Apple warns Hermès Apple Watch owners to avoid watchOS 26 beta 2 due to crashing, overheating, and charging issues. iOS 26 beta 2 also causes pairing problems.
Hermès Apple Watch Owners: Steer Clear of watchOS 26 Beta 2
If you’re rocking a luxury Hermès Apple Watch, do not install watchOS 26 beta 2, unless you want your premium wristwear to become a very expensive paperweight.
What’s Going Wrong?
According to Apple’s own release notes, the latest beta is causing serious issues for Hermès models, including:
- Overheating
- Constant crashing
- Failure to charge
Apple Watch Hermès crashes continuously if updated to watchOS 26 beta 2. It is advised that these users do not update to beta 2. (152604139)
Early reports suggest the exclusive Hermès watch face is likely the culprit. Once installed, the watch can become completely unusable.
iOS 26 Beta 2 Isn’t Helping Either
To make things worse, iOS 26 beta 2 also creates problems when paired with a Hermès Apple Watch:
- The Apple Watch app on iPhone won’t open
- Unpairing temporarily fixes it, but re-pairing fails entirely
This means your iPhone and Apple Watch might not play nice together at all if you’re using either of these beta builds.
What Should You Do?
- Avoid updating to watchOS 26 beta 2 or iOS 26 beta 2 if you own a Hermès Apple Watch
- Wait for Apple to fix the issue in future updates
- Already updated? Unfortunately, there is no way to restore your watch to watchOS 11 once you’ve updated to the new beta. You may need to unpair the watch to regain access to the Apple Watch app, but re-pairing may still not work
Final Word
Apple will likely patch this in an upcoming beta, but for now, Hermès Apple Watch users are strongly advised to sit this update out. That sleek leather band doesn’t deserve a buggy OS.
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