If you've bought a new iPhone or are planning to buy one, you may wonder how to connect your Apple Watch to a new phone to get yourself up and running again.
While pairing an Apple Watch for the first time is straightforward, there are some additional steps that need to be taken if you want to pair it with a new phone.
As a result, a lot of users find themselves confused when attempting to pair their Apple Watch with a new iPhone after an upgrade. But there's no need to worry, as here's a useful guide that outlines the essential steps to connect your Apple Watch to your new phone.
How to connect your Apple Watch to a new phone
First of all, you must ensure that your old and new iPhones are both connected to Wi-Fi. On top of that, it is important to note that both your Apple Watch and iPhone need to have a minimum of 50 percent battery charge. Lastly, don't forget to have your Apple Watch passcode ready.
Follow these steps after meeting the aforementioned conditions:
- Unpair your Apple Watch from your old phone (Open Watch App > My Watch tab > All Watches > Unpair Apple Watch)
- Open the Watch app on your new iPhone.
- Select the Start Pairing option.
- Tap Set Up for Myself.
- To pair your Apple Watch, follow the given instructions to hold it up to the camera. If the pairing process doesn't begin within a few seconds, you can manually pair the watch by tapping on the dedicated option and then following the instructions provided on the screen.
- Provided that you have correctly backed up your iPhone to iCloud, you can restore from Backup when setting up your Apple Watch. Choosing this option will restore your previous settings. Alternatively, if you decide to Set Up as New Apple Watch, you will not be able to retrieve your previous settings.
- Select the Backup on the next screen.
- Tap Continue.
- Select Agree to accept the Terms and Conditions.
- Create a Passcode if you want to protect your data.
- Re-enter the code.
- Customize the appearance, and you're done.
What to do if you don't have your old iPhone?
If you no longer have your old iPhone or you've erased it, your Apple Watch may still be paired with it. In order to unpair your Apple Watch, you need to follow a few steps. First, erase your Apple Watch.
Then, set up your new iPhone and sign in to iCloud. Next, open the Apple Watch app on your new iPhone and pair your watch with your new device.
After that, try to restore from a backup. Keep in mind that you will lose Activities, Workouts, or settings on your watch that have changed between the last backup and now.
Select the most recent backup if you're prompted to restore from a watch backup. If you don't have a backup, you'll need to set up your Apple Watch as new.
Simply follow the onscreen instructions to finish setting up and start using your Apple Watch with your new iPhone. It may take a few days for all your iCloud data to appear.
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