watchOS 8.4 and iOS 15.3 are causing Wallet sync issues for some people

Apple Watch and Apple Pay
Apple Watch and Apple Pay (Image credit: iMore)

What you need to know

  • Some people are reporting issues with Apple Pay and other cards not syncing from iPhones to Apple Watches on the latest software releases.
  • watchOS 8.4 and iOS 15.3 appear to be causing sync issues for some people.
  • The issue will hopefully be fixed in a future release.

A number of people are experiencing sync issues for cards added to their iPhones — they aren't always appearing on their Apple Watch after updating to the latest versions of iOS and watchOS.

Following the release of iOS 15.3 and watchOS 8.4 last week, a number of people are reporting that Apple Pay and other cards added to their iPhones aren't being synced to their Apple Watches. The issue doesn't appear to be a widespread one, but it is one that Apple will need to fix for those affected.

People have been taking to social media and Reddit to report the issues that were first spotted by AppleInsider.

iPhone 12 and Apple Watch Series 3. No coupons/membership cards added on the iPhone have successfully been synced to the Apple Watch since I updated to 8.4 and 15.3. Interestingly enough, removing a card from the iPhone does not seem to sync to the Watch either, but removing a card that exists on both devices on the Watch successfully syncs to the iPhone.

It isn't clear whether this issue is related to the iPhone or Apple Watch updates specifically, but those who have reached out to Apple have reportedly been told that the company is investigating the problem. No information has been given for when impacted users can expect to see a fix, however.

Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.