Apple Watch Series 3 Stuck on "Preparing" iOS 8.7.1

I’m also having this issue, I was hoping to set up my spare series 3 as a dedicated fitness tracker and immediately ran into issues trying to update on my iPhone 12 Pro Max at 15.7. I was able to use an older iPhone and get the watch to update to 6 and it paired and synced and all was right but it refused to update on the watch itself and only returned an error. My older iPhone said the version 8 update was available but the phone had to be updated in order to install the update (BS in my opinion) so I reluctantly updated the phone and proceeded with the update to the watch. After getting stuck on Preparing I rebooted the synced watch and it then reported that there was insufficient storage space and to unpair the watch and proceed with a fresh update and pairing. I once again reluctantly proceeded and my phone has been on Preparing for almost 24 hours and the watch continues to reboot every 30-60 seconds. As the watch boots up I can see the iPhone watch update switch from Preparing to Estimated time remaining for a split second then it sits at preparing then the watch once again reboots. I am very disappointed in Apple with the way series 3 owners are being treated in this instance, if Apple provides an update and claims compatibility then we should be able to still have functionality on this product we spent good money on instead of throwing the baby out with the bath water which I get the impression they want us to do. I can understand they announced they will no longer sell or support the series 3 which I am completely in agreement with but leaving us out in the cold with a paperweight when their software shows an update to continue functionality is unacceptable. As an Apple stock holder I am very upset with the lack of response on Apples part and they have an obligation to allow some form of functionality on this product as they move it into EoL. I am currently trying the iPhone update to 16.1 in hopes it fixes the issue but expect a 50/50 chance that I will eventually have to go to an Apple store and fight it out with them which I’ve done on more that one occasion in the past and refuse to throw a perfectly good working product in the recycle bin because Apple decided it was time. Will update if my update woes are resolved.

Oh my, we have an Apple shareholder here. Everyone please stand up 🫡

No need to fight it out at an Apple Store. I went in and they are aware of the issue. Unfortunately the stores are not equipped to force a watchOS update onto the watch. They shipped my watch to a service center and delivered the repaired watch to my house. All free of charge.

There is a second option where you do not have to go into an Apple Store. I had a second series three with the same issue. I called Apple Support directly and they shipped a pre-paid FedEx box to my house for me to ship the watch back to their service center. Drop off the box at your local FedEx or schedule a pick up at your home.

Fast, great service from Apple for an out of warranty product.

I let 2 of 3 series 3 watches in my household fall behind in watchOS updates. My personal series three I did update regularly and it works/updates fine. Seems that if the watch falls too far behind in software updates it causes issues.

ProTip: Don’t drop that you are an Apple retail investor/shareholder when you call Apple support or go into the Apple Store. Absolutely nobody cares about this fact. You will get treated the same and will have to wait for your turn in line behind someone that probably doesn’t own any shares.

Fair enough and I agree it doesn’t hold any weight. After days of dealing with this my frustration has gotten the best of me on this issue and I wish they would be proactive on a software solution to this problem or just acknowledge that in some cases a software fix is not possible but they are being mute because they have conveniently declared this product EoL. After upgrading to 16.1 the issue still persists so sending in appears to be the only option at this point.

i dont understand how this is applicable. series 3 apple watch is receiving watchOS 8 which 8.7.1 is a part of.

This post is referencing updates past 8.7.1 aka watchOS 9. I love apple but taking a series 3 is not likely they will work hard to get it paired since they are no longer supporting this watch with software releases.

There have been other posts about making sure the phone connected is updated. also on the flip side that it wont work if it is too new a version. Curious if there is any validity to either of these last claims or if anyone has tried to prove. thanks!

my apple watch 3 been stuck on preparing for the longest. i tried to repair it several times didn’t work. i updated my phone to ios 16.2 i have storage and it’s charging i’m confused on what to do help please!

Between, I've sent to two Apple Authorised Service Centers in my country. Both are also unable to help. They are using the same method like us update WatchOS over iPhone and got stuck at preparing. I thought at least they have special tools or cable to update manually instea OTA. Disappointed.

I was able to successfully update to 8.7.1.

I struggled with this a few months ago....stuck on Preparing, after attempt after attempt. Even went to an Apple Store only to be told the watch has reached end of life. I abandoned the watched update only to retry after stumbling upon a suggestion.

Try this.

1) Do a Force restart on your iPhone.

2) Immediately afterwards, swipe down and turn off Cellular service; keep Wi-fi On only.

3) Start the Pairing process with your Apple Watch.

4) The download (for me) of the update only took 4 minutes, whereas on previous attempts it showed 3-4 hours.

5) BE PATIENT. The "Preparing..." phase may look like it's not moving but eventually did for me (around an hour), eventually moving into the "Installing..." status.

Hopefully that works for you. Good luck.

Just left the Genius Bar with a solution. What you can do to circumvent this issue is forget the watch from your phone and use another phone to download the OS8.7.1 software. It’s going to take a few hours to download the OS and install it on your watch, but this worked for me. I was told that the common problem in this case is that it’s just a problem with your phone. If it doesn’t work, then it’s a problem with the watch. Be patient, it took us about 4 1/2 hours!

i purchased a second hand iwatch 3 because i just got my iphone 14 pro max, note that my series 1 is working perfectly with my iphone x and 14 pro max, after getting this used iwatch series 3 more than a week ago and since then i have been trying to update it with no luck, it keeps on pausing after estimating time remaining was 6-7 days. it keeps on doing the same thing for more than a week until i tried connecting my iphone to my other phone's internet through hotspot, i noticed that the update is more faster when connected to hotspot than connected in my home internet connection, while connected to my other phone's hotspot, it only took less than an hour to finish the download but not installing. so here's what i did, i connected my 14 promax to my iphone x hotspot, hinish the download and connected it to my home internet from install, now it's working.

My series three is still stuck on preparing even after installing iOS 16.1.

Go to your closest Apple Store and ask them to update it for you.

Courtesy of fieryjack:

That's just not true. Do you own an iPhone which can be updated to iOS 16.1? If you, update your iPhone and try again.

Great it works now with 16.1. Update and pairing are successful.

Last week Apple support told me, that an update for 3 series watch will not work with 16.X iOS.

Thanks for help.

Glad you got it working and happy to help!

Already tried that, unpaired it, reset phone and watch to factory default. Tried it with iOS 16.1 and 15.7. Still doesn’t work.