WatchOS 8.3 Update Causing 3rd Party Wireless Charger to Drain Battery

I'm having a similar issue with my BlueBolt all-in-one charger. (Charges iphone, watch and earpods). The watch isn't charging, but charges fine on Apple branded puck chargers. Was working fine for me until WatchOS 8.3

I thought I was going crazy until I found this thread. I am seeing this on my Bluebolt combo charger (Phone, Watch, AirPods), so it is not just Belkin gear. Something changed in 8.3, because this was working fine previously.

That is why it is no longer working. There are chipsets in Apple and Made for Apple cables and companies that are certified have the proper codes/compatibility to adjust if Apple updates. Companies that make cheap knockoffs steal their codes but have no way to update them.

I have the same issue, my s4 just charges 10% and stop after update to watchos 8.3, my cable is a aftermarket one that i bought from Amazon (certified) and now doesn't works.

I hope that Apple fixes this soon.

The point here is, we all had watch chargers that we paid for and worked perfectly until 8.3 update, no matter what make it is. It is FRUSTRATING and a waste of your money if you have to go and buy a new one now.

The point is if your charger is Made for Apple certified your charger should continue to work even if Apple updated the codes and the charger during the move to watchOS 8.3. If you do have a charger that is certified you should contact the manufacturer and Apple support and report it. If you have one that is not certified, and I can find that the BroHonor is, you won't be able to use it anymore because it was using stolen security codes and can no longer be used. You will have to wait for the company to come out with a new model with newer stolen security codes that work and buy that model.

So if you think you have a charger that IS Made for Apple certified contact the company to be sure and report the problem and I would also recommend contacting Apple support and reporting it. If you know it does not have such certification you will have to buy a new one.

S5 updated to 8.3 a few days ago. Not charging on my UGoodVIP 3-way magsafe charger. This was working perfectly with 8.2. I reset the watch and restored from a earlier backup with WatchOS 7. This does not work, since the WatchOS is still 8.3. Is there any way to downgrade to 8.2?

Same problem for me. I don't own an Apple charger, my refurbished series 5 came with a third party charger. I don't know how to identify the manufacturer.

If Apple does issue a software fix for this, I won't be able to upgrade because I can't get the required 50% charge.

Guess 8.3 is forcing me to buy an Apple charger?

I bought 3 in 1 wireless charger from Virgin Mega Store Dubai… with brand name switch … it charges my phone and airpods perfectly but since updated my watch it has same glitches of charging fluctuations…which previously was charging like breeze

It’s ridiculous to make all chargers useless instead of preventing only data transfer with 3rd party brand cables. I understand Apple trying provide security and privacy but it caused thousands of users not using watch and it wasted thousands of plastic cables.

Software is involved in regulating charging, the chipset is not used for data transfer on the Watch puck and cable. If I have a company that participates in the Made for iDevice program I would want Apple to periodically update and render devices with stolen codes inoperable. Buy a cable that is certified and you won’t have this issue. Buy a cheap knockoff with stolen codes and you will.

If you have a Made for iDevice certified charger and it has failed to work contact the manufacturer and Apple Support. If it is not one and is using stolen codes and counterfeit chips Apple is not going to reverse themselves to make stolen codes work.

My wife and I both have series 4 watches. The WatchOS 8.3 update nerfed our ability to charge with 3rd party chargers. I went to the Apple store today. I tested with Apple chargers in the store and then purchased new Apple chargers which solved the issue. Not thrilled as a customer, but better than buying new watches or switching to Android.

I'm having exactly the same situation with a 3rd party (Ugreen). my wife's one still on the previous watchos version and it is charging correctly. for now, i will not update it. but for mine, too late. it is a shame, apple not providing a decent alternative and blocking the other solutions...

well, 90% of 3rd part stand charger are not Made for Apple. it was an ugly mouvment from Apple to do that. at least, an advise should be there: if you update you will loose the compatibility blablabla. we can downgrade an iphone/ipad but not a watch... so for now, no solution and no comeback.