Since updating to WatchOS 26 I no longer receive any alerts (i.e. pace, heart rate zone and splits) - only beeps, no voice alerts. I do not use headphones/iphone while running. On previous watchOS this worked fine. Alerts are received in other exercises in the Workout app (e.g. Walking and Yoga). Series 6 watch. Yes it is old but it worked fine before the update.
Apple Watch Series 6
alexskunz wrote:
…The Watch with OS26 doesn't speak when it isn't connected to an iPhone. The interesting thing is that the iPhone does NOT need to have a network connection — I had mine in my pocket, in airplane mode, and the Watch still gave me Voice Feedback. This is in line with the observations from MajorLeagueSoccer that their Watch with "cellular" doesn't actually have a cellular connection, but does provide Voice Feedback as well….
I want to confirm and add a little to this. I’ve tried most of the other proposed solution here with zero success. In short: If I run with just the watch, I get no Voice Feedback from the Workout app. If I take my iPhone with me on the run, I get Voice Feedback. I have a S6 Cellular watch and have never activated cellular service. So the bug exists on Cellular devices too.
I’m using an Series 6 Stainless Cellular watch, AirPods Pro 2 and an iPhone 15 Pro Max. All have current software levels.
Today, based on alexskunz‘s post I took the phone, but shut off Cellular Data. I had not tried this before. The watch and phone were connected with Bluetooth. This time, Voice Feedback worked like a charm.
I’ll write this up in a feedback post. Hopefully Apple will fix this.
Dodgy move by Apple since they have not explicitly stated that about v26 anywhere publicly. Nor have they denied it in these forums which I know they review as one of my posts was removed by them! For now I will stick with v11 which was working fine until Apple decided to “fix/improve” it
For clarification, on watchOS 26, does an Apple Watch Series 8 with a cellular plan provide voice alerts during outdoor runs when running without an iPhone?
If not, does anyone who uses an Apple Watch Series 8 receive voice alerts during outdoor runs when running without an iPhone?
If so, how?
I'm guessing that any of the cellular Apple watches will provide voice feedback but I've only tested it on the Ultra 2 compared to my Series 8 GPS-only watch. Perhaps others can provide additional data points to clarify.
Interesting data point. Like I mentioned in my earlier reply, when I tested it yesterday with the Apple Watch Ultra, the cellular service was not enabled, yet the voice feedback was working just fine. Perhaps there are specific cellular watches that work/don't work. Either way it seems to me that activating the cellular service does not appear to be necessary for getting voice feedback to work. I know that the AW 6 is the oldest watch that can support watchOS 26, so perhaps that has something to do with functionality?
trail-runner wrote:
I know that the AW 6 is the oldest watch that can support watchOS 26, so perhaps that has something to do with functionality?
I’ve considered this, but the alerts worked fine in WatchOS 11.
Yep, just like they worked fine for my AW 8 GPS-only watch before updating to watchOS 26. I may be able to test out a AW SE 3 with cellular sometime in the next week and will report back if I'm able to get voice feedback to work with it.
bob.os wrote:
trail-runner wrote:
I know that the AW 6 is the oldest watch that can support watchOS 26, so perhaps that has something to do with functionality?
I’ve considered this, but the alerts worked fine in WatchOS 11.
Yeah I can second that. Definitely NOT a hardware issue. Purely software related. Feels like back in the day when Apple throttled older iPhones to encourage upgrades, but claiming it was for battery management!
For those of you who are getting voice alerts on outdoor runs without your iPhone nearby if your Apple Watch is the cellular model, do you also have an active cellular plan on it? I just want to confirm before I go through the trouble of adding mine to my plan. Thanks!
I have an Apple Watch Ultra 1 GPS/Cellular that worked perfectly before update 26. I didn't change anything on the watch, I simply did the update and the voice alerts stopped working.
[Edited by Moderator]
trail-runner wrote:
I would be happy to share the settings I am using as it seems that others with cellular watches are still experiencing no voice feedback.
Please do share. I’d love to get this working again.
Yes, I would be interested in knowing how you are accomplishing the voice alerts without your phone nearby.
For example, I have a Watch Series 8 with cellular and voice alerts on outdoor runs only work if I take my phone with me.
Nice to get this confirmation for the playlist hangs. That happens to me as well.
In addition to that, when I'm ~4 kilometers or so away from the phone (which remains in my car, or at home) while running with my SE2, it prompts me for an "Apple Account Verification" in the Settings. Every. ****. Time. The alert doesn't disappear, I have to scroll and tap "Not Now" — while running. There's no internet connection, no phone nearby. This alert shouldn't even show when these conditions are met.
The WorkOutDoors app does indeed sync well with the iOS Fitness app! I WorkOutDoors daily and it has never failed syncing, though there is a manual trigger in the iOS app if it somehow misses it. You can also export your data in a variety of formats for further analysis. Voice alerts work relatively well, and without phone or cellular connection being required
Here's some screenshots of what my watch settings look like and have been able to get voice feedback working on cellular watches without an active cellular plan. I have my watch set to announce every 0.5 mile split when I run. There may be other settings that need to be configured but this is what has been working for me.
Thanks.
I almost bought the app but decided to see if WatchOS26.4 changed anything and luckily it did. Siri now reads out my splits again.
I still may get WOrkOutDoors in the future but it doesnt feel like a necessity as of now.
My primary concern was if the Fitness app imported all the data into its app from WorkOutDoors.
For example I started using Nike Run app and it plots my run in the Nike app on the map but it does not import that route into Fitness. Another example is the fitness app doesnt show power, cadence or vertical oscillation if I use the Nike Run app.
Is there any way you can confirm that the Fitness app shows those things in the data it pulls from WorkOutDoors?
watchOS 26 no alerts in workout-running app
