Apple today released watchOS 8.4, the third major update to the watchOS 8 operating system that launched in September. watchOS 8.4 comes over a month after the release of watchOS 8.3, an update that added support for the Apple Music Voice Plan.
watchOS 8.4 can be downloaded for free through the dedicated Apple Watch app on the iPhone by going to General > Software Update. To install the new software, the Apple Watch needs to have at least 50 percent battery, it needs to be placed on a charger, and it needs to be in range of the iPhone.
The watchOS 8.4 update is compatible with the Apple Watch Series 3 and later like all watchOS 8 updates.
According to Apple’s release notes, watchOS 8.4 fixes a bug that could cause some Apple Watch chargers not to work as expected with the Apple Watch.
Since the watchOS 8.3 update, there have been complaints from Apple Watch Series 7 users who have noticed that their third-party chargers (and in some cases, Apple-branded chargers) are not able to charge their Apple Watches.
In some situations, the Apple Watch would not charge at all with an affected charger, and in other cases, it would charge for a few minutes and then stop. Today’s update should fix both issues.
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