Apple's latest watchOS update includes a kind of recovery mode

Apple's latest watchOS update, 8.5, now has a Recovery Mode that can help you restore your Apple Watch if it gets stuck on the dreaded red exclamation point screen (via 9to5Mac). The update is given in a support article that was updated on Monday – while a previous version of the article recommended simply trying rebooting the watch, then setting up a mail-in repair with Apple Support, it now Describes your recovery process at home.

The Apple article states that you will need an iPhone running iOS 15.4 to go through the steps. If your watch is showing the phone animation and the clock brought together, or a red exclamation point, the process to fix it is relatively simple:

put your watch on its charger

Unlock your phone and bring it near

Double-press the button on the side of the watch next to the crown

Then a prompt should pop up on your phone saying that it has detected an Apple Watch in recovery mode, initiating the steps that you can follow to restore the watch.

There may be a few options regarding what type of Wi-Fi network your phone is connected to during the process, so if recovery doesn't work, you'll want to read the fine print on the article.

A colleague asked if this new feature would make it less risky to run beta software on your Watch. The answer to that question depends on what type of risk you're talking about. If you're concerned about your watch being bricked by unfinished software (some beta testers have previously reported seeing a red exclamation point, which may lead to a chat with Apple Support), it looks like this feature is an option. is option. Home remedies can make this possible.

It's probably best still to leave the Watch beta for Brave - some reports of bricking describe an infinitely spinning loading screen, which this process may not be able to fix. There's also not much reassurance for those who are worried about being stuck with an unusable buggy watch. Apple's beta software FAQ still says "Apple Watch cannot be restored to previously released OS versions after the public beta is installed," which means that this recovery feature will allow you to access watchOS's public version. version will allow access. Switching back to version won't help.

Apple did not respond to a question from The Verge asking if there would be a way to withdraw use of the feature from the buggy beta.

Whether or not this update changes the beta calculus, it's certainly a win that users will be able to solve firmware problems at home instead of sending their watches to service. To update to watchOS 8.5, you can follow Apple's instructions here. If you have a Series 3, be aware that the process may be more complicated due to limited storage space.