Apple Watch Series 9 reboots randomly after WatchOS 26.1 update

Apple Watch Series 9 is randomly rebooting after WatchOS 26.1 update. My model is GPS only.


I've tried unpairing, reset to factory settings with, and then without using a backup. I've uninstalled all third party apps. Even let the battery drain completely (although after 12hs of no charge it was still showing the time and the charge logo when I pushed the side button).


I've had this watch for 1 year and 10 months. I've never experienced this TBH.


Any recommendations?


I'm waiting for a next OS update to see if it fixes it.

Posted on Nov 23, 2025 4:37 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Nov 23, 2025 7:03 AM

Battery health is at 89%. Now, I was able to get a hold of the ips logs. One of them is huge, but I got them analyzed by chatGPT and this is what I got back, so I'm inclined to go get a DFU reflash:


1. The panic log (panic-full…ips)


Even though the raw text is massive and partially truncated in the export, the key line does show up:


AOP PANIC


That’s the big clue.


AOP = Always-On Processor, a tiny low-power co-processor inside the Watch responsible for background tasks like screen-on movement, sensors, sleep tracking, etc.

An AOP panic means:



  • The Always-On Processor hit an unrecoverable error
  • The device had no choice but to reboot


This is almost never caused by an app. It’s usually:


  • A firmware bug in watchOS
  • A corrupted OS image (often after an update)
  • Rarely, a failing sensor or internal hardware fault


2. The OTA update log (OTAUpdate…ips)


This one is super telling.


You’ve got this error:


MobileSoftwareUpdateErrorDomain error 78


Update finish took too long since apply finish event

Translation:


Your Watch tried to finish applying a WatchOS update, got stuck, and basically never completed cleanly.

So your Watch believes it's updated, but at a low level the update process froze or left some parts in an inconsistent state.


That alone can absolutely cause AOP crashes.


3. The reset counter (ResetCounter…ips)


Shows:


  • Reset count: 1
  • No boot faults
  • No thermal shutdowns


That means:


  • The Watch isn’t power-cycling due to heat or battery failure
  • It’s rebooting only when the AOP panics
  • This is not a battery or overheating issue


⭐ My recommendation for you, personally



👉 Unpair → re-pair → monitor for 48 hours.


If the Watch still reboots randomly, then:


👉 Apple Store for DFU reflash.

You’re almost certainly not dealing with a dying Watch.


6 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Nov 23, 2025 7:03 AM in response to Ingo2711

Battery health is at 89%. Now, I was able to get a hold of the ips logs. One of them is huge, but I got them analyzed by chatGPT and this is what I got back, so I'm inclined to go get a DFU reflash:


1. The panic log (panic-full…ips)


Even though the raw text is massive and partially truncated in the export, the key line does show up:


AOP PANIC


That’s the big clue.


AOP = Always-On Processor, a tiny low-power co-processor inside the Watch responsible for background tasks like screen-on movement, sensors, sleep tracking, etc.

An AOP panic means:



  • The Always-On Processor hit an unrecoverable error
  • The device had no choice but to reboot


This is almost never caused by an app. It’s usually:


  • A firmware bug in watchOS
  • A corrupted OS image (often after an update)
  • Rarely, a failing sensor or internal hardware fault


2. The OTA update log (OTAUpdate…ips)


This one is super telling.


You’ve got this error:


MobileSoftwareUpdateErrorDomain error 78


Update finish took too long since apply finish event

Translation:


Your Watch tried to finish applying a WatchOS update, got stuck, and basically never completed cleanly.

So your Watch believes it's updated, but at a low level the update process froze or left some parts in an inconsistent state.


That alone can absolutely cause AOP crashes.


3. The reset counter (ResetCounter…ips)


Shows:


  • Reset count: 1
  • No boot faults
  • No thermal shutdowns


That means:


  • The Watch isn’t power-cycling due to heat or battery failure
  • It’s rebooting only when the AOP panics
  • This is not a battery or overheating issue


⭐ My recommendation for you, personally



👉 Unpair → re-pair → monitor for 48 hours.


If the Watch still reboots randomly, then:


👉 Apple Store for DFU reflash.

You’re almost certainly not dealing with a dying Watch.


Nov 24, 2025 2:02 PM in response to Ingo2711

Well, I took it to one of the official reseller stores and they didn’t find anything specific running diagnostics.


They could take it in for $40 and run some complete diagnostics but they said that most likely I will need a new one and it will cost me almost as much as a new one.


They did offer me advice. That I try to pair the watch with another iPhone because two weeks ago I switched from an iPhone 12 to an iPhone 16.


i’m currently testing the watch paired to an iPhone 15 that my wife has.

Apple Watch Series 9 reboots randomly after WatchOS 26.1 update

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