WearOS H MR2 update resumes for Fossil Gen 5 Watches, Check and update now

Update Fossil smartwatch

Fossil had paused the wearOS H MR2 update for Gen 5 smartwatches in March after releasing it originally in December 2020 due to some glitches.

Fossil Gen 5 users are now reporting seeing a new set of updates for their watches starting this morning. It appears that Fossil has resumed the H MR2 update process. For users who were lucky to get the H MR2 update earlier this year, this new update also has a security patch.

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H MR2 helps with speeding up app launch and boot times by up to 20%, while improving the battery life on the Gen 5. It’s also easier to manage watch modes and the pairing process is now faster.

The final build on the new update is PXE2.201012.032. When Fossil had originally released the H MR2 update earlier this year, the build number was PXE2.201012.009.

Unable to find the H MR2 Update on your Fossil Gen 5? 

If you are unable to locate the new H MR2 update on your Fossil Gen 5, try some of these tips and check if it works for you. The tips were shared by user ‘heresyfnord’ on reddit and appeared to help many users during the original H MR2 update process.

  1. Make sure your watch is set to the “daily driver” battery mode so that it can use Wi-Fi if requiredFossil Gen 5 Battery Modes
  2. Go to the system update and wait for the blue checkmark to show up telling you the system is up to date.Unable to find H MR2 update on Fossil watch
  3. Tap on the blue checkmark, once per second, for about 60 seconds, and see if that works. It should start downloading.Download update for Fossil Gen 5

Tapping the checkmark for 20 – 30 seconds helped most folks. If you are unable to locate the update even after tapping the checkmark, you may need to do it again the next day to see if the update is available on your watch.

Once you have completed updating your Gen 5 to the latest update, you may want to clear the cache and reboot the device for optimal performance.

How to clear cache on Fossil Gen 5

Following the update, you can reboot your watch and see if the battery performance improves. If you still have issues, you may want to clear the cache on your device. Here is how you can do this. 

  • Press and hold crown (middle) and lower button until the Gen 5 shuts down, restarts and buzzes. This puts the device into ‘fastboot’ mode
  • Next, Short press the crown button multiple times until it lists recovery mode at the top in red.restart Fossil smartwatch by pressing middle crown button
  • Long press (2-3 sec) to go to recovery mode. This will make it restart and land you with a “no command” big red circle exclamation mark
  • Press and hold the crown button and swipe up from the bottom of the screen (let go of crown button)
  • Do brief swipes down at the very bottom of the screen. (You can also try the swipe down from the top of the “clear cache partition screen, to see if it works for you). Swipe left or right when wipe cache is selected. Swipe left/right to perform. Select yes, and walk through the steps to reboot.

Please note booting Gen 5 into recovery mode is different now following the update. You no longer need to hold the crown and swipe up to get past “No Command” screen, it goes straight to the menu now. 

If you have not updated your Gen 5 and have been waiting for a while to update in order to get the better battery performance and other improvements, go ahead and check it out. 

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Sudz Niel Kar
I am a technologist with years of experience with Apple and wearOS products, have a BS in Computer Science and an MBA specializing in emerging tech, and owned the popular site AppleToolBox. In my day job, I advise Fortune 500 companies with their digital transformation strategies and also consult with numerous digital health startups in an advisory capacity. I'm VERY interested in exploring the digital health and fitness-tech evolution and keeping a close eye on patents, FDA approvals, strategic partnerships, and developments happening in the wearables and digital health sector. When I'm not writing or presenting, I run with my Apple Watch Ultra or Samsung Galaxy Watch and closely monitor my HRV and other recovery metrics.

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