Following up on TN3135 and the resolution in https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/773362 — that thread solved establishing a low-level connection on watchOS (the asynchronous AVAudioSession.activate(options:completionHandler:) instead of the synchronous setActive()). This question is about a connection staying established, which I could not find discussed anywhere. Environment: Apple Watch, watchOS 26.6 (23U67). Audio app, WKBackgroundModes = ["self-care"]. Real device, TestFlight build, not the simulator. What works Opening an NWConnection WebSocket to my own server is reliable — 8 attempts out of 8 reached .ready in 0.28–0.98 s, and an echo frame round-tripped in 27–89 ms. Interestingly, in my measurements it opens under BOTH activation variants: the asynchronous activate(options:completionHandler:) AND the synchronous setActive(true). The two are within ~0.2 s of each other. I mention it only because the thread above concluded the synchronous one is insufficient; on 26.6 I cannot reproduce that difference for establishment. What fails The connection goes quiet after roughly half a minute, and an NWPathMonitor running alongside it shows why: the path transitions to .unsatisfied. Four runs: +34.0 s (cellular) +34.6 s (cellular) +36.0 s (Wi-Fi) +34.3 s (companion link only — availableInterfaces ["other", "other"]) The server sends a heartbeat frame every 5 s and closes the socket on a schedule, so I can tell "the peer closed" from "we stopped receiving". The client receives beats 1–6 (5 s … 30 s) and then nothing; the scheduled close never arrives. What I ruled out Server side. The same client construction run on macOS against the same endpoint receives all 8 heartbeats and the scheduled close at 45.1 s. Both audio-session activation variants — no difference, as above. Network type — cellular, Wi-Fi and companion-link-only all drop at ~35 s. The app being suspended. The app keeps logging densely throughout, and in the last run it held a WKExtendedRuntimeSession (delegate reported extendedRuntimeSessionDidStart) and was actively playing audio through AVAudioEngine from the first second — i.e. the audio-streaming condition TN3135 describes — for the entire window. The path dropped anyway, at +34.3 s. An idle socket. Server traffic arrives every 5 s until the drop. The comparison that puzzles me The same app, on the same watch, the same afternoon, relays the same realtime audio session over plain HTTPS (URLSession) instead — and that runs for 64 s continuously without a stall, including straight through a WatchConnectivity "reachability settled: unreachable" transition. So a high-level URLSession request stream survives a period in which a low-level NWConnection's path is reported unsatisfied. That is consistent with the note in thread 773362 that "on watchOS every session is kinda like a background session, where the actual work is done out of process" — but it leaves me unsure what the intended behaviour is. Questions Is a ~35 s path lifetime the expected behaviour for low-level networking on watchOS, or does it indicate something wrong on my side? Does the TN3135 audio-streaming exception cover only the establishment of a low-level connection, or is it also supposed to keep the path available for the duration of the audio streaming? If it is supposed to persist: is there something beyond an active audio session, flowing audio and a WKExtendedRuntimeSession that an app must do to keep the path alive? If ~35 s is the expected ceiling, is a WebSocket a supported transport for a multi-minute conversational audio session on watchOS at all — or is relaying over URLSession the intended approach despite the guidance to prefer Network framework? Happy to file a bug with a sysdiagnose and a reduced sample project if that is more useful — please say the word and I will attach the numbers above.

Hi all, I’m developing a watchOS app that uses a WebSocket API to process voice audio. However, I keep encountering this error when trying to establish the connection: nw_endpoint_flow_failed_with_error [C1 <server URL>:443 failed parent-flow (unsatisfied (Path was denied by NECP policy), interface: ipsec2, ipv4, ipv6, proxy)] already failing, returning I’ve read Technical Note TN3135, which outlines an exception for audio streaming apps. My app is an audio streaming app, and I’ve already added background audio mode to the app’s capabilities. However, I’m not sure what else is required to meet the exception described in TN3135. Questions How do I meet the exception outlined in TN3135 for WebSocket audio streaming on watchOS? Does NECP enforce additional restrictions even with background audio enabled, and how can I address this? Any guidance or examples of implementing WebSocket audio streaming on watchOS would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I'm developing a watchOS meditation app in which the user starts one continuous meditation session. During that session, I'd like the app to obtain a 1-minute HRV measurement immediately after the session begins (to establish a baseline), and then automatically obtain another 1-minute HRV measurement approximately 6 minutes after the session started, without requiring the user to manually start a second measurement or leave the app. My understanding is that HealthKit allows apps to read HRV samples after they have been recorded, but I haven't found a way to request that the watch generate a new HRV measurement. Is there any public API that allows a third-party watchOS app to initiate an HRV measurement similar to the Mindfulness/Breathe app, or otherwise request the Apple Watch to collect a new HRV sample at predetermined times during an ongoing session? Thanks in advance, Hern

In the WWDC 2019 session "Extended Runtime for WatchOS apps" the video talks about an entitlement being required to use the HR sensor judiciously in the background. It provides a link to request the entitlement which no longer works: http://developer.apple.com/contect/request/health-monitoring The session video is also quite hard to find these days. Does anyone know why this is the case? Is the API and entitlement still available? Is there a supported way to run, even periodically, in the background on the Watch app (ignoring the background observer route which is known to be unreliable) and access existing HR sensor data

Need to vent a bit before relaxing for Christmas... WatchOS IAP using Storekit 2 is such a mess...is nobody actually using this or does Apple just not care for the user experience here? Lots of users experience after the purchase confirmation double tap on the side button an instant return to the purchase screen with nothing actually happening. No error message whatsoever. There is just one remedy: users need to unpair and re-pair their watch, including restoring a backup and setting up their wallet again. Nobody really wants to do this, or doesn't believe me and think this is just typical support BS, because their watch is paired and most things just work as they expect. And it turns away a customer, often leaving a bad review. And I can't do anything about it. Other errors in the purchase process are reported, but like "process interrupted" in case the payment is not setup correctly (credit car no longer valid or sth.). How should the user know? There must be better ways of letting him know what exactly the problem is. You need to implement a "Restore Purchase" function, otherwise you're not passing the review. But it really asks every time for the AppStore password, and users with crazy passwords -- that they rightfully should have! -- have almost no chance of typing them successfully on the tiny AW keyboard. Why is it not also just a side button double tap like for purchase? At the very least you would need access to the keychain PWs or allow pasting of sth. copied on the paired iPhone. Promo Codes for IAP on AW-only apps just don't work. AW has no redemption at all, and on the iPhone the AppStore will try to talk to a companion app (which AW-only doesn't have) and the end up in a dead-end installation effort. This all feels like never really tested in the field, and people are of course blaming the 3rd party dev. for all these issues. And opening a ticket is just leading nowhere -- at best it's closed after months with the hint "duplicate" but w/o any chance for me to see that one that they then actually work on and track progress. It's all so frustratingly broken...

I'm developing a watchOS app for Watch Ultra 2 that implements water detection using CMSubmersionManager. I would like to make it appear in the Auto-Launch settings menu, but my app is not appearing in the settings (Settings &gt; General &gt; Auto-Launch &gt; When Submerged &gt; Selected App).... What additional steps should I take to make this work? Environment Device: Watch Ultra 2 watchOS: 11.2 Xcode: 16.0 Implementation I have implemented the following as per documentation: Added the Shallow Depth and Pressure capability and Entitlement. Added the "Shallow Depth and Pressure" capability Confirmed entitlement "com.apple.developer.submerged-shallow-depth-and-pressure" was automatically added Note: I initially thought I should use "com.apple.developer.submerged-depth-and-pressure" (without "-shallow") since I'm targeting a maximum depth of 6 meters, but this resulted in compilation errors. ref: https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/740083 ref: https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/735296 Added NSMotionUsageDescription and WKBackgroundModes &lt;key&gt;NSMotionUsageDescription&lt;/key&gt; &lt;string&gt;Required for water detection&lt;/string&gt; &lt;key&gt;WKBackgroundModes&lt;/key&gt; &lt;array&gt; &lt;string&gt;underwater-depth&lt;/string&gt; &lt;/array&gt; According to the documentation: "It also adds your app to the list of apps that the system can autolaunch when the wearer submerges the watch." What additional steps are needed to make the app appear in Auto-Launch settings? Has anyone successfully implemented this feature?

I'm using Product.products(for:) to get my auto-renewable subscription on watchOS: let products = try await Product.products(for: [<##Identifier##>]) However, it doesn't return any value, and doesn't throw errors. The console shows an error: Could not parse product: missingValue(for: [StoreKit.ProductResponse.Key.billingPlanType], expected: StoreKit.BackingValue) Is this a bug or I did't configure something well? This product has been approved by App Review.

I have an iPhone 14 running iOS 16.1 and my series 5 watch running watchOS 9.1. I was able to turn on Developer Mode on the phone by going to Settings--> Privacy & Security --> Developer Mode. On the watch however (I'm doing this directly on the watch and not on the watch app on the phone) once I'm in Privacy & Security, there is no option to select Developer Mode. How do I get my watch in Developer Mode in order to get a successful build in xCode?

I'm developing an app for Apple Watch, but I can't connect the Apple Watch to Xcode when I try to run the app on the actual device. I get the following errors: A networking error occurred The device rejected the connection request and A connection to this device could not be established. Timed out while attempting to establish tunnel using negotiated network parameters. The iPhone connects to Xcode without any problem. I've already tried several things without success: Resetting the "trusted computers" settings and trusting the Mac again Restarting all of the devices Making sure all devices are on the same Wi-Fi network On the iPhone, I can see the Developer Mode toggle in Settings, but on the Apple Watch there doesn't seem to be a Developer Mode toggle at all. I'm wondering whether enabling Developer Mode is required in my case. Could anyone tell me how to enable Developer Mode on Apple Watch, or suggest any other way to resolve this issue? Here is my environment: Mac mini (M1, 2020), macOS Tahoe 26.4.1 Xcode 26.4.1 Apple Watch SE 3, watchOS 26.1 iPhone 13, iOS 26.5 Thanks in advance for any help.

I'm a contributor to Trio, an open-source automated insulin delivery (AID) app for iOS/watchOS maintained by the Nightscout Foundation. I'm posting at the recommendation of the engineering team via Feedback Assistant FB22619409 (Developer Support case 102865854185). The goal We're prototyping direct BLE connectivity between the Trio watchOS extension and the Dexcom G7 CGM sensor — eliminating dependence on iPhone-to-Watch relay via WatchConnectivity. For an AID app, stale CGM data affects insulin dosing decisions; this is a patient safety concern. The entitlements needed To maintain a BLE connection to the G7 while backgrounded and with the display off/wrist lowered, the WatchKit extension requires: com.apple.developer.bluetooth-central-background com.apple.developer.bluetooth-central-screen-off-scanning What I've confirmed Both entitlements are present on Dexcom's shipping G7 WatchKit extension (com.dexcom.g7app.watchkitapp.watchkitextension), verifiable via: codesign -d --entitlements :- \ "Dexcom G7.app/Watch/G7Watch.app/PlugIns/G7Watch Extension.appex" Output includes: com.apple.developer.bluetooth-central-background = true com.apple.developer.bluetooth-central-screen-off-scanning = true These are not self-service capabilities exposed through Xcode or the developer portal for our account: Xcode → Trio Watch App target → Signing & Capabilities → + Capability → searching com.apple.developer.bluetooth-central-background returns No Matches Certificates, Identifiers & Profiles → WatchKit Extension App ID (org.nightscout.5QE6TMMEH2.trio.watchkitapp.watchkitextension) → the entitlement does not appear under Capability Requests A screen recording demonstrating both is attached to FB22619409. The May 16 Apple Feedback response noted that the entitlement was visible in an internal Xcode project — consistent with it being a restricted/managed entitlement not exposed through standard developer accounts. My questions What is the correct process to request com.apple.developer.bluetooth-central-background for a watchOS extension App ID where it does not appear in Capability Requests? Is com.apple.developer.bluetooth-central-screen-off-scanning available through a private/managed entitlement process, and how do we enter that process? Is there a formal Apple program (e.g., MFi, HealthKit entitlements, or similar) applicable to CGM-connected medical apps that covers these entitlements? Full account details, screen recording, and entitlement output are attached to FB22619409 / Developer Support case 102865854185. Happy to provide a test build, full entitlement output, or additional context if needed. Thank you

Hi everyone, I’d love to see Apple add full Sleep Tracking support for Apple Watches that are set up using Family Setup. Many families use Family Setup for children or older family members who don’t have an iPhone of their own. Sleep is one of the most important health metrics, and it would be incredibly useful if caregivers could view sleep duration and trends just like they can with other health features. This would help parents better understand their child’s sleep habits and would also be valuable for families caring for older adults. Even if detailed health data stayed private, allowing sleep summaries to sync through Family Setup would make the feature much more useful. I hope Apple considers adding this in a future watchOS update. Is this something anyone else would find helpful?

We are migrating ClockKit complications to WidgetKit in our watch app (watchOS 9+). The migration went smoothly, UI part works just fine. However, we've hit the wall with widgets not updating when requested by the watch app. I believe we are missing something very simple and fundamental, but couldn't find what exactly so far. Advice and tips would be very welcome! 🙇‍♂️ Our implementation details: Whenever data is changed in the main app, the updated data is submitted to the watch app via WatchConnectivity framework using WCSession.default.transferCurrentComplicationUserInfo(_:). According to documentation, this method should be used to transfer complication-related data, since it will wake the watch app even if it is in the background or not opened at all. Watch app receives updated data and stores it in UserDefaults shared with Watch Widget Extension hosting WidgetKit complications via App Group. Watch app then request widget timeline reload via WidgetCenter.shared.reloadAllTimelines(). According to documentation, it reloads the timelines for all configured widgets belonging to the containing app, so it seems the appropriate way to reload WidgetKit complications. Widget Timeline Provider class in Watch Widget Extension reads updated data from shared UserDefaults and uses it to provide the updated snapshot for widget views to render. We believe our implementation logic is correct, but it doesn't work, for some reason. Widgets sometimes update when the watch app is opened, but not always. The most definitive way to force widgets to update is to switch to a different watch face, which confirms that the Widget Timeline Provider has access to properly updated data. P.S. We are aware of the daily reload budget imposed on widgets, so we use widgets reload trigger sparingly. Anyway, according to documentation, reload budget is not effective when in DEBUG mode, but widgets won't reload even in DEBUG mode. Thank you!

Apologies, if I've missed the answer already here, I've searched around but can't find it. Foundation models and Private Cloud Compute require Apple Intelligence to be enabled in Settings as mentioned here. At the same time it says that Foundation Models PCC calls are supported on all Apple Watch models that run WatchOS 27. So, will there be a seperate Apple Intelligence setting in WatchOS 27 for those devices? Otherwise if a user has an Apple Watch Series 11 (which does support Apple Intelligence) paired with an iPhone 15 (which doesn't support Apple Intelligence), will they be unable to use the Foundation Models PCC calls from WatchOS in my app? Despite the fact the iPhone isn't involved in these queries anyway?

Hi everyone, After watching WWDC26 and going for a run today, I came up with an idea that I believe could be a natural extension of Apple Intelligence and Apple Watch. This proposal is not intended to replace Custom Workouts. Instead, it focuses on removing the manual setup required to create them by allowing Apple Intelligence to understand workout plans written in natural language. Today, Apple Watch already supports Custom Workouts, but users still have to manually recreate interval workouts. For example: • Walk 5 minutes • Run 1 minute • Walk 1 minute 30 seconds • Repeat 6 times Instead, Apple Intelligence could understand workouts written in natural language and automatically generate a structured Apple Watch workout. This could work from multiple sources: Notes Messages Mail PDFs Screenshots Photos of printed training plans Websites The generated workout could then be reviewed by the user before being saved and synchronized to Apple Watch. Intelligent Haptics I also imagined an optional feature called Intelligent Haptics. Instead of using a single vibration for interval transitions, the watch could communicate through different haptic patterns: Progressive vibration before a running interval starts. Decreasing vibration when an interval ends. Rhythmic vibrations during recovery to help regulate breathing. The goal isn't simply to notify the user—it is to reduce the need to constantly look at the display and allow them to stay focused on the workout. Since Apple Intelligence is becoming a system-wide capability, I think workouts could be understood just like calendar events, reminders or emails. I have already submitted this proposal through Feedback Assistant, but I would love to hear what other developers think. Would this be a feature you would like to see in watchOS? I'm curious to hear how other developers would improve this concept.

I'm blocked trying to run/debug an app on a physical Apple Watch. The iPhone connects to Xcode perfectly over USB and is fully trusted, but the paired Watch never shows up in Xcode, and because of that the Developer Mode toggle never appears on the watch itself. Environment Mac: MacOS 26.4 Xcode: 26.5 iPhone: iPhone 17, iOS 26.4 — connected to Mac via USB, trusted Apple Watch: Ultra 3, watchOS 26.3 Developer Mode: enabled on iPhone Watch is paired and working normally in the iPhone Watch app What happens In Xcode → Window → Devices and Simulators, only the iPhone ("Brian") shows under Connected, with its installed apps listed correctly. The paired Apple Watch does not appear under it or as a separate entry. On the watch, Settings → Privacy & Security has no Developer Mode item. I understand this only surfaces after Xcode successfully connects to the watch, so I believe the missing Xcode connection is the root cause. When I first connected the iPhone via cable, a Trust prompt did appear on the watch and I accepted it. What I've already tried Enabled Developer Mode on iPhone (toggled off/on, with restarts) Connected iPhone via USB and confirmed Trust on both iPhone and watch Restarted Mac, iPhone, and watch multiple times Confirmed Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are on across all three devices Kept the watch unlocked and on my wrist, close to the iPhone and Mac Despite this, the watch never appears in Xcode and the Developer Mode toggle never surfaces on watchOS. Questions Is this the known Xcode 26 / watchOS 26 tunneling/discovery regression, or is something else going on in my setup? Is there an Apple-supported way to force Xcode to re-discover a paired watch without unpairing it from the iPhone? Has any specific combination of macOS / Xcode / watchOS versions reliably resolved this for anyone? Any guidance appreciated. Happy to file a Feedback Assistant report and share the ID if useful.

Hello, I updated my Apple Watch SE 3 (GPS + Cellular, 44 mm) to watchOS 27 Developer Beta (Build 24R5289n) and noticed what appears to be a change in the Digital Crown behavior. After the update: • A single press of the Digital Crown now shows fewer applications, which seems consistent with the changes announced for watchOS 27. • However, a double press of the Digital Crown no longer opens the App Switcher as it did previously. • As a result, I can no longer access the interface that allowed users to view recent apps and force-close applications by swiping them away. Before updating, double-pressing the Digital Crown opened the App Switcher and provided a way to close running apps. That functionality now appears to be missing. I would like to know whether: This is an intentional design change in watchOS 27. This is a known issue in the current Developer Beta. There is a new gesture or workflow for accessing recent apps and force-closing applications. Device: Apple Watch SE 3 (GPS + Cellular) 44 mm Aluminum Model: MEPJ4LW/A Software: watchOS 27.0 Developer Beta Build: 24R5289n The behavior is reproducible after restarting the watch. Thanks.

We develop a healthcare emergency-alerting app with a native watchOS companion app. We've hit a network routing issue on watchOS that we cannot work around with any public API, and it breaks a safety-critical flow (triggering an emergency alarm from the watch). Environment watchOS 26.5 on Apple Watch SE3, paired with iPhone SE 2nd Gen on iOS 26.5 Watch app deployment target: watchOS 9.0 Plain URLSession (async/await), default configuration plus waitsForConnectivity = false, allowsExpensiveNetworkAccess = true, allowsConstrainedNetworkAccess = true HTTPS to our own backend (valid public TLS certificate, no pinning) Steps to reproduce Pair the watch with the iPhone. Both on the same known Wi-Fi network. On the iPhone: turn OFF Wi-Fi and cellular data. Keep Bluetooth ON. The watch remains connected to its known Wi-Fi network (or would be, if the system brought the radio up). Trigger any HTTPS request from the watch app (foreground). Expected Since the companion iPhone has no internet, the watch should satisfy the request over its own Wi-Fi. Actual The request is routed through the companion link (ipsec1, "companion preference: prefer" in the logs) and fails after the TLS handshake dies inside the tunnel: Error Domain=NSURLErrorDomain Code=-1200 "An SSL error has occurred and a secure connection to the server cannot be made." _kCFStreamErrorDomainKey=3, _kCFStreamErrorCodeKey=-9816 (errSSLClosedNoNotify) The watch never fails over to its own Wi-Fi, no matter how many times we retry or how long we wait. The same request succeeds within seconds if the user disables Bluetooth on the iPhone (watch then joins Wi-Fi directly), or restores the iPhone's internet. What we already tried waitsForConnectivity = true doesn't help; a path exists (the tunnel), it just doesn't work. Fresh URLSession per retry, backoff retries still routed via the tunnel. Per TN3135 we understand low-level networking is not available to a normal app: we prototyped NWConnection with prohibitedInterfaceTypes = [.other], and indeed on device NWPathMonitor stays .unsatisfied even when the watch has working Wi-Fi, exactly as TN3135 describes. So Network framework is not an escape hatch for us, and we are not looking to abuse the audio-streaming/CallKit carve-outs. Questions Is the companion-preferred routing supposed to fail over to the watch's own Wi-Fi when the iPhone is reachable over Bluetooth but has no internet? If yes, on what timescale, and is there anything an app can do to help the system notice the dead path sooner? Is there ANY supported way for a foreground watchOS app to express "do not use the companion link for this request"? We found only the private _companionProxyPreference SPI, which we obviously can't ship. If the answer to both is "no", what is the recommended pattern for safety-critical requests in this state is failing fast and instructing the user to disable iPhone Bluetooth really the intended UX? Related earlier reports of the same behavior: https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/759321 https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/107964

I’m developing a watchOS app that records outdoor soccer workouts using HealthKit. My app starts a workout session with: HKWorkoutConfiguration.activityType = .soccer HKWorkoutConfiguration.locationType = .outdoor HKWorkoutSession HKLiveWorkoutBuilder HKLiveWorkoutDataSource During the workout, I display distance from the live builder statistics: HKQuantityType.quantityType(forIdentifier: .distanceWalkingRunning) After the workout ends, I save the workout using finishWorkout(), and later read the saved distance from: HKWorkout.totalDistance?.doubleValue(for: .meter()) So the total distance shown in my app is not calculated manually from GPS route points. It comes from HealthKit’s workout distance. I noticed a difference between soccer workouts recorded by Apple’s built-in Workout app and soccer workouts recorded by my third-party watchOS app. Example comparison: Apple Workout app soccer: Active duration: about 88 min Steps: about 8,832 Distance: about 6.7 km No visible route/location data in Fitness My watchOS app soccer: Active duration: about 87 min Steps: about 8,998 Distance: about 5.6 km Includes route/location data Workout recorded through HKWorkoutSession + HKLiveWorkoutBuilder Distance read from HKWorkout.totalDistance The step counts and active durations are very close, but the distance differs by about 1.1 km. One important detail is that the Apple Workout app soccer workout does not appear to include visible route/location data in Fitness, while my third-party workout does include route/location data. Despite that, the Apple Workout app reports a longer distance. So the comparison is not simply “GPS route distance vs GPS route distance”. It looks like the built-in Workout app may be estimating soccer distance without exposing route data, while HKLiveWorkoutBuilder for a third-party .soccer workout may be producing a different totalDistance estimate. My questions are: When the built-in Apple Workout app records an outdoor soccer workout without exposing route data, how is totalDistance estimated? Is that distance estimation behavior available to third-party watchOS apps using HKWorkoutSession + HKLiveWorkoutBuilder with .soccer? If a third-party app records route data for the same soccer activity, can that change how HealthKit calculates totalDistance compared with a no-route built-in Workout app recording? For third-party soccer workouts, should developers expect HKWorkout.totalDistance to match the built-in Workout app, or is a difference expected? Is there any additional configuration, entitlement, data type, or best practice required to get more accurate distance estimates for soccer workouts? Any clarification on the expected behavior would be very helpful. Thanks!

When running a mobile app through Xcode, why can't the associated watch app be installed within the watch app? How can this problem be solved?

When importing FoundationModels in watchOS 27 Beta 2 this error appears: /Applications/Xcode-beta.app/Contents/Developer/Platforms/WatchOS.platform/Developer/SDKs/WatchOS27.0.sdk/System/Library/Frameworks/FoundationModels.framework/Modules/FoundationModels.swiftmodule/arm64e-apple-watchos.swiftinterface:6:15 Unable to resolve module dependency: 'CoreImage' Does anybody else have this issue?