How to fix the Weather complication not working on Apple Watch

Learn how to fix the Weather app complication on your Apple Watch when it shows dashes instead of the temperature or weather conditions.

While the Weather app itself works fine, the Weather complication may suddenly stop functioning for some Apple Watch users, showing nothing except for two small dashes (– –).

This guide outlines solutions to resolve this issue on Apple Watch Ultra, Series 10, Series 9, Watch SE, and other models running the latest watchOS.

Check the internet

Make sure your Apple Watch is connected to your iPhone, which in turn has a working Wi-Fi or cellular data connection. If your watch is away from your iPhone, ensure it’s connected to Wi-Fi or cellular data (if you have a cellular model).

Open the Weather app and wait

If the Apple Watch Weather complication isn’t working and only shows two dashes, tap it to open the Weather app. Wait for the app to update and fetch the latest weather details. Then press the Digital Crown to return to the watch face, and the complication should now display the configured information, such as temperature, air quality, conditions, humidity, rain, UV index, or Wind.

Update to the latest version of watchOS and iOS

It’s common for an OS bug to cause this kind of issue. So, update your Apple Watch and iPhone to the most recent available versions of watchOS and iOS and see if this corrects the issue.

Restart your Apple Watch

Restart your iPhone and Apple Watch. After that, wait for one or two minutes for the weather conditions to load. Manually opening the Weather app on your watch should help by fetching the details and showing them on the watch face complication.

Make sure location is enabled on your iPhone

Your Apple Watch uses the same location settings as your iPhone. So, if the Weather app on your Apple Watch is not updating the local conditions, go to iPhone Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services and make sure it’s switched on. Then, select Apple Watch Faces from the list of apps and allow it to use your location. Tap the Weather app and permit it to access your location when using the app or widgets or always.

Set the correct city for the weather app

You may not see the weather details in the first place or get incorrect conditions if your current location or the desired city is not set for the watch face complication. Here’s how to quickly check and fix that.

1. Open the companion Watch app on your iPhone.
2. Scroll down and tap Weather.
3. Tap Default City and choose Current Location (or the city you want).

Note:

• You won’t see the Current Location option if the iPhone Weather app’s location access is set to ‘Never.’
• The cities you see here are those that you have added to your iPhone’s Weather app.

Turn on Background App Refresh

Enabling Background App Refresh will ensure the Weather complication on your Apple Watch face updates in the background with new readings.

1. Open the Watch app on your iPhone and tap General > Background App Refresh.
2. Turn on Background App Refresh if it’s off.
3. Then scroll down the list of apps and make sure the switch next to Weather is green. You can turn off Background App Refresh for other watch apps to save battery.

Reset your location access settings

An earlier version of watchOS had a bug that prevented weather data from showing on an Apple Watch complication. Updating your Apple Watch should have fixed this, but if the problem continues even after following the above solutions, Apple advises resetting the device’s location settings.

1. Open the Settings app on your paired iPhone and choose Privacy & Security.
2. Touch Location Services.
3. Scroll down and hit Weather.
4. Under Allow Location Access, choose Never.
5. Wait for about 20 seconds.
6. Now select the location access setting you had picked earlier. For the most updated weather information, choose “While Using the App or Widgets” or “Always.”

Reset iPhone’s location settings

If the above tip doesn’t resolve the issue, try resetting your locating settings.

1. Open the Settings app on the paired iPhone.
2. Tap General.
3. Scroll down and hit Transfer or Reset iPhone.
4. Tap Reset, followed by Reset Location & Privacy. You may need to enter your iPhone passcode to confirm the action.

If the above solutions still don’t address the issue, you can try toggling between 12-hour and 24-hour time formats by going to iOS Settings > General > Date & Time. Some people claim to have temporarily fixed the problem with this tip.

On a related note:

• How to see the moon calendar on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Watch
• How to show weather conditions and forecast on your iPhone Lock Screen