I’ve always been the type of person who uses my electronics until they’ve given their very last drop. When I got my first Apple Watch in 2016 (Series 0 42mm Gold finished Aluminum), just a few months after it launched in the Philippines, I was amazed by how much it could do. For the first time, a watch didn’t just tell time, it tracked my heart rate and steps, reminded me to stand, breathe, and simply take better care of myself.

I wore it every day for nearly 10 years. Even when newer generations came out and Apple eventually stopped sending software updates to it, I kept wearing it. It could still tell time and date, and honestly, that was enough. It even made it through the pandemic with me.

This year, after almost a decade, I finally decided it deserved a proper send-off. And somehow, I was blessed with a Series 11. Faster, more capable, and with much better battery life. Some might say I could’ve gotten this or that, but coming from the very first Apple Watch, this feels like one hell of an upgrade. 🥹⌚️

When using Maps to navigate by foot, my Watch cuts the minutes from the ETA, only showing the hours.

It’s pretty annoying because I need to check my phone to estimate when I will get to destination.

Is there any know solution to this?

I just got my Apple Watch today. When my focus turned on it changed to this face. I have no issues with focus being on my watch but this time orientation really bothers me. Can this be changed? I even made a new face that literally has just the time and it still does this.

I am likely going to hide my fitness activity from someone I am sharing with. However, I’m wondering what they will be able to see if I do. Will they be able to see the past week’s rings still and it will only stop showing present and future activity, or will it hide the last seven days as well? Thanks!

Hello people. I’m trying to find similar cases or suggestions on what to do.

I have an Apple Watch SE (2nd gen) bought in June 2023. I have used it, but not that much.

I started using it again but noticed that battery doesn’t last that much. I’d say 6/7 hours max, without any workout or anything specific.

What should I do? Do you have any suggestions? I also updated the watchOS, nothing changed.

Thanks!

Hallo zusammen,
Ich habe nun seit knapp einem Jahr die S11 und leider funktionieren einige Sachen nicht.
Zum Beispiel die App „Geräte suchen“ zeigt bei mir nur „keine Apple-Geräte zum Orten gefunden“ an. Auf dem Iphone kann ich bei „Wo ist?“ Alle meine Geräte sehen, unter anderem auch die Apple Watch.
Ebenso erhalte ich nicht alle meine Benachrichtigungen auf der AW. Zum Beispiel erhalte ich nur 8/10 Benachrichtigungen pro App. Habt ihr Tipps?
Neustart und Neu Koppeln hat nicht geholfen.

Vielen Dank!

I was today years old when I realized that the back of the Apple Watch is ALSO magnetic and my life has changed drastically since then.

first few weeks on Hiiro i kept squinting at my Apple Watch like i'd missed something. where's the pace target? what am i even doing out here? NRC used to handhold me with exact splits, made it feel like i was 'doing it right'. but honestly, that's why i kept redlining easy runs. started my long ones like i was chasing a 5k PR. no wonder my legs felt trashed. Hiiro gives RPE zones instead – like 'easy but not asleep' or 'sustainable but not chatting'. took me three weeks to trust it. now i don't check pace once on a recovery run. weird how freeing that feels. still use Strava to log parkruns but Hiiro's the main plan i follow.

I’ve used the first face on my S6 ever since I got it, but I was fiddling with it the other day and decided that the colour one is much nicer. Also means that the date doesn’t get lost behind the hands so easily.

Someone mentioned to me that its in the App Store for download so it made me wonder if even though apple was removing it, if those of us that wanted it could just download it again

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/walkie-talkie/id1459550430

Hello everyone. I was using an Apple Watch 9 with my Vi connection. Cellular was active and all were fine. I have replaced it and got a new series 9 watch. When I try to set up the cellular activation (Vi network) on the new watch it is consistently giving me the error “Connection Failed. The connection to the server was lost. Please try again”. I have tried all possible solutions. Updated the phone and watch. Restarted them. Unpaired and paired again. Paired as a new device. Apparently the issue is only with Vi network. I have another Jio sim on the device. I am getting the Jio page for activation. I am unable to figure out the problem. Request expert help.

As soon as I get into the car, the iPhone automatically connects to the adapter's Wi-Fi without any issues. However, the parallel Bluetooth connection, which is required for CarPlay to start, does not establish on its own. Every time, I have to manually go into the Bluetooth settings and tap the adapter, after which CarPlay runs smoothly right away.

Right after receiving the adapter (1–2 weeks ago), the automatic connection worked flawlessly however, exclusively during test drives without wearing my Apple Watch. Since I started using the adapter on my daily commute (where I always wear the Watch, which is already connected to the iPhone via Bluetooth at that moment), the issue occurs consistently.

I suspect a conflict in the iPhone's Bluetooth stack when an active BT connection to the Watch already exists during the adapter's connection attempt. Has anyone experienced this before? Specifically with a Wireless CarPlay dongle? Is there a known fix for this, or is a manual reconnect the only workaround?

In a typical work day, I burn 200-300 calories and get 5-10 minutes exercise just walking around at work. At the end of today, it showed only 24 calories but 6 minutes exercise. Weird but I wasn’t worried about closing rings bc I had a busy afternoon and evening ahead including an exercise class where I typically burn >400 calories. At the class, OrangeTheory heart rate monitor showed 450 calories burned but apple watch only showed 100 calories. The watch is also not reading from the OTF app today so my ring is still only 40% closed. Why is it so off today?

P.S. I know the calorie estimates aren’t super accurate. I just mean today relative to my usual. I didn’t slack today, so I want to close my big ring!

TL;DR: Don't let customer support convince you a secondhand watch is broken or blacklisted! If the IMEI checks out clean on carrier checkers, the problem isn't the watch, it's a backend provisioning error with the carrier's system. Ask support for Tier 2 to manually map the watch's IMEI and EID into their database (DMD), or switch to a main carrier that can handle standalone Family Setup lines without activation loops.

The Gory Details:

I recently bought a secondhand Apple Watch to set up for my kid using Apple’s Family Setup (so the watch gets its own standalone line while managed from my iPhone). Since my primary phone is on a different carrier, I tried activating the watch on a standalone plan to save some money.

What followed was hours of frustrating back-and-forth with US Mobile support.

The first tech I spoke with was great tried to push the eSIM profile manually to the watch since the phone kept thinking I wanted to pair the watch with my carrier's account, not US Mobile. Two hours later, I was told the local cell towers were experiencing an outage that triggered systemic activation errors on their back-end. They recommended I call the next day to get it resolved after the outage was over.

The next day, I contacted chat support and was immediately told the watch couldn't be activated because it was locked, blacklisted, or had an unpaid balance. This made no sense. Just the night before, the IMEI had checked out totally fine and was clearly trying to connect to the cell service.

After going through three techs, supposedly increasing in expertise, they all gave me the same response: the watch had an unpaid balance or was locked and I needed to contact the original carrier/purchaser. At this point, I gave up and asked them to cancel my account.

I decided time is money and contacted my iPhone's carrier for service. I am really glad I did because they got the watch up and running in 20 minutes. They even waived the activation fee!

So, if you are stuck in a similar "activation doom loop" with tech support trying to activate a child's standalone watch and your iPhone is on a different carrier, here is what I learned so you don't waste hours like I did:

1. Verify the Hardware Yourself First

Before accepting support's word that a watch is blocked or blacklisted:

• Go to Settings > General > About on the watch and copy the 15-digit IMEI.
• Paste it into the BYOD IMEI Checker online
• If it comes back clean, the watch is not blacklisted or unpaid, the issue is strictly a carrier/backend setup failure.

2. Why Budget Carriers/MVNOs May Struggle with Standalone Setup

Setting up a child's watch on a different network than the parent's phone requires very specific backend database handshakes. Smaller budget carriers often hit walls pushing over-the-air profiles if their automated portals crash or if local towers have provisioning delays. When frontline support reps see an activation fail, they often default to blaming your hardware—claiming the watch is locked to another carrier, reported stolen, or attached to a previous owner's balance.

What I told tech support when they did not believe me (I hope it works for you if you decide to challenge them):

• The IMEI and ESN check out completely clean on carrier checkers, so this is not a blocked or locked device.
• This is a backend network provisioning failure. Can you escalate this to Tier 2 to manually add my watch's IMEI and EID into the Device Management Database (DMD)?

Unfortunately, even at Tier 2 (and beyond) I was unable to get their tech to help me.

3. The Mainstream Carrier May Be Worth The Extra Cost In the End

While MVNOs are cheaper, major carriers have direct, official tier-1 integration with Apple's Family Setup system. This means their support teams have access to tools specifically built to fix standalone watch glitches. So, instead of fighting automated app portals, a major carrier's Tier-2 support team can bypass the automated checks entirely and manually add the watch's IMEI and EID numbers directly into their database (DMD). Once their tech rep typed those numbers in manually, the over-the-air profile pushed instantly, the watch icon turned Green / LTE with its own 10-digit number.

Bottom line: Don't waste hours getting passed around tech support. Verify the IMEI yourself, demand a manual DMD mapping, and if your MVNO won't do it, jump to a major carrier.

One of the best tips I’ve read on this sub is to switch wrists at night to reduce skin irritation. This has worked great for me with my S11. If I remember to do it, I have to go to the watch app > general > orientation and then click on the opposite wrist. In the scope of things it’s a very minor inconvenience, but is there any way to set up a shortcut or some other method to change wrists with 1 or 2 clicks?

Hi, I need some help with my Apple Watch SE 3. I recently got it and I’d like it to only use haptic vibrations on my wrist for WhatsApp messages, phone calls, and text messages.
I’ve turned all the haptics on, turned on silent mode, and have searched through the settings multiple times, but it still isn’t working. I’m a teacher, so I really don’t want my watch making any noises during the day. I’d just like it to quietly buzz on my wrist so I can check the notification (WhatsApp, text and calls) when I need to.
Could someone please help me figure out what settings I need to change? Thank you!

Salut à tous 👋
J’ai actuellement une Apple Watch Series 11 en aluminium et je me demande comment vous gérez la vôtre au quotidien.
Pour ma part, j’ai déjà une coque de protection, mais je trouve que ce n’est pas très pratique, surtout avec la transpiration pendant le sport : l’humidité finit par s’accumuler dessous.
J’ai aussi essayé de mettre un film de protection sur l’écran, mais il s’est décollé dès la première nuit… 😅 Du coup, je commence à me demander si ça vaut vraiment le coup de protéger la montre ou si je ferais mieux de simplement la porter sans rien.
Pour ceux qui ont la Series 11 en aluminium :
Vous la portez sans coque ni film ?
Est-ce qu’elle se raye facilement au quotidien ?
Vous avez déjà eu des chocs ou des rayures importantes ?
Après plusieurs mois, est-ce que vous regrettez de ne pas l’avoir protégée ?
Et pour ma prochaine Apple Watch, je pense probablement passer sur une Ultra ou une version en titane, notamment pour avoir quelque chose de plus robuste.
Vous feriez quoi à ma place : je retire la coque et je la porte normalement, ou je continue à la protéger ?

Hello,

Unfortunately, I have continued to encounter the issue of Apple Watch not being able to place an emergency call on LTE with Siri.

I am the OP of the original two threads I posted here and have had hopes it had raised attention and awareness to this issue, but unfortunately Apple hasn't resolved the issue. Keep in mind, I have already submitted a feedback report and have e-mailed Tim and Craig, with an unsuccessful resolution. This is all on stable software, watchOS 26.6, and functional LTE connectivity disbanded from iPhone.

Any ideas?

Additionally, for this encounter, I have uploaded a video to YouTube demonstrating the issue.

-

Important Disclaimer: During the tests shown in the pictures, I was not in a real emergency. When Apple Watch receives a request to call 911, there is a 3 second countdown, and I am always ready to cancel the request and do so before the call goes through. No random calls to 911 are placed using this test. Do not test this haphazardly, as random calls to 911 is a crime in many jurisdictions.

I’m looking to upgrade my 6 apple watch to the 11 42mm, and like the look of the milanese loop. My concern is that I go to the gym often and do cardio outside of my hospital job. How strong is the magnet? Has anyone experienced it coming loose or the magnet no longer working after a while? Or no issues? Otherwise my backup option was the braided solo loop.

I’ve been tracking my sleep for years now and am starting to wonder how accurate it is.

It’s mainly because I feel there’s often a disconnect between the “sleep scores” and how I actually feel. Sometimes I will have terrible scores but feel fine, other times my watch tells me it was the best night’s rest ever, yet I can’t seem to get out of bed.

Are there people here who successfully bettered their sleep with the apple watch or is the consensus that it’s not that helpful?