Restoring your iPhone and Apple Watch may fix missing GPS workout data, excess battery drain

Some Apple Watch customers recently reported missing GPS mapping data when capturing their workouts in the Workout app on watchOS 7. Others have complained about excess battery drain after updating to the latest watchOS software. Apple has now released a new support document to acknowledge these and other issues, proposing a fix.

MacRumors spotted Apple’s new support document in which the company lists several issues that some people may be hit with after updating to iOS 14 and watchOS 7:

  • Your workout route maps are missing in the Fitness app on iPhone for previous GPS-enabled workouts from your Apple Watch.
  • The Activity, Heart Rate or other health-related apps fail to launch or load data on your Apple Watch.
  • The Fitness app or Health app fail to launch or load data on your iPhone.
  • The Health app or Fitness app is reporting an inaccurate amount of data storage on your iPhone.
  • The Activity app is reporting an inaccurate amount of data storage on your Apple Watch.
  • Your environmental sound levels data or headphone audio levels data from Apple Watch is missing in the Health app on iPhone.
  • Increased battery drain on your iPhone or Apple Watch.

In case of any of the symptoms listed above, customers should unpair their Apple Watch from its paired iPhone, then wipe clean the watch and the phone before restoring both devices from a saved backup. It’s a band-aid solution that will fix workout GPS data not being captured going forward. It won’t restore any missing data, however.

→ How to unpair your Apple Watch from your iPhone

According to user reports, the missing GPS data issue manifests itself when using the stock Workout app to record outdoor activities such as walking and running while leaving your paired iPhone at home. Doing so prompts the watch to fall back to its own GPS in order to capture a route of your sessions. When checking in the Fitness and Health apps, affected users have reported seeing only the starting point on the map, not the entire route.

This issue is also being discussed in a long thread on Apple’s support forums.