For the longest time, one of the frustrations Apple Watch users had to go through is restoring their bricked devices. While bricking doesn’t happen very often, those who face it would need to visit an Apple repair center to get the watch restored. This had been particularly problematic for those who live in regions with no authorized repair stores. They would have to travel to a supported country or bin their dead watches. Considering users have no way to connect the Apple Watch to a computer, they had been forced to go to a specialist with access to the proprietary cable that connects to the watch’s hidden port. Fortunately, this is no longer the case. iOS 15.4 and watchOS 8.5 make restoring an Apple Watch at home possible.

Apple has published a new support document highlighting that the latest versions of iOS and watchOS make restoring an Apple Watch possible — through an iPhone. The mechanism works wirelessly and only requires bringing the two devices close to each other with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth enabled. Expectedly, the iPhone would need to have an internet connection for the process to work. Apple doesn’t mention if all iPhone and watch models on iOS 15.4 and watchOS 8.5 support this feature or not. It advises users to connect to a 2.4GHz Wi-Fi network instead of a 5GHz one if the process doesn’t work, though.

This change is a very welcome one, as it allows users in countries with no authorized Apple repair stores to fix their watches by themselves. It’s worth mentioning, though, that this method might not necessarily work at all times — according to the company. Typically, Apple Watches get bricked when a software update fails or gets interrupted. That’s why it’s important to keep your device on its charger when it’s installing a software update.

Have you ever bricked an Apple Watch? Let us know in the comments section below.

Source: Apple

Via: MacRumors