watch OS won’t update to 8.7.1

So, I finally book an appointment at Apple Store last week. They sent my watch out. Just got it back today. It has been updated to 8.7.1. I asked the guy at Genius Bar why this issue can’t be fixed. He said most likely it has something to do with storage. Even if we reset the watch, still not enough storage for the update. 8.7.1 is most likely the last update watch 3 will get. If you are not able to update at home, you need to go for Apple Service centre to get it updated.

Apple Store is your solution.

I went there and they sent it out. Came back updated. The Genius Bar guy said it’s because watch 3 doesn’t have enough space to download and install the update even when I reset it.

Has nothing to do with that. It was the 16.0.3 update had a bug and the 16.1 they fixed it. All I did was update to 16.1 and nothing else. Now it is updating.

I finally got mine to work by turning off ‘Limit IP Address Tracking’ in the WiFi settings. My guess is something to do with the iCloud relay feature.

Hey there Sammi,

While you mentioned trying some of the steps listed here, we recommend trying them all as it addresses the error message you described: If you see 'Unable to Verify Update' when updating Apple Watch

If you still have an issue afterwards, we recommend letting Apple Support know what's been tried as they'll be in the best position to assist further with this: Get Support

Cheers.

Apple support has been telling me this is a known issue with the series 3. Only solutions offered are waiting 72-96 hours for an alleged update that is in the works or taking it to an Apple Store where they can update the os manually. I’m skeptical but this is what phone support has told me on two separate occasions since last Thursday (Oct 13). Since I’m 2+ hours from the closest Apple Store I’m stuck with no watch while waiting for a purported update. I guess I’ll see what happens on Monday when iOS 16.1 drops.

So i had the very same problem, i just updated my iPhone 11 to iOS 16.1 and now it seems to be working. at least there is progress on the preparing bar. I'll keep you all updated once its done. Seems like it fixed it for me.

I had the same issue with everyone on this thread for few weeks. But today I updated to IOS 16.1 (which was made available today on 8/24) on my iPhone and was finally able to update my Apple Watch Series 3 to iOS 7.8.1! I guess Apple added the fix in with IOS 16.1.

Updated to iOS 16.1 last night and was finally able to update to watch OS 8.7.1 and repair my watch. Doesn’t get me back the almost 2 weeks with a bricked watch or restore the 800+day move streak but it’s finally working.

I don’t know if this will help but maybe try connecting to a different internet connection. I tried that because my Mac wasn’t updating and switching internet connections with an other one solved the issue behind background some internet connection turn off and on to refresh on different devices the reason is unknown but maybe try that

I don’t know if this will help but maybe try connecting to a different internet connection. I tried that because my Mac wasn’t updating and switching internet connections with an other one solved the issue behind background some internet connection turn off and on to refresh on different devices the reason is unknown but maybe try that

A few people have had some luck, another one is a a couple of posts above yours. Most though just can’t. Best thing you can do is to recoup some money while you still can . I told my daughter to get rid of hers asap while people are actually still buying them. She got $121 for it on marketplace. She had lucked out and installed the update so the buyer at least did get one that doesn’t have to go through this headache. The watch is old now. I’m sorry. See: What to do before you sell, give away, or trade in your Apple Watch, or buy one from someone else - Apple Support so you can remove Activation lock first

Here’s the solution

1.Remove beta profiles on your iphone

2.install latest version of ios

3.reinstall ‘watch’ app

4.turn off low power mode

5.keep apple watch on charger

this fixed mine and my other friends apple watch (all variants)

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.

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.

Hello, I went to the Apple store (in France) today. The seller told me that I was not the first to report the problem. He sent my watch for free to the repair center so that the update could be done there.