Apple Watch Series 3 update 8.7.1 bricked my watch

iOS 16.1 released today

someone on another thread said it works updating. Haven’t tried it yet.

Update the iPhone it’s paired to. Go into settings-General-software update - install iOS 16.1

Similar issues here: Apple Watch Series 3 (no cellular) and iPhone X here. I got stuck in the "preparing" stage as well with only a handful of apps on the phone, and about 2GB free space on the phone. Followed instructions to unpair and entirely reset the watch and then set up as a new watch. Turned off automatic updates and ensured that no apps were loaded on to the watch after initializing. Even after that, after a handful of manual updates that never even started due to no internet connectivity, I could get the watch to download the update from the phone as it had before, and I was able to eek out 3GB of free space on the phone by this process of setting the watch up new and empty, but it would still get stuck at the "preparing" stage, when just the bare minimum watchOS is loaded (currently on 8.6). Was never able to get past this, so for the time being I have restored my watch from a backup and am leaving automatic updates off and will continue to run watchOS 8.6. Looks like some other users have reported that apple is aware of the issue and is working on a fix so maybe a future update past 8.7.1 might resolve this, hopefully.

So I got this answer from their official twitter account ...

Got it. We appreciate you letting us know about this issue you’re experiencing. We have heard reports of this issue and we recommend waiting 48 - 72 hours before attempting to update again.

I hope this means they are gonna fix it soon

For best results you should keep your iPhone on the same wifi network as your watch. The work wifi isn’t good because you’re using a busy network. Close all other apps running on your iPhone, you don’t need them using your wifi.Try doing the update from your watch as instructed in this video. Aside from that , the series 3 is an old device and will always take longer.

You are also welcome to call Apple to get assistance from an advisor to walk you through it. If you’re in N.America you can call 1-800-MY-APPLE. I’ve called them before about this and they we’re very helpful. I’m sorry, I know it’s frustrating.

Yup so my girlfriend’s series 3 watch has done the same exact thing. We went to the Apple Store today in Albany, NY and they acted like they knew nothing about it! Lol!

They kept her watch and phone for 2 hours saying they’d be able to update it. We came back 2 hours later and they did absolutely nothing. They claimed they tried updating it but unfortunately that was a 100% lie. They couldn’t even attempt it without the unlock code.

The Apple Genius said they could update it for $160.00 or she could purchase a new watch for $250.00!!

At that point I was speechless!! Upon arriving home I called Apple and was told by one of the people that it is now a known problem and that they are currently working on it. So at this present time it’s nothing more than a brick. Something is very wrong here.

I’m happy to say that multiple failed attempts trying to update via iOS 6.0.3 over the last 2 weeks, today, I upgraded to iOS 6.1 I then made 1 attempt to update watchOS and it seems to have gone through 1 1/2hrs downloading then 2 1/2hrs preparing and then agreeing to the terms it is now for the last 20mins of saying installing - it has never got this far and now I’m looking at the Apple logo with the ring 50% complete I’m keeping this windows open while it completes…. Now 10 mins later it’s asking me what backup do I want to restore from 2 minutes later it’s now signing into my account so now a total of 5 hrs later it is now synching I started this post at 22:00 uk time and it’s now 22:40 and finally see below hoooray

[Image Edited by Moderator to Remove Serial Number]

hey, yesterday, about 12 hours ago, my phone is using iOS 15.6 and also met a bug of preparing watchOS 8.7.1 for my new apple watch series 3 (the loading bar always stood still). Last hour, i updated my iphone to iOS 15.7 and recognized that the loading bar when preparing is filled. And i'm just waiting, hope it works.

I honestly don’t think anything physically can be done: This wreaks of a software problem from Apple and I think the only way it’s going to get any attention is if enough of us that have the problem start spamming Apple support, because paying $200 to pair my watch that was working fine is absolutely ridiculous, as is buying a new watch to do nothing but see notifications and the weather.

Talked to apple it’s basically a $200 fee to go there and they manually pair it, i bought one today they are selling them so cheap got home to set up boom will not work so i lost money today. It was previously owned so cant return it but i know stores are selling them still this will really be a bigger forum of mad people in a couple days

Theo *** mình nhớ thì sau khi thanh update đầy 1 lần, nó sẽ bắt mình update 1 lần nữa, tầm 10-15 phút cho quá trình này. Sau đó, bạn cần phải chờ khoảng 1 tiếng để nó preparing, thanh hiển thị có vẻ bị lỗi nên bạn đừng lo, sau 1 tiếng hơn thì sẽ tiếp tục set up cho watch tầm thêm 30 phút, vậy là xong

Hello - I had the same issue with my iPhone 11 running iOS16, wouldn't update the watch and kept saying lost access to Internet.

I have been trying for a few days and today it has finally updated.

I used another phone 8 running 15.7 which was the only phone I could pair it to. The only thing I changed was adding LTE Setup options under Mobile data.

It may be a coincidence but it suddenly worked in the last hour or so. Hope this is not just a fluke.

Apple Watch Series 3 Update to 8.7.1 impossible for some users. I guess Apple is well aware of the problem, however there seems to be no solution addressed yet.

My Apple watch is on watch OS 6.3 and currently not paired to any phone, so I face all the problem when I want to pair it with a phone. Whatever I tried, the problem goes on, I download the update file (1.3 GB), it finishes before the progress bar reaches to the end, than the watch starts to reboot itself continuously, so there is no progress achieved for preparing stage at all. Even if you end the update at the phone end, or you hard reset the watch, the rebooting of the watch continues till you eventually have to reset the watch to its factory settings.

I At the beginning, almost all the series 3 users faced the problem, however it seems out that some fellows managed to get their watches updated in time with different solutions (or in fact with no solution but by some actions taken at Apple's end i.e. revising the update file, but people think that it is finally due to what they had done). So I get the idea, that user specific details decide whether the update is successful or not. Therefore I'd like to put my specific details hereby, so it might be helpful to address the problem more precisely. Sometimes the rebooting problem even starts during downloading of update file.

• As mentioned, my watch is on watch OS 6.3, not paired to any phone. The update file is from 6.3 to 8.7.1 with 1.3 GB of
• My Iphone is 11, tried updating both with ios 16.0 and 16.1. I also tried with various different Iphones (Iphone 10 16.1 and 15.7.1, Iphone 13 with ios 15.7, also some other older phones with older ios systems) but no luck
• My region is Turkey, language is Turkish. Tried with UK, US, Germany location and corresponding languages, always the same
• I tried all possible variations of Iphone and Apple Watch on and off charging
• I tried all other recommendations for updating in various web sites and forums, still same
• I only did not give a try to drain the battery entirely and wait for further 48-72 hours recommendation yet

I spoke to Apple Turkey Customer Support, they could not say anything. I arranged a service appointment from Apple service, but I am not sure whether they can and/or will update the watch. It is getting really very annoying, it might be solved at the end, but I shouldn't be wasting my time and stay sleepless trying to solve the mess caused by Apple. I hope they will be able to sort this out for all users for good causing no more hassle.

This is such rubbish. How can apple release an 'upgrade' that destroys our watches? Surely there needs to be some type of consumer protection or class action that forces a reasonable and ethical response?

I took my watch into the Apple store and they just shrugged - "Yes, there is a problem with the upgrade which is too big (1.3Gb) for the watch. Sorry. If you leave your phone and your watch with us we'll do what you're doing - hope and wait."

I am so disappointed by the way apple is just getting worse and worse - it used to be obsessed by ensuring a positive customer experience - now they're just apathetic.

As a long time apple fan, I'm gutted by both this sub-quality software, and sub-quality response to the problem.