watch OS won’t update to 8.7.1

I’ve two Series 3 watches and neither will complete the update process for 8.7.1.

The watches get stuck while “checking for updates” and the associated phones get stuck “preparing”.

I’ve tried all the forced-restarts and factory-resets. Nothing works.

-Ryan

same problem here. Series 3 watch either "Can't verify because you're not connected to the internet" or sits on "Preparing..." for hours. Happens with three different iPhones, all manner of reset, etc. I hope they come out with a fix for this, my wife is ****** that her watch is bricked.

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.

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

I have the same issue, after multiple unsuccessful attempts:

• Tried updating with 3 different iPhones running iOS 16.0.3 (iPhone XR, 12 Pro, 8S) as well as with an iPhone SE running iOS 15.5
• Apple Watch was reset between attempts, watch app was reinstalled multiple times, I have also tried relogging into iCloud.
• Tried changing router frequency from 5GHz to 2.4 GHz
• Cellular data turned on and off
• Tried leaving iPhone next to the watch overnight while it was ‘Preparing…’
• Tried changing language and region of the watch before updating

Basically each attempt starts with downloading the 1 Gb update, then I get the error message ‘Unable to verify update - you are not connected to internet’. Then I press ‘Open app’ - since the only other option is to cancel the update. The installer downloads the update again, then jumps to ‘preparing…’ which never finishes.

I would be most honored to see an official response from Apple that they know of the problem and working on it, or even that they do not plan on fixing it. Anything certain, really…

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.

So many people have exact same issue. Do you think Apple make it on purpose to force users to buy new watch? But still many people are able to update their watches.

What decide whether you can or cannot get update? Manufacture date?

I bought mine in December 2019. It was manufactured in October 2019. What about your watches, guys?

I finally got my Apple Watch Series 3 fixed, but I had to call in and argue with them that it was their fault and that I wasn’t going to to pay for something that they broke to be repaired. After going round in circles for an hour I asked to speak to a senior advisor which finally said they would fix it without charge.

My watch was out of warranty but it is their fault.

I got my watch back three days later working fine after a simple OS reinstall.

Maybe they just want to force us to get newer watches. Wouldn’t be the first time they pulled something like that. They got in trouble a few years back for messing with batteries. If I remember correctly.

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.

my daughter had same problem - search for how to downgrade to iOS 15 on internet, then downgrade your iPhone by following the instructions : once you are back on iOS 15.7 it works fine.

major pain in the posterior........

I’m pretty sure iOS 16 it’s self broke it seems to be working on iOS 15 at least what I’ve heard I hope they fix this soon it’s ridiculous bought a new watch to get started into Apple Watches and get meet with not being able to use it for over a week now

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.

The update was finally successful. It took like ages but now my Watch is being synced with my phone. I needed to restart the pairing once, since it got stuck after installing the update. I hope you all will be able to update and set up your watches once again

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.