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 …

A thread was started on Apple’s support communities. From the number of posts, it doesn’t appear to be affecting large numbers of people, but there are enough reports to show that there is a definite issue for some.

Others said they have experienced the same.

I used the Outdoor Walk activity on my Watch, but this time didn’t take my iPhone. When I returned, and attempted to upload the activity to Strava, I received a warning that no GPS/route data was present. I checked the Fitness and Health apps, and sure enough, there was no route on the map – only the starting point.

I spoke to someone at Apple Support and they suggested I turned off/back on a couple of related privacy settings. I have since tried another Outdoor Walk activity, without the phone present, and the problem persists – no GPS/route data.

My wife also tried the same this evening, after upgrading her iPhone X and S4 Watch too. She had the same results – i.e. with just the Watch, no GPS/route information was saved with the activity.

In all, there are ten pages of responses at the time of writing. 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.

“Sadly I have the same issue, but until now there is no solution for that. The map only shows the START and not the route nor the stop.”

“I have the same issue since upgrading to watchOS7 with my Apple Watch Series 4 and iPhone 8 Plus ios14. Recorded an outdoor run with Watch only and no GPS map data is available, only the starting point. Nevertheless all other metrics like distance, elevation gain etc. seem to be correct.”

“Exactly the same issue, since upgrading to WatchOS 7.”

“Same issue here. Very first activity after upgrading to ios14 and watchos7 had gps data but nothing since then. Just the starting point shows up.”

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.

The watchOS 7 update adds a number of new features:

  • New watch faces
  • Including in the App Store
  • More than one complication per app
  • Watch face sharing (via text, email, or a link)
  • Sleep tracking, and sleep mode
  • Reminder to charge before bedtime if required
  • Four new workouts
  • Cycling in Maps (very limited locations at present)
  • Hand-washing reminder when you get home, and 20-second monitoring
  • Translation by Siri
  • On-device dictation
  • Siri Shortcuts on the Watch (and even as complications)
  • More hearing health features (inc max headphone volume)

Are you seeing missing GPS data on your Watch on watchOS 7? Please let us know in the comments.