Apple has withdrawn watchOS 5.1 after some Apple Watch owners reported that installation left their watches stuck on the Apple logo. The withdrawal concerns the software update, not a recall of Apple Watch Series 4 hardware.
What affected owners reported
Reports describe watches failing to complete startup after the update. An installation failure is different from ordinary wear or a durability problem, and reports from individual owners do not establish that every watch is affected.
Apple lists watchOS 5.1 as released on October 30, 2018, in its security documentation. The software is for Apple Watch Series 1 and later.
Apple’s advice
In a statement reported by CNET, Apple said affected customers should contact AppleCare. Customers whose installation completed successfully did not need to take action, according to the company.
Apple said it was working on a fix for a later software update. Owners with a watch stuck during installation should contact support rather than repeatedly attempting an unavailable update.
Reports from owners
Owners shared their experiences in the posts below. These accounts describe individual devices, rather than the number or proportion of watches affected.
https://twitter.com/chriswb/status/1057381838627528711My Apple Watch yesterday was bricked by the new watchOS update. Brought it to the Apple Store and the geniuses couldn’t figure out a solution. No stock in store (popular) so they had to send it out for repair. Now it looks like it was a widespread issue. https://t.co/3TmEG1qcXe
— /Film (@slashfilm) October 31, 2018
My brand new Series 4 is totally bricked 🙁
— Guilherme Rambo (@_inside) October 30, 2018
Mine as well pic.twitter.com/6XjwRuVKRP
— Peter Aponte Jr (@coneyislandftw) October 30, 2018
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