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If the phone that a watch is paired to is lost or stolen, can I backup the watch before resetting it to pair to a new phone? I really don't want to lose all the data if there is any way to avoid it.
Apple Watch
No that's absurdly incorrect. Lots of your apple devices can transfer data to other devices and Apple has all kinds of security mechanisms in place to allow this to happen only when it should.
The Apple watch is a minature computer with it's own screen, it's own passcode, it's own CPU, it's own wifi, bluetooth and optional cellular modem. It's trackable on "Find My", etc.
There is no good reason whatsoever if you still have your watch and the passcode and control of your apple ID and all the other devices associated with it you shouldn't be able to back it up to one of the other devices or iCloud or both. No reason other than poor design. Apple is even able to use Apple ID to remotely reset passcodes on some devices if you enable it (now that's a bad idea!). Surely they could have designed this better. Losing your watch data because you lost the phone is a double kick to the teeth.
No that's absurdly incorrect. Lots of your apple devices can transfer data to other devices and Apple has all kinds of security mechanisms in place to allow this to happen only when it should.
The Apple watch is a minature computer with it's own screen, it's own passcode, it's own CPU, it's own wifi, bluetooth and optional cellular modem. It's trackable on "Find My", etc.
There is no good reason whatsoever if you still have your watch and the passcode and control of your apple ID and all the other devices associated with it you shouldn't be able to back it up to one of the other devices or iCloud or both. No reason other than poor design. Apple is even able to use Apple ID to remotely reset passcodes on some devices if you enable it (now that's a bad idea!). Surely they could have designed this better. Losing your watch data because you lost the phone is a double kick to the teeth.
brsm1990 wrote:
It is unforutnate and a poor design that the data on the watch which is a standalone device cannot be separated from the phone. The watch certainly has the hardware capability to transmit the data to a laptop or icloud by itself. Phones get stolen, watches are stuck to your wrist.
Your opinion on the validity of the design is irrelevant to the matter at hand. It is the way it works right now and, if you value your data, you work within the limitations. I wish iCloud backups worked over cellular but that doesn't mean I'm going to refuse to do back ups until Apple makes that happen.
You can let Apple know your concerns here:
It isn't iCloud that failed per se but the quota. The priority with which some data is saved and some isn't isn't very logical. My iCloud was full of photos and some useless backups of devices I don't even have anymore but the phone itself did not backup.
Increasing iCloud storage is cheap.
If the new iPhone is using the same Apple ID and has been restored from a recent iCloud back up, I think you should be fine. The watch backup is included in the phone's iCloud back up.
What does iCloud back up? - Apple Support
I know when I got a new phone, the transfer of the watch was pretty close to seamless.
brsm1990 wrote:
I am not saying you are dumb for wanting to do this, I am saying it's dumb they don't let you know.
There aren't two, there is one, there is the phone. Poor design.
Your watch automatically backs up to your iPhone. It is your responsibility to back up your iPhone.
I count 2 ways to back up your iPhone:
Did you back up the phone to your computer? If you didn’t back up to your computer or to iCloud then you can’t set up the new phone with data from the old phone. You will have to set it up as if you never had a phone previously. If you did then the watch backup is included in the phone backup.
brsm1990 wrote:
The problem is the phone didn't back up to iCloud.
That's unfortunate. It's always a good idea to occasionally check that the iCloud back up is happening. I can't recall it ever failing as long as I've had access to WiFi.
I have the watch I have the passcode. Can I not back it up before I erase?
No.
It is unforutnate and a poor design that the data on the watch which is a standalone device cannot be separated from the phone. The watch certainly has the hardware capability to transmit the data to a laptop or icloud by itself. Phones get stolen, watches are stuck to your wrist.
It isn't iCloud that failed per say but the quota. The priority with which some data is saved and some isn't isn't very logical. My iCloud was full of photos and some useless backups of devices I don't even have anymore but the phone itself did not backup.
It is your responsibility to manage your backups and your storage; you can delete old backups, and you can add iCloud storage. And you can also back up to your computer.
It is NOT poor design, it is designed for data security; if you could back up the watch to a different device anyone who found your watch could back it up to their device and steal your data. That’s why an Watch is paired with only one secure device.
Are you serious? You're willing to pay for the celluar data but they won't let you back up even manually? That's also pretty dumb.
Pro tip - Writing your opinion on a piece of paper and then lighting it on fire is a far more effective use of your time than filling out that feedback form and more likely to get them to do anything. Chances still round to 0.0000 but the paper trick is still an order of magnitude more likely to result in a change or bug fix.
brsm1990 wrote:
Are you serious? You're willing to pay for the celluar data but they won't let you back up even manually? That's also pretty dumb.
My cellular data is unlimited. There are times that I'm away from home where I don't have regular access to WiFi. I wish I could rely on my automated back ups but I can't. I fail to see what's "dumb" about that. And yes, I can and do back up my phone manually in those situations. Because my data is important to me, I look after it.
Pro tip - Writing your opinion on a piece of paper and then lighting it on fire is a far more effective use of your time than filling out that feedback form and more likely to get them to do anything. Chances still round to 0.0000 but the paper trick is still an order of magnitude more likely to result in a change or bug fix.
Again, your opinion on how Apple does things is irrelevant to the matter at hand. Apple provides two methods of back up. You may wish there were others. Right now, there are not. You failed to use either of the methods available. So, your data is gone. That is unfortunate but not changeable.
The problem is the phone didn't back up to iCloud.
I have the watch I have the passcode. Can I not back it up before I erase?
I am not saying you are dumb for wanting to do this, I am saying it's dumb they don't let you know.
There aren't two, there is one, there is the phone. Poor design.
brsm1990 wrote:
Poor design.
It is, nonetheless, what you have to work with. Either use the tools that are currently available or risk the loss of data.
Backup Apple Watch before reset when the paired phone is lost or stolen?
