Repair updates are often available, sometimes to enhance security and add new features, sometimes to fix existing problems and bugs. Apple pushed official updates to iOS 15.3 and WatchOS 8.4 to users earlier this week. Both updates focus on security fixes and remediation of critical errors. If your Apple Watch has a charging problem and it is not a battery or charger issue, this update may solve your troubles.
Apple releases WatchOS 8.4 update, solving the problem of some models not being able to charge
Apple Watch charging problems come one after another. First, the slow charging of Apple Watch Series 7 was fixed, and then some third-party chargers lost their function after the WatchOS 8.3 update, which was a headache. Now Apple has released WatchOS 8.4 to fix the problem that some watch chargers cannot charge properly. If your watch can still start and work, then charge and update it quickly; if your watch has run out of power before and cannot recognize the charger, you will have to make a hard trip to the store.
It’s common for Apple to roll out updates, but it’s rare to release an update with such serious charging issues to the masses. In Apple’s normal update release process, each version of the software update will go through several weeks of beta testing, and will be packaged and released as an official version after it is confirmed to be functioning properly. With the release of this update, the good news is that the problem has indeed been fixed. The bad news is that if you really encounter this situation, some authorized repair centers refuse to acknowledge the problem and put the responsibility on the consumer.
Before Apple released the WatchOS 8.4 update, some users sent their Apple Watch to an authorized repair center for a solution due to this problem. The problem was confirmed at the time, but the authorized repair center denied warranty and denied that it was caused by a bug in the machine itself, so the user was asked to pay for repairs.
Apple’s after sales service in India is absolutely PATHETIC. Here’s a thread with my recent experience –
(1/10) The employees at service centres have zero knowledge about products. A “service engineer” didn’t know what battery health is. He thought it’s same as battery level.
— Sumukh Rao (@RaoSumukh) January 5, 2022
The current status quo is that Apple has confirmed the existence of this bug, and it will be fine if you upgrade to the latest version. However, if your watch has run out of power and cannot be turned on or cannot recognize the charger, you cannot update it to the latest WatchOS 8.4, so you have to go to the authorized center to seek help from a dedicated person. However, Apple has not officially announced whether this problem will be open to users for free replacement or follow-up measures under warranty.
Source: KOCPC Chinese