The occasional risks associated with downloading beta releases have been highlighted by Apple’s decision on Wednesday to pull the watchOS 11.1 beta 3 update following user reports that it had bricked their Apple Watch. The company took the decision just hours after releasing it to developers for testing.
A MacRumors reporter noted the development in a post on X (formerly Twitter), revealing that Apple had pulled watchOS 11.1 beta 3 update after users on various online forums started complaining about their watches “locking up” until they were rebooted, though in some cases even rebooting was met with limited success.
A comment spotted on Reddit by 9to5Mac said that after installing the beta software, their Apple Watch was “completely locking up every single boot.” It continued: “I hold the side button and crown to restart it, it reboots, and not even a minute later is completely frozen. Time won’t update, nothing. It happened right when someone had text me and it’s nonstop since. It’s currently locked up for the 7th time and it just started 15 minutes ago.”
It’s not the first device to experience problems with new Apple software. The company recently pulled HomePod Software 18.1 beta 2 over bricking concerns, and even paused access to iPadOS 18.0 (which wasn’t a beta but a full public release) for M4 iPad Pros following similar bricking reports.
The latest development is a reminder to always tread carefully when it comes to downloading beta software, regardless of whether it’s from Apple. While the Apple Watch beta is for developers to test, Apple often releases a public beta prior to a full public release, and even these will likely have some disruptive bugs.
The general advice is to avoid installing beta software on a device that you rely on for daily use. Indeed, on its website, Apple reminds folks that beta software often contains bugs and the whole point of offering it as a download is so that it get can get feedback to squash those bugs.
“Please note that since the beta software has not yet been commercially released by Apple, it may contain errors or inaccuracies and may not function as well as commercially released software,” the company says, adding, “We strongly recommend installing on a secondary system or device, or on a secondary partition on your Mac.”