Is Apple Watch Activity.app data backed up to iCloud?

It's the Health data that's the issue. As far as I can see (there's no obvious detailed documentation), Activity data is stored in the database used by the Health app. Activity simply presents some of it. Because the Health app contains what could be extremely personally sensitive data about your medical conditions (that's what it was built for, in part) Apple enforces encryption of the backup of that data.

If you're only inserted in tracking activity (don't use Health for anything else), that's an inconvenience.

You could feed back to Apple at the link below, but I don't know whether Apple will be prepared to move on this particular issue.

http://www.apple.com/feedback/

If you back up (to iCloud or iTunes and encrypt the backup, your data will be saved.

Data in the Health app on the phone is *only* backed up if the backup is encrypted (personal data, potential medical, very sensitive) and much of the workout data goes into the Health app.

The rest of the workout data goes to the Activity app - I don't know whether you need encrypted backup for that, but I would not advise taking the chance.

Maybe someone knows defintively

Hi,

Thanks for your reply. I understand that encrypting the backup will allow Health data to be backed up as part of the iPhone backup. My question is, when I get a new iPhone I always like to 'Setup as a new iPhone', will the Activity.app data come down from iCloud or is it locked in the old iPhone backup (which I never restore from)?

Good question - sorry I wasn't clear.

At present, there isn't a way of getting the Health data back without restoring from a backup - which breaks your process. Sorry.

Health has an export function, but it's rudimentary (*very* rudimentary), so I don't think it'll help. This page has some discussion that might be interesting (but, sorry to say, doesn't have a solution)

http://www.mcelhearn.com/apples-health-app-and-its-data-silo/

You may want to test it before you get 3 months of activity data. I just lost a weeks worth and I'm pretty sure I followed the correct steps. I restore the phone all the time but this was the first time that I had a restore not restore something.

backed up my phone to the mac and cloud,

restored the iphone firmware

recovered the phone backup

paired the watch back to the phone

selected the restore from watch backup

did i miss a step?

Thanks for pointing that out. It seems unbelievable that saving the 'Activity Data' is not on by default. It should be automatically included in the iPhone back up. Whether it's encrypted or not should be up to individual users.

I wish the software would point out the fact that encryption needs to be on for data to be stored. I just lost about four weeks of activities tracking. Thankfully I did have my phone paired with some 3rd party apps that store most of the same information.

Interestingly, I just did a restoration from an encrypted backup of my iPhone and that also reboot and reset Apple Watch to factory default. After going through restoration of iPhone and subsequently allow the Apple Watch app on iPhone to re-pair them up, apparently Activity.app prompts me to set up as if it is new and I lost activity data on the watch but activity data on the iPhone retains (weekly, monthly dashboard still shows data).

Just learned this the hard way. Had to completely restore my iPhone from scratch, as the last backup was still giving me issues, and I lost all of my Activity. Months of data, vanished.

Astounding that when I plug in my Apple ID on a new iPhone, it won't pull down prior iMessage conversations nor Activity data, yet it happily re-syncs mail, calendar, and photos.

Majorly disheartening to lose that information.

Many thanks for that, looks like we will always have to restore from previous backups going forward. I doubt users will want to loose all their Activity data and Achievements.

Was the backup encrypted - backup will *not* retain Health data in an unencrypted backup