Apple’s latest updates break Wallet on Apple Watch, Bluetooth on Mac

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Driver's licenses and IDs in Apple Wallet
Syncing Wallet changes just isn't happening for some.
Image: Apple

Apple rolled out a new crop of software updates last week, and you probably (sadly) won’t be surprised to learn that they bring yet more bugs.

In addition to experiencing Wallet sync problems between iOS 15.3 and watchOS 8.4, early updaters also report Bluetooth issues in macOS 12.2 that cause battery drain on some MacBook models.

Apple Wallet broken in iOS 15.3 and watchOS 8.4

A growing number of users on Reddit and Apple’s Support Communities forum say the Wallet app stopped syncing properly between iPhone and Apple Watch after installing the iOS 15.3 and watchOS 8.4 updates.

“No coupons/membership cards added on the iPhone have successfully been synced to the Apple Watch since I updated to 8.4 and 15.3,” one user wrote. “Removing a card from the iPhone does not seem to sync to the Watch either.”

According to another Reddit poster, this is now “a known issue on Apple’s end, and is currently ongoing investigation.” However, the company was not able to provide an estimated timescale for a fix because it is still looking into the issue.

macOS 12.2 causes Bluetooth battery drain

The problems don’t stop there. Over on Mac, some users are being plagued by a new Bluetooth issue that’s causing battery drain during sleep mode after installing the new macOS 12.2 update.

Screenshots posted online show MacBook batteries quickly losing juice — from a full charge down to nothing in some cases — while they’re not being used. The bug appears to affect both Intel and M1 MacBook models.

“Same issue here with my MBP 13 inch 2020,” one user wrote. “Full battery drainage in two hours, from 100% to 0 with the lid closed! Also I noticed that the MacBook was really hot while it was in my backpack.”

What can you do?

The simplest way to avoid the battery drain problem in macOS 12.2 is to shut down your MacBook rather than putting it to sleep. That will kill its Bluetooth connection and prevent it from losing juice. It’s a pain, but it works.

Sadly, there is no quick fix for the Wallet issue in iOS 15.3 and watchOS 8.4. Users say that even after complete device restores, the problem persists.

We’ll have to wait for Apple to issue proper fixes for both of these problems, then. We asked the company for more information on these issues and its efforts to fix them. We will update this post if we hear anything.

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