Apple Watch Frozen While Updating? Here's What Might Be Wrong
Whether you use your Apple Watch to track your fitness goals or stay connected on the go, there's one thing that's almost impossible to ignore — having to update your device. Periodic software updates play a big role in keeping your Apple Watch running smoothly, month after month and year after year. Along with its many features, the reliability of the Apple Watch is what has made the wearable tech the most popular smartwatch and fitness tracker in the U.S. The Apple Watch's software updates come with things like bug fixes, improvements in battery life, and security patches, making them a must if you want to get the most out of your device.
However, sometimes this is easier said than done. Unfortunately, users often encounter problems during the downloading, preparing, and verifying stages of the update process, causing their watches to freeze mid-update. When this happens, your watch becomes unusable, and the underlying causes aren't always apparent. Needless to say, this can be a frustrating experience. That's why figuring out what's going on and fixing the issue as quickly as possible is a priority for almost everyone when their Apple Watch fails to update properly.
Common causes of freezing during updates
One of the most common reasons an Apple Watch fails to update is it doesn't have enough battery power. If you notice your device has frozen while updating, checking the battery level should be the first thing you do. The Apple Watch must be charged at least 50% to initiate an update. It may stop updating or freeze entirely if the battery life falls below this level. This is a protective measure to prevent data corruption or other software issues. Since updates can take up to an hour to complete, it's a good idea to keep your watch plugged in for the duration of this process.
While updates are meant to fix bugs, they can sometimes introduce new glitches that cause your watch to freeze. These glitches can range from minor software conflicts to bigger issues that disrupt the normal functioning of your device. New updates may not always be fully compatible with the software configuration of your Apple Watch model, especially if the software you're trying to update is outdated or has known issues. If you have an older model Apple Watch, you may find it struggles to handle the demands of new updates, which could slow the time it takes to update your watch or cause it to freeze during the update. In some cases, underlying hardware issues, such as a failing battery, can result in the watch freezing during an update.
How to fix your Apple Watch when it freezes during an update
When your Apple Watch freezes while updating, there are several things you can do to try to resolve the issue, depending on whether it won't initiate the update or fails to complete the process. Going through these steps should fix the problem in most cases.
Try to force restart your watch. This method works best if your watch has become unresponsive.
- Press and hold both the side button and the Digital Crown for at least 10 seconds.
- Release both buttons when the Apple logo appears on the screen.
If forcing a restart doesn't work, check for connectivity issues and ensure your Apple Watch and iPhone are connected to the same Wi-Fi. Without a stable Wi-Fi connection, your watch won't be able to download updates successfully.
- Open the Apple Watch on your iPhone.
- Tap the My Watch tab at the bottom of the screen.
- Select General from the list of options.
- Tap on Wi-Fi.
- Check if the Apple Watch is connected to the same network as your iPhone.
- If not, try to connect your Apple Watch to Wi-Fi manually.
- Restart both your Apple Watch and iPhone if connectivity issues persist.
Keep in mind that you'll need enough storage space on your Apple Watch to install updates successfully. If you don't have enough, try freeing up storage space to complete the update.
- Open the Apple Watch app on your iPhone.
- Tap the My Watch tab at the bottom of the screen.
- Select General from the list of options.
- Tap Usage.
- View the available storage information for your Apple Watch.
- Uninstall unnecessary apps or remove media files to free up space.
- Try updating again after clearing sufficient space.