, hoping it would appear but sadly it hasn’t. I have also reset my watch. Didn’t work.

I have the same issue with my Apple Watch series 3 running watchOS 7.0.1, which is paired with my iPhone 11 Pro max running iOS 14.0.1.

I found it to be intermittent with tracking routes when going for an outdoor run or outdoor walk using with the watchOS workouts app. Some days it tracks the route, other days it doesn't. There doesn't seem to be any coherent pattern to this issue either, it's totally random on which days it does or does not work.

I don't use any third party fitness tracking software, so I'm sure its got nothing to do with Stravia causing this issue for you.

Same here, glad I found the thread otherwise I'd have been more annoyed.

6s and a Series 3 Cellular watch. Both fully updated

Worked fine prior to the update. Small dot on the map on the Activity window, no GPS data sent to healthfit, and in turn, no route information in Strava.

My “how I fixed it” story.  

I have 2 watches, a 2 and a 5 running 6.2.8.  The 2 I have been using with AutoSleep for 2 years and have been very happy with it.  While the 5 charges overnight, I wear the 2.  Change them out in the morning.  I quite literally wear an Apple Watch 24/7 except for showers!  I updated my 11 Pro to IOS 14 4 days after the release.  I waited to hear feedback and did not run across any issues.  

It took me a day or so to realize that my daily outdoor walking workouts were not being transferred from the 5 to the phone correctly. Just the starting points.

It got MUCH worse with 14.0.1.  Now the entire workout from the 5 was not being transmitted to the phone. During the day the step count, standing hours, etc just froze.  No amount of restarting phone or watch 5 mattered.  Just for the heck of it, I tried the 2.  It had no problem sending a workout to the phone.  I put the 5 back on and the workout from the 2 was now seen on the 5.  But NOT the reverse.  I only barely kept my streak and ring closures alive my swapping watches during the day.  I did the watch swap for 2 days to keep my streaks / rings going.

Finally, I did the following early one morning based on what I read in this chain.

1.    unpair apple watches. This erases them.

2.    made an iCloud backup of the phone (If I had to do it again, I might use a local backup.  iCloud restore took hours.)

3.    Reset iPhone. This erases all contents and settings of your iPhone. WARNING any music in your library not bought from Apple will not be restored from an iCloud backup.  Make sure your music is backed up locally first. 

4.    Set up iPhone by restoring it from your last backup. Again this took HOURS.

5.    Pair your watch(s) again. I did the Restore option, not the pair as new option.

Everything is now back working again. All my previous GPS routes and maps are back, along with heart data points.  It took 2 days before all my previous challenges, awards, ring records are now back in the Fitness app on the phone.  When the initial restore was done, I was missing many items between 2018 and now. 

What’s missing now?  I still have my local music to restore.  The routes on the 5 for the few days they were not synching, were never synched and are still gone.  

Longest Move Streak Weirdness –  “longest daily Move streak, 148 days, ending on 9/26/2020. Your current streak is 153 days”.  ??? 

I guess Apple did more than just rename the Activity app to Fitness.  But they it sure has made a mess for people to deal with.

I have no plans to move to WatchOS 7 on the 5.  

Exactly the same issue with me. Im in the uk, phone and watch updated, no location services on activity and when I transfer my activity over to Strava it’s not working at all. Very frustrating 🤯 await a bug fix then !

Having the same issue - upgraded iphone to OS14 and watch to OS7 on Weds. Since then anytime I use the cycling workout in the fitness app it measure everything correctly but map simply shows a pin on the starting point.

Exact same issue. The unpair/reset/re-pair did not resolve it. For me, the issue did impact workouts that were recorded prior to the upgrade. No maps show now on any workouts recorded before or after the upgrade via the Workout/Fitness App on Apple Watch.

Exact same issue for me too for all Outdoor activities (Running & Cycling) in Iphone X (iOS 14.0.1) and S5 Watch (WatchOS 7.0.1)

Also Unable to see the old activities routes too. Hope Apple fixes these issue at the earliest without any data loss which has been tracked earlier