The watchOS 8.4 release candidate that rolled out to beta testers on Thursday eliminates an Apple Watch charging bug that first surfaced around a month ago.
The issue, which mostly affected Apple Watch Series 7, prevented devices from charging when using third-party accessories from a wide range of brands. But with the latest watchOS 8.4 update installed, everything is back to normal.
watchOS 8.4 fixes Apple Watch charging bug
You likely won’t have noticed an Apple Watch charging issue if you only ever use original Apple accessories. It seems pricier third-party alternatives from the likes of Belkin were also immune to the issue. But others were not.
Those using more affordable Apple Watch charging accessories, in particular, reported that their devices would stop charging after just a few minutes. Others said their devices would not charge at all.
In some cases, restarting the Apple Watch would fix this problem — but only for a short time. Apple Watch Series 7 owners appeared to be experiencing the issue the most, but some with older Apple Watch models were also hit.
watchOS 8.4 on the way
When the issue first surfaced after the watchOS 8.3 update last month, some speculated that it may have been an intentional move by Apple to try to block more affordable third-party charging accessories. But that seemed unlikely.
Now, Apple has rolled out its watchOS 8.4 release candidate which eliminates this problem entirely. The update is available only to registered developers and beta testers for now, but it will roll out to all Apple Watch users soon.
