I just got back into iOS / WatchKit development after a ~8 year break. I'm having a really hard time making an app for the watch, because
Simulator is not helping because random things seem unsupported (most recent example being WCSession.transferFile, which apparently is a bug)
On device is not helping because the loop to get it to run on device is completely out of hand, and I was not able to get either logging or debugging to work when running on device. (My main problem is that if I do CMD R in Xcode with my Watch selected as target, it builds, and says running, but never launches the app. If I launch the app manually I find it's not the most recent version. I have to go and remove it from the watch, and re-add it, which then causes Xcode to not be able to run it anymore, which means I have to restart Xcode. What.)
So my question to more experienced devs is: what's your debug cycle when writing Apple Watch apps?
I'm running Xcode 12, watchOS 7.1, on Mac OS 10.15.7 (not Big Sur which may be some cause of issues)
Some steps that help for on device debugging:
To re-install the watch app, select the iPhone app in Xcode and build and run that. This will also re-build and re-install the watch app as needed.
Open the app manually on the watch
I still haven't figured out how to get a debugger or console, but for now my hack is to have a label on the watch that I use as my on device console.
This is almost certainly an Xcode 12 issue. At least since Xcode 12.5 my app has not worked with watch simulator (it can't connect to the phone simulator) and I get no debugger with a real device.
Using Xcode 12.3 seems to work.
There are a few part to this problem:
Running my intents extension scheme on the "Watch App" works fine. I can track the progress in the debugger, great.
But when I run the ap on my apple watch––simulator or real device, and not through xcode––I can't use my voice shortcuts. I get the message "sorry, there was a problem with the app" every time
The shortcuts work on iPhone all the time. Any iPhone, any build, from anywhere
Because this only happens while not debugging, it's very difficult to troubleshoot the issue
So unfortunately this is a pretty broad question: does anyone have any suspicions as to why this is? Any resources to help me troubleshoot this? I've been playing around with it for a LONG time without much success.
I've already tried a few things: switching up the schemes, iOS and watchOS versions, debug/release builds, etc. I'm beginning to think there's actually an issue with my code––my suspicion is that the shortcut is timing out––yet all the optimizations that I've made haven't amounted to any good results.
To give some background on my dev environment, I'm using Swift 4.2 and Xcode 10.1 on a Macbook running the latest version of Mojave. My test devices include a 40mm series 4 watch with watchOS 5.0 and an iPhone X running iOS 12.0.
Then there's the simulators. I've tried every version of iOS 12.* and watch 5.*
EDIT: Also, to clarify, this error occurs in the confirmation phase of my shortcut, not the handle phase.
Problem: I cannot get the Xcode debugger to attach to my new Apple Watch
Hardware:
Apple Watch Series 3 (no GPS)
iPhone 6s
Where it works:
Debugger works fine on the physical iPhone
Simulators work great (both iPhone and Apple Watch)
Things I've tried:
Restarting all three devices (Mac, iPhone, Apple Watch)
Formatting and reinstalling iOS 11 on my iPhone
Unpairing and repairing the Apple Watch (done this 1000 times)
Completely removing all of Xcode and reinstalling from the app store (deleting simulators, sdks--everything)
Other things:
I've made sure to trust this computer
I've started a brand new project just to make sure it's not something in my code.
It shows up in Xcode as a valid target, but when I build it just says "Running App on Jason's Apple Watch." It installs the app, but doesn't start it, and the debugger doesn't hit any breakpoints.
Attempt to attach the debugger manually to the Likely Targets.
XCode -> Debug -> Attach to Process -> Likely Targets -> Your Project
I had this same issue and am uncertain of why this started happening to me. If someone knows how to permanent fix this problem, please feel free to edit this answer.
It started working. Not sure what specific thing it was, but I enabled all the checks in the debugger scheme. Posting in case this helps someone else:
I have a published iOS app and am trying to add a WatchKit extension for it.
For now, all I have is a watch interface.storyboard with a single label just to verify the entire building process. The app runs fine on the simulator (iPhone 6 (8.3)) and the Watch simulator.
When I run it on the iPhone and Apple Watch, it runs on the iPhone, installs on the Apple Watch, but then just displays a wait status when trying to run it on the Apple Watch.
The error in Xcode says "Waiting to attach", and when I try to attach it via Xcode > Debug > Attach to Process, it says "Lost connection to iPhone".
I am using Xcode 6.3.1.
The Waiting to attach message is bothering many people. Here are a few things that you can do:
Build the main iPhone app first, then stop it and build the WatchKit app
Wait some time for the attachment to finish (it can take 20 seconds or so)
I found that tapping the app icon on the Apple Watch sometimes helps to re-establish a lost connection. After tapping the app icon, the app often starts to update. So tap on your Apple Watch app after the message Waiting to attachappears.
If waiting does not help, stop all processes (make sure that the stop button in Xcode becomes gray) and then build and run your code again
Sometimes, restarting Xcode helps to solve problems
Force-quit your app on the Apple Watch as explained here
If that still does not help, deinstall and reinstall your WatchKit extension using the Apple Watchapp on your iPhone
Other things you could try:
Clean your project
Uninstall and re-install your watch app using the Apple Watchapp on your iPhone
Delete your iPhone app from the device
Delete/recreate the target scheme
In the WatchKit app target settings, set "Skip Install" to NO
I discovered that my WatchKit Bundle Names in my info.plist were not consistent. Ensure that the prefixes are exactly correct.
It was really never working for me.
I was able to fix it to remove any specific architectures in the build settings of the app target and leave it to Automatic (remove ARCHS = ... in project file)
Restarting the watch solved this for me.
Press and Hold the side button until you see the Power Off Slider.
Drag the slider to turn off your device completely. (Note it is NOT a button to press)
After you turn off your Apple Watch, press and hold the side button again until you see the Apple logo.
From this Apple Support Page: https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT204510
I was developing a findersync extension for Mac and faced similar issue with XCode 7.2.1 and i found my changing bundle identifier of the extension project, it fixes the issue. I know this is not a permanent solution but atleast it will help you keep going forward if nothing else works
I have the same issue I have already two watch apps in the App Store but the current project with only some Interface objects runs fine in simulator but not on the watch I get only the waiting symbol and then it switch back to the apps screen on the watch.
I found the issue it was a setting of the Build architecture in the build setting. I used Xcode automatic problem solver to change the old project.
Now it works fine.
I have a WatchKit app that runs fine in the Simulator. But when I try to run it on an actual device it never finishes installing and never provides any error message or feedback.
The iOS app installs and runs fine. I bring up the Apple Watch app on the iPhone and it lists the app and shows the correct icon. Selecting that, the "Show App on Apple Watch" switch is on. Underneath it it says, "Installing...". And it stays there.
I can also see the app icon on the Apple Watch. Selecting it just shows the spinning wheel indicator as if it is trying to load.
Things I've tried based on other suggestions I've found here, on the Apple Developer forums, and around the web:
Verified that all app bundle IDs are correct and match.
Verified that the deployment target is iOS 8.2.
Verified that the WatchKit App runs in the simulator.
Verified that my provisioning profile includes my Apple Watch's UDID.
Verified that my Apple Watch shows up as a "Paired Watch" in Devices.
Deleted the app from my phone, and then rebooted my phone, watch, and Macbook before reinstalling.
None of the above work. Any suggestions?
Thanks!
Thomas Aylesworth
A friend who works on the USA Today iOS team, including the Apple Watch app, suggested I go to the project settings for the WatchKit App target and set "Skip Install" to NO. Sure enough, after doing this, I was able to install.
I've found it very useful for reading the iPhone console log. (Not to be confused with crash logs).
Use Xcode --> Window --> Devices -- select your plugged in iPhone, and make sure the log screen lower left arrow is down.
In my case, I had invalid provisioning profile entitlements, which were corrected via the Apple Dev portal, and re-downloading the profiles -- after making sure the entitlements were correctly being set in the WatchKit App Capabilities.
Check Info.plist file. In my experience if there is something added there that is not supposed to be there, it will cause this behavior. I added NSLocationWhenInUseUsageDescription and it caused this same issue.
I have found a similar problem due to my storyboard referencing an image which I later deleted (I no longer actually used it anymore). This gave the symptom of running ok on simulator but not deploying fully on hardware as you are seeing. To exclude this potential problem go through each image view on your apple watch storyboard and look out for the exclamation mark against image view entries.
I had the same problem but for me it actually turned out that the Apple Watch was running a WatchOS version lower than what what I had in XCode. I could not see a runtime warning about this (it just silently failed), but when selecting WatchKit scheme in XCode with device connected there was a small warning about version requirement.
You can also try deleting the watch app on the watch by long tapping on the icon and then you should get the giggle UI with a X on 3rd party apps. You can then delete the watch app and retry the install.
I was getting this error too, and I got it to install, after creating a new project from scratch in the non-beta Xcode, and copying my assets and code into the new project. I had the same problem, and tried everything that people suggested on other posts, without any success, including everything that you listed above.
Apparently, there was something incompatible with the way the project was stored in the beta Xcode, that I had created for the WatchKit app.
Here's what works for me with iOS 8.3 and Watch OS 1.0.1:
Make sure your app is finished installing on your iPhone.
Restart the iPhone by holding down the Home button and Wake/Sleep buttons.
Launch the TestFlight app on your iPhone.
Staying in TestFlight, go to your app's detail page and toggle the Install on Apple Watch to the On position.
Press the Home button on your iPhone to exit the TestFlight app.
Press the digital crown on the Watch to get to the Home screen. An icon for your Watch app should appear and begin installing.
make sure your app support 64Bit, otherwise it cannot run on Watch,just spinning there.
Did you add a custom entry to the of your Info.plist of the WatchKit App
This isn't allowed and it will fail validation and will just sit on Install...
Checkout the device console log for information on it
Yeah, had that problem too.
I deleted the Xcode Beta (and the .dmg) downloaded it again and installed it.
Don't have that problem anymore.
In my case, I disconnect the iPhone and the Mac, reconnect them via data line. Then something appear on my watch, a choice, agree or disagree, agree it. After that, Xcode begin to install symbols for watchOS 2.1:
When this is done, you can check it in Library->Developer->Xcode->watchOS DeviceSupport->Watch1,1 2.1 (13S661)->Symbols
Then I disconnect the watch and iPhone, reconnect it. Now I can install WatchKit App on my watch.
I have followed the answer by #hunterleebrown to see the log and found that the WatchOS version is not updated (i.e. Watch OS version is lower than the required version).
Here is the screenshot [ The log says (4th line): The system version is lower than the minimum OS version specified for bundle at ... ...]:
Then I went to the iPhone's watch app's-->general settings-->Software Update and found the watch OS is not updated (which is obvious). Then I downloaded the update and installed it. Then it worked!
Note: I also tried quitting XCode, restarting iPhone and Watch but didn't work for me.
Press "Trust this device on Apple Watch"
I had the same endless installation issue ending with a Time Out error and I finally fixed it thanks to this answer: https://stackoverflow.com/a/61636074/2854405
I had to:
Unpair my iPhone (from the "Devices and Simulators" screen),
Exit Xcode
Replug my iPhone
Trust the iPhone again when it was prompted
Start Xcode
Rebuild
I also had the same issue.
#SwampThingTom suggestion is good, but it changes the archive format as well size increases too.
In my case, the issue was DER entitlements not working only watch app, mobile app was fine.
Make the changes as per the comment over here This Code Signature is no longer supported when building app on iPhone 12
Upgrade to Xcode 13.1
In my case I resolved this problem when selecting the WatchApp target to creating AdHoc.
So, for example, there is three targets in project:
Demo;
Demo WatchKit App;
Demo WatchKit Extension;
If create AdHoc with Demo target, you will get infinite installation.
If create AdHoc with Demo WatchKit App target, the problem goes away.