Apple launched the public beta program for watchOS 7 earlier this week. This is the first time that Apple has launched a public beta of an upcoming release of watchOS for Apple Watch. If you are interested in installing the watchOS 7 public beta on your Apple Watch, follow the guide below.
One major issue with installing the watchOS 7 public beta on your Apple Watch is that you will not be able to downgrade the watch back to watchOS 6 after this. The upgrade is permanent meaning you are going to be stuck with a buggy OS for the next month or so. If you use your Apple Watch for tracking your workouts or other aspects of your health, it would be best to avoid installing the public beta for now.
Installing the watchOS 7 public beta on your Apple Watch will be worth it as watchOS 7 brings tons of new features including new watch faces, new complications, support for new workouts, and more.
Things You Should Know
- Backup all your data stored on the Apple Watch. Installing the public beta won’t wipe your Apple Watch, but backing up important data is always a good option.
- Your iPhone must also be running an iOS 14 beta build otherwise you will not be able to install watchOS 7 on your Apple Watch.
- You will not be able to downgrade your Apple Watch back to watchOS 6 after installing the public beta of watchOS 7.
- Some third-party apps might not work properly on watchOS 7 on your Apple Watch due to compatibility issues.
- VoiceOver currently does not work in watchOS 7 beta so do not upgrade to it if you rely on this feature.
Read: How to Install iOS 14 Public Beta on iPhone
watchOS 7 Compatible Apple Watch
watchOS 7 is compatible with the following Apple Watch versions:
- Apple Watch Series 3
- Apple Watch Series 4
- Apple Watch Series 5
With everything out of the way, you can now follow the steps below to enroll in Apple’s public beta program and install the watchOS 7 public beta on your Apple Watch.
Install watchOS 7 Public Beta on Apple Watch
Since your iPhone is already running iOS 14 beta, you are already a part of Apple’s public beta program. Thus, you need to go ahead and directly install the beta profile for watchOS 7 on your Apple Watch. Here are the step-by-step instructions on how to install watchOS 7 public beta on your Apple Watch:
Step 1: Go to the watchOS tab on Apple’s beta program website via your iPhone and select the Download profile option from under the watchOS 7 tab. You should be prompted to download the profile for which you will need to tap Allow in Safari.
Step 2: With the profile downloaded, go to the Settings app where you will see a Profile Downloaded option. If you do not see the option, just go to Settings > General > Profile. Tap on it and from the pop-up that comes up, tap on Install, and proceed to confirm this by entering your iPhone’s passcode. You will have to tap on Install two more times after this after which the public beta profile will be finally installed on your iPhone. You might be prompted to restart your iPhone during this process.
Step 3: With the watchOS 7 public beta profile installed, open the Apple Watch app on your iPhone and go to the My Watch tab and check for a new software update from under General -> Software Update. The latest public beta of watchOS 7 should show up for download.
Once you have installed the watchOS 7 public beta on your Apple Watch, you will automatically get updates for future public beta builds of the OS as well. Since you are running a beta OS on your Apple Watch, you are likely going to experience some bugs and issues. Make sure to report them to Apple so that they can be fixed before the final public release of the OS.
