Level 1

27 points

Apple Watch Wifi keeps reverting to private address

Hi there. I updated my Series 3 Apple Watch to WatchOS 8.1 a month or two ago and have run into no end of issues. The latest is this - in both my work and home environment, Wifi is restricted by MAC address, so the concept of "private addresses" won't allow that to work (I want and require my Wifi to know which specific devices are connecting to it). So I have all my Apple devices specifically set to not use private addresses on my networks.

I know that while trying to connect, in Wifi settings, I can touch the SSID name on the watch and then, turn off private address. After it fails the first time, I can then connect again, and since it is now properly broadcasting its MAC address (as all devices should do), it connects and everything works fine. That should be all I have to do.

Except, after the update, it seems to only remember that I want private addressing on my networks for a few days. Every few days, my watch can't connect to Wifi, and when I check it out in settings, sure enough it's going for private addressing again.

Is there a fix for this (or a way to tell it to not use private addressing as a default in general - I don't care if third party Wifi sites recognize me, but I certainly require my own Wifi to do so). It used to work properly prior to my update of WatchOS (but then again, a lot of things used to work properly prior to that....)

Thanks!

Dan

Apple Watch

Posted on Jan 3, 2022 9:22 PM

Top-ranking reply

jd2020

Level 1

85 points

Posted on Dec 20, 2022 3:04 PM

Keychain access FTW. Hadn't read the post here about removing SSID from Keychain, but that's what I did:

So this worked for me (multiple APs, Unifi). On a Mac I opened Keychain Access and deleted all instances of the home wifi network (from iCloud, User, and I think System keychains). Then I forgot the home Wifi network from all Mac's, iPhone, Watch, and iPad. I verified there were no more home wifi entries in Keychain on another Mac. Then shut down these devices. After a moment I powered on iPhone and Watch, and jointed the home wifi from iPhone. When i checked the watch a few moments later it was already "connected" to the home wifi. Then start up all the devices and share wifi passphrase from iPhone.

I didn't have to mess with HomePods or Apple TV.

My guess is some kind of corruption on conflict in the home LAN passphrase in Keychain. Hope this helps you.

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80 replies

Feb 19, 2022 9:06 AM in response to Dan Charrois

Just contacted the Apple support. After 35 minutes, most of which was readings boilerplates and waiting for responses, I succeeded in convincing the support agent that I didn't want to wait if the problem occurred again and that I also didn't want to reset my watch without any hint that that would solve the problem I was finally redirected to the phone support.

As a result, the problem is now looked into and Apple will come back to me as soon as there is any new information which is probably the best immediate result I can expect in this situation. I'll keep you updated.

Patrick

Dan Charrois Author

Level 1

27 points

Mar 7, 2022 1:25 PM in response to PatrickRe

Either way, thanks again for trying to escalate this to get it fixed. Maybe they'll still eventually get back to you about it. I dealt with the problem again this morning when I got up - I should keep some kind of record to see if there is some pattern to it forgetting that I don't want private addressing... it seems like, for me at least, it forgets every 2-3 days.

One thing that perhaps may be a contributing factor I just recently thought of - my home network consists of several access points all using the same SSID. Maybe having multiple access points triggers a bug that confuses the watch about private addressing? It's not that it's just encountering an access point with a different MAC address it hasn't seen before so it turns on private addressing - it's certainly encountered all the access points in my network and been told to not use private addressing for each, many times over. But I'm wondering if that may trigger a bug if WatchOS wasn't sufficiently tested in such an environment.

I'm curious if you're in a similar situation, or if your Wifi consists of just a simple single access point.

Thanks again!

Dan Charrois Author

Level 1

27 points

Apr 6, 2022 8:40 PM in response to PatrickRe

What gets me is that this has got to be an easy bug to fix, compared to some of them. It's just a matter of getting the message to the right people. I am certainly leaning that it's possible or even likely that it's triggered by having multiple access points with a shared SSID, but as with the case with the developer you mentioned, I'm certainly not going to modify my network to work around the bug, especially considering a lot of other devices on the same network work best with it the way it is..

Apr 7, 2022 4:18 PM in response to Dan Charrois

I have the same issue. At our business we use a Cisco Meraki network to control wifi and internet access and enforce strict access using group policies. This means that if my Apple Watch reverts to using a Private Address using a random MAC, that it get's speed throttled down to 2mbps and all software update services (such as Apple) are blocked.

Furthermore, it seems that everytime I change access points as I move around the buildings the Private Access reverts to being set on automatically just by changing access points.

Aug 21, 2022 1:49 PM in response to Dan Charrois

This issue continues to plague me even with the latest iOS 15.6.1 and WatchOS 8.7. I've left feedback here Feedback - Watch - Apple and I would encourage others to do the same. I'll try and open a ticket with Apple support when I have a moment.

Dec 6, 2022 11:31 AM in response to Dan Charrois

Same problems for me. I have a new series 8 watch, and for the few weeks since I've had it, the watch keeps reverting to "private address" at the university where I teach, multiple times a day. For security purposes, every device at my work that connects to wifi has to be registered, so if a device generates a random private MAC address, the network will not allow it to connect. That's why I have to connect with "private address" switched OFF. If I understand correctly , some of the people who have posted in this thread above seem to have had success with changing some of their home network settings, but I have no power/ability/authority to tweak any network settings at work.

Also, like some posters above, my watch does not connect to the wifi automatically. (I do of course already have the wifi settings set to "auto join," but it doesn't work.) I don't know if this is just a result of the "private address" problem or unrelated.

Therefore, multiple times per day, I look down and see that my watch is again disconnected from the wifi, and I have to manually open up the wifi settings on the watch, switch off "private address" again, and tell it to reconnect to the wifi. It's frustrating that the "private address" toggle keeps switching back on by itself, with no input from me.

I bought this watch for two reasons: 1) fitness tracking while running and 2) not having to carry my phone around at work all the time. The watch's wifi issues are preventing it from fulfilling that second goal, and it's making me doubt it was worth the $350 I paid for it.

BlakeAU

Level 1

22 points

Jan 19, 2023 9:41 AM in response to BlakeAU

Unfortunately, I have to update and say that the issue returned. This helps for a few days it seems, but then I have to repeat deleting my SSID info from Keychain on my Mac, or else the issue returns.

Feb 8, 2023 5:29 PM in response to glider_pilot

Well, after two weeks my watch still consistently connects to my home Wi-Fi (eero). However, at work where we have a campus-wide Aruba mesh network using the same SSID, the problem immediately reoccurs as soon as I walk into another zone. Even if I then return to the original zone, the watch won’t connect because it has reverted to private addressing for that SSID. It seems Apple still has a lot of work to do.

Sep 28, 2022 7:17 AM in response to dhernandez69

Hi dhernandez69

Yes, I am on the same troubleshooting point: deleting all networks + manual cleanup of my iCloud Keychain.

I'll keep you posted here how it goes.

homer09

Level 1

8 points

Oct 27, 2022 7:06 AM in response to dhernandez69

It’s clearly a watchOS bug.

homer09

Level 1

8 points

Nov 22, 2022 5:30 AM in response to Georgesc3

Have you tried changing your SSID and password?

homer09

Level 1

8 points

Dec 29, 2022 5:26 AM in response to danielfrombobingen

Have you tried the fixes proposed above? Either change your wifi SSID or do the keychain reset.

yes it’s a bug apple should address, but there are fixes working for most people.

Feb 19, 2022 5:50 AM in response to Dan Charrois

They could just revert the patch or default to non-private and reimplement it when there is time.

In addition, letting loose automatic support bots in these forums does not solve the problem. It just scares away customers. There is a reason that Clippy, the office assistant, is one of the most hated virtual characters in the world.

Dan Charrois Author

Level 1

27 points

Feb 19, 2022 2:36 PM in response to PatrickRe

Thanks so much, Patrick, for having the patience to get through to Apple Support and not accept their "just reset it and see what happens" approach. As at least a few of us are having the same problem, this leads me to believe there is a legitimate bug that needs to be found. I know there's still no guarantees of anything being done, but at least the issue has escalated further than it has been before.

Mar 7, 2022 5:09 PM in response to Dan Charrois

Actually, having multiple access points using a shared ssid is the case with my network. This caused problems before as it is a scenario that is commonly disregarded by mediocre developers. And for the same reason, it doesn't always seem to be included in test scenarios. I even had a lengthy argument with the developer of a different device who asked me to assign different ssids on each access point rather than fixing the firmware...

Patrick

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Apple Watch Wifi keeps reverting to private address