Apple has issued a statement acknowledging a bug with the Apple Watch Series 3 that results in LTE connectivity issues.
The problem was noted in several reviews of the new smartwatch. The Verge said, "While writing my review of the Apple Watch Series 3 with LTE capabilities, I experienced notable connectivity issues. The new Watch appeared to try to connect to unknown WiFi networks instead of connecting to cellular, when I was out and about without my phone. Within the first couple days of experiencing this, Apple replaced my first review unit with a second one, but that one proved to be problematic, too."
The WSJ also reported a similar experience calling the device "Untethered... and Unreliable".
Most worryingly, my colleague Geoffrey Fowler and I experienced cellular connectivity issues on three separate pre-production models, in two different states, on two different 4G LTE carriers.
Apple is blaming connectivity problems on a bug which causes the Apple Watch to try to connect to unauthenticated Wi-Fi Networks.
Here's their statement provided to The Verge:
“We have discovered that when Apple Watch Series 3 joins unauthenticated Wi-Fi networks without connectivity, it may at times prevent the watch from using cellular,” an Apple spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “We are investigating a fix for a future software release.”
Hopefully this gets resolved soon! Please follow iClarified on Twitter, Facebook, or RSS for updates.
The problem was noted in several reviews of the new smartwatch. The Verge said, "While writing my review of the Apple Watch Series 3 with LTE capabilities, I experienced notable connectivity issues. The new Watch appeared to try to connect to unknown WiFi networks instead of connecting to cellular, when I was out and about without my phone. Within the first couple days of experiencing this, Apple replaced my first review unit with a second one, but that one proved to be problematic, too."
The WSJ also reported a similar experience calling the device "Untethered... and Unreliable".
Most worryingly, my colleague Geoffrey Fowler and I experienced cellular connectivity issues on three separate pre-production models, in two different states, on two different 4G LTE carriers.
Apple is blaming connectivity problems on a bug which causes the Apple Watch to try to connect to unauthenticated Wi-Fi Networks.
Here's their statement provided to The Verge:
“We have discovered that when Apple Watch Series 3 joins unauthenticated Wi-Fi networks without connectivity, it may at times prevent the watch from using cellular,” an Apple spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “We are investigating a fix for a future software release.”
Hopefully this gets resolved soon! Please follow iClarified on Twitter, Facebook, or RSS for updates.