Do you want to downgrade watchOS 9 to 8? If you’ve installed the early versions of watchOS 9 Beta, that’s no surprise. They’re filled with bugs and lack in performance.
Unfortunately, as mentioned in our watchOS 9 Beta download article, you can’t downgrade from watchOS 9 to watchOS 8. In fact, you can downgrade from any watchOS version to an earlier one!
Unlike iPhones and iPads, Apple Watches can’t be connected to computer. Because of this they can’t be restored with the help of Finder or iTunes. At least not by you, at home.
How To Downgrade watchOS 9 to 8
The good news is that there is a way to downgrade Apple Watch from watchOS 9 to watchOS 8, however you can’t do it yourself.
Apple service departments or authorized Apple repair shops might be able to downgrade watchOS 9 manually. This means that you have paid them a physical visit or ship the Apple Watch to them.
A downgraded watch should return with the current watchOS 8.6 version.
Fact: If you downgrade Apple Watch be aware that you also beed to downgrade iOS 16 to 15 on the paired iPhone!
Can’t Downgrade watchOS 9?
If it’s too complicated for your to bring your device to an Apple Store, don’t panic. Assuming that you haven’t installed watchOS 9 beta on your main device, just wait it out.
Apple frequently releases refined watchOS 9 beta versions that come with better performance and less bugs. Follow us as we will review them all. The public watchOS 9 release is scheduled for this fall (mid September). So, in a couple of months you will be back in business!
Have you managed to downgrade from watchOS 9? How long did it take until it was fixed at the repair shop? Did you pay any fees? Use the comments section and share your experience. Help other decide whether if they should attempt an assisted downgrade or wait out until the public release.
Related: You might also be interested in how to downgrade macOS Ventura!