Have you upgraded your Apple Watch to watchOS 1.0.1 or watchOS 2, but you do not like the upgrade and want to revert to the original watchOS 1? Tough luck: you cannot.
Apple Watch users, who are unhappy with the changes watchOS 1.0.1 or watch OS 2 beta bring, are in a conundrum because they are unable to downgrade the firmware, thanks to the complex procedures that are next to impossible to navigate.
What is making matters worse is that, unlike most other iOS devices, Apple Watch does not seem to pack in a recovery mode—allowing one to return to the previous firmware version—which can be accessed easily by users.
With a complex downgrading system in place to revert to the old firmware, Apple Watch customers are being left with no choice but to seek the aid of AppleCare reps for service. However, this is turning out to be an expensive proposition. Customers are reportedly being charged for downgrading the firmware since it falls under "out of warranty repairs."
For those wondering why Apple Watch users would want to downgrade from watchOS 2 and watchOS 1.0.1, it is because users are complaining of a problematic heart rate monitor that reportedly monitors at sporadic intervals instead of the designated 10 minutes.
"After I updated my Watch to 1.0.1, the heart rate monitor no longer monitors my heart rate in the background. It only monitors my heart rate when I ask it to take a reading. This is really, really annoying. Has anyone else experienced this? It was working perfectly before the update," complained a user on the Apple Support Communities forum.
Users on Reddit also voiced their inability to downgrade to watchOS 1.
"Does anyone know if there is a way to downgrade back to WatchOS 1.0.1 from WatchOS 2? I know the official documentation says no, but they say the same thing about the iPhone too," said a user.
The inability to downgrade became further apparent when Apple released watchOS 2 beta on June 8, with more people complaining of the inability to revert to the older firmware.
When this issue came to light, it was discovered that the Apple Watch did not have a device firmware update (DFU) recovery that could be accessed by the users. This makes users handicapped since they do not have the ability to downgrade the firmware from a newer watchOS version to an older one. The presence of the DFU mode enables users in restoring their device to an older OS version without involving AppleCare help. It is basically a do-it-yourself solution.
To trigger the DFU mode into action, a user would need to press several buttons that they are unlikely to find for themselves. A possibility exists that Apple has kept the DFU mode hidden. Let's hope somebody discovers this one soon!
