How to Fix Apple Watch Workout Route Not Showing in the Activity App

Is your workout route not showing in the Activity app on your Apple Watch? 

What separates the Apple Watch from any other smartwatches is its unique features like oxygen and heart rate sensors, always-on display, and wellness applications that track your fitness activities. 

However, it is really annoying if these features decide to not work without any warnings. Recently, there have been reports from several users who are having problems with their workout route not showing in the Activity app on the Apple Watch. 

While there’s no specific explanation or solution to this kind of issue, there are several workarounds that you can try out to fix the problem. Today, we are going to show you a few methods that can effectively fix this kind of issue on the Apple Watch. 

Let’s get right into it. 

 

 

1. Check Workout Summary. 

If initially, your workout route is not showing on the Activity app, you can manually verify if any route was recorded by the app. Check out the guide below on how you can check your workout summary using your iPhone:

  1. On your iPhone, tap on the Activity app to open it. 
  2. Next, tap on the Workouts tab. 
  3. Lastly, if a workout route was recorded, a thumbnail image would appear under the ‘Route’ tab. 

Tap on the thumbnail to view the route in detail using Maps. However, if you’ve verified that the Apple Watch is indeed not recording your workout route, then you can proceed to the next method below to fix the issue. 

 

 

2. Check Wrist Detection. 

Another possible reason for the Apple Watch to not display your workout route is if the wrist detection feature on your watch is disabled. Your Apple Watch might still think that you are not wearing it, which is why it is unable to display your workout route. 

To fix this, make sure that wrist detection on your Apple Watch is enabled:

  1. On your Apple Watch, open the Settings app. 
  2. After that, tap on Passcode

Apple Watch workout route not showing

 

  1. Lastly, inside the Passcode tab, make sure that wrist detection is enabled. 

Apple Watch Always on Display Not Working

 

Now, try to observe if the workout route feature on the Activity app is already working. 

 

 

3. Use the Workout App. 

If you want to record your fitness activities using your Apple Watch, make sure that you use the dedicated Workout app on your watch to keep track of your progress. 

On the other hand, make sure that you also select the proper activity type from the app that somewhat matches your workout. 

For example, if you are going for a run, be sure to select the ‘Outdoor Run’ option and ‘Outdoor Walk’ if you prefer to do so. 

 

 

4. Update Your Apple Watch. 

If your Apple Watch is not working properly, you can always check for a system update that can patch up bugs and issues present on the current version of watchOS installed on your Apple Watch. 

To check for an update on your Apple Watch, follow the steps below:

  1. On your Apple Watch, tap on the Settings app to open it. 
  2. After that, tap on General

General Settings on watchOS

 

  1. Lastly, tap on Software Update. This will prompt your watch to check for any possible updates. If available, follow the on-screen prompts to download and install the update on your watch. 

Once the update is done, use your Apple Watch normally to see if the workout route feature on the Activity app is already working properly.

After tweaking the settings on your Apple Watch, the next thing that you should do is to check the configurations on your iPhone. 

 

 

5. Check Your iPhone’s Settings.

For the next method, what you can try doing next is to enable fitness tracking from your iPhone where your Apple Watch is being paired. 

If fitness tracking is disabled from your iPhone, then your workout route won’t be recorded by your Apple Watch no matter what settings you tweak from your watch. 

To enable fitness tracking on your iPhone, check out the steps below:

  1. On your phone, tap on Settings to open the app. 
  2. After that, go to Privacy and tap on Motion & Fitness

Apple Watch workout route not showing

 

  1. Now, make sure that Fitness Tracking and Health are enabled. 

Apple Watch workout route not showing

 

  1. Once you are done, go back to the Privacy tab and tap on Location Services
  2. Next, ensure that Location Services is turned on and verify that Apple Watch Workout is set to While Using

Apple Watch workout route not showing

 

  1. Lastly, go to System Services and enable Motion Calibration & Distance, WiFi Networking, and Mobile Network Search

Once these settings are applied, go back to your Apple Watch and try to use it as you would to see if the workout route tracking feature is already working properly. 

However, if you are still experiencing issues with your Apple Watch, you can proceed to the next method below to try and fix the problem. 

 

 

If the workout route tracking feature on your Apple Watch is not properly functioning, what you can try doing is to restart any applications related to it which may have encountered a glitch during use. 

For newer iPhones that don’t have the Home button, you can restart apps on your phone by swiping up from the bottom of your screen until the app switcher appears. Now, find apps like Watch, Activity, and Health from the list and swipe it upwards until it is removed from the list. 

 

Apple Watch workout route not showing

 

For older models that still house the traditional Home button, you can open the app switcher by double-tapping the Home button. Find apps like Watch, Activity, and Health from the list and swipe it upwards to stop the app from running. 

 

Apple Watch workout route not showing

 

After closing the applications, open them once again on your iPhone and try to use it together with your Apple Watch to see if the problem is already resolved. 

 

 

7. Restart Your iPhone and Apple Watch. 

As the most common solution for most devices, a simple restart can do a lot in fixing various issues with your iPhone and Apple Watch. It is possible that either your Apple Watch or iPhone encountered a temporary software glitch which causes some of its features to not work properly. 

To restart your iPhone, check out the steps below:

  1. First, locate the Power button of your device.
  2. Next, press and hold the Power button until the ‘Slide to Power Off’ screen appears. 
  3. After that, tap and slide the Power Slider to the right until your iPhone’s screen turns off. 

Apple Watch workout route not showing

 

  1. Lastly, press the Power button once again to turn on your iPhone

To restart your Apple Watch, follow the steps below:

  1. First, press and hold the side button on your Apple Watch until the Power Slider appears. 
  2. After that, drag the Power button to the right until the screen turns off. 

Apple Watch workout route not showing

 

  1. Lastly, press on the side button once again to turn on your Apple Watch. 

Once you are done restarting your device, re-pair them once again and try to use it normally to see if the problem is already resolved. Check out this guide on how to pair your Apple Watch to your iPhone. 

 

 

8. Update Your iPhone. 

Finally, if tweaking your system settings did not work in fixing the issue with your workout route not being tracked by your Apple Watch, what you can try doing is to update your iPhone. 

Since the Apple Watch is synced/paired on your iPhone, it is possible that there are bugs on the current version of iOS installed on your device that causes issues with the Apple Watch. 

To fix this, you can try updating your iPhone to resolve the issue:

  1. On your device, tap on the Settings app to open it. 
  2. Next, click on General

Apple Watch workout route not showing

 

  1. Lastly, tap on the Software Update tab. This will prompt your device to automatically check for any update available. If available, Download and Install the update. 

Once the update is installed, use your device normally together with your Apple Watch and observe if the issue with your workout route not being recorded is already fixed. 

This sums up our guide on how to fix Apple Watch workout route not showing in the activity app. If you come across any other solutions to this specific issue, feel free to share it in the comment section below. We would be happy to give you credit for the solution once this article is updated. 

 

If this guide helped you, please share it. 🙂

 

Author

  • John is a staff writer at Saint and comes from a SAP ABAP development background. He has a Bachelors in IT and has been writing since 2018, with over 500 posts published. He loves to build PCs and has a deep curiosity in understanding how different components and configurations work. John spends hundreds of hours at a time, researching and testing the software and apps, before he proceeds to write about it. LinkedIn X (Twitter) Website

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