It wasn’t long after the watchOS 7 release that some Apple Watch owners started reporting missing GPS data from workouts.

Apple now has a suggested partial fix, but it appears it won’t restore the missing data …

We reported the problem last month.

MacRumors spotted a new Apple Support document addressing the issue. It appears the iOS 14 and watchOS 7 updates could cause a whole array of problems, not just missing GPS data.

Some Apple Watch owners are reporting missing GPS data following an update to watchOS 7. When they record a workout, only the start point is stored […]

The reports span the Apple Watch Series 3, 4, and 5 – that is, all existing models which support the update. Some say Apple has told them it’s a Strava issue, but others report the same thing with multiple apps.

Some have been able to fix the problem by un-pairing and re-pairing the Watch, but another user said this made things worse, losing existing data from their apps.

  • 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.

Apple’s proposed solution is the rather scary one of erasing and restoring both Watch and iPhone.

After updating to iOS 14.0 and watchOS 7.0, you might notice:

  • Unpair your Apple Watch from your iPhone
  • Verify iCloud settings and create a backup
  • Erase all content and settings from your iPhone
  • Restore your iPhone and Apple Watch from backup

The support document contains detailed instructions for each step. It also contains a warning Apple wouldn’t need if it didn’t limit free iCloud storage to 5GB:

From Apple’s wording, it would appear that these steps won’t restore missing data – that is gone for good. It says that the procedure will only ‘prevent future data loss.’

Before creating a backup, make sure that you have enough iCloud storage.

Note too that you’ll have to re-add payment cards used for Apple Pay on both your iPhone and your watch, as these won’t be restored automatically.