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Last week, Apple released watchOS 7 for all users alongside iOS 14, iPadOS 14 and tvOS 14. Now there are increasing reports that GPS data is missing under watchOS 7.
Since Apple released watchOS 7, there have been increasing reports of missing GPS data, which Apple Watch owners have reported in various forums. As soon as a workout has started, only the starting point is saved. A corresponding thread has also been started in Apple's support forum. But so far the number of people affected seems to be limited. For example, one users:
I used the walking activity on my watch but this time I didn't take my iPhone with me. When I came back and tried to upload the activity to Strava, I got a warning that there was no GPS/route data. I checked the fitness and health apps and sure enough, there was no route on the map - just the starting point.
I spoke to someone at Apple Support and they suggested I turn some related privacy settings off and back on. Since then, I've tried another outdoor walk activity without the phone and the problem persists - no GPS/route data.
My wife tried the same thing tonight having her iPhone X and S4 Watch with her. She had the same results - ie no GPS/route information was stored with the watch.
Apple Watch: Re-pairing doesn't always help
Other reports are consistent with the above, but the issue only seems to occur on watchOS 7. The reports include Apple Watch models 3, 4, and 5, i.e. all existing models that support the update. Interestingly, Apple believes the issue is related to Strava, but there are reports that the issue occurs with other apps as well. Some users have been able to resolve the issue by re-pairing the Apple Watch, but there are also reports that the process did not help. It remains to be seen whether the issue will be fixed in the next update. (Photo by ms_pics_and_more / Bigstockphoto)
