1. Restart iPhone and Apple Watch
You must begin the troubleshooting process to fix your Apple Watch not connecting or pairing to your phone by simply restarting your Apple Watch and the paired iPhone. To restart your Apple Watch, follow these steps: To restart your iPhone, go to “Settings → General → Shut down” to turn off your iPhone. Wait for a few seconds, then turn on the iPhone again.
2. Keep Apple Watch and iPhone Near Each Other
If you are pairing a new Apple Watch, or your Apple Watch keeps getting disconnected from the paired iPhone, you must keep both of them in close proximity. The further they are from each other, the higher the chance that they will fail to connect or pair.
3. Charge Devices
Both the iPhone and Apple Watch must be charged to at least 50 percent while pairing. If either of the devices has a low battery, you will face issues when connecting the Apple Watch to your iPhone. Tip: you should also try turning Low Power Mode off on your Apple Watch. Also, learn how to maximize the Apple Watch battery.
4. Turn on Bluetooth
Bluetooth must be enabled on both the Apple Watch and the iPhone, otherwise, the watch will disconnect from the phone. To ensure that it’s enabled on both devices, follow these steps:
5. Turn Off Airplane Mode
You also must ensure that Airplane Mode is turned off on your Apple Watch and the connected iPhone. If Airplane Mode is enabled on either of the devices, you will face issues while connecting your Apple Watch to your iPhone. Good to know: Are you frustrated because you’re not getting notifications on your Apple Watch? Read our guide on how to fix it.
6. Update the Apple Watch App
An outdated version of the Apple Watch app on your iPhone could also cause connection issues between the two devices, due to bugs in the older version. Therefore, you must update the Apple Watch app to the latest version.
7. Update iPhone and Apple Watch
Similarly, you must check and update the software of both your iPhone and Apple Watch to the latest versions. If either of the two has an older version, it could conflict with the new version, resulting in connection issues. To update iOS on your iPhone, go to “Settings → General → Software Update.” To update watchOS, open the Apple Watch app on your iPhone. Go to “General → Software update.” Install the update, if available. Tip: when updating the watch software, try using a 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi network instead of 5 GHz, as the Apple Watch Series 5 and earlier only support a 2.4GHz network. Read on to learn about the difference between 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz.
8. Unpair Your Devices
If the Apple Watch is still not connecting to your iPhone, you must unpair it and then re-pair it. To unpair the Apple Watch from the iPhone, follow these steps: Pro Tip: you can try unpairing the Apple Watch by going to “iPhone Settings → Bluetooth,” Tap on the information (i) icon next to your Apple Watch and select “Unpair.”
9. Pair Your Apple Watch to a New iPhone
If you have purchased a new iPhone, and your Apple Watch isn’t pairing with the new phone, you must unpair the watch from the old iPhone first. If you have access to the old iPhone, use the steps mentioned earlier to unpair it from the watch, then pair it with the new iPhone. However, if you don’t have the old iPhone, you must erase the Apple Watch first. Go to “Settings” on your watch, then “General -> Reset -> Erase all content & settings.” Your Apple Watch will be unpaired from the old iPhone. Bring the watch near the new iPhone to pair it. Good to know: once paired, learn how to make custom watch faces for your Apple Watch.
10. Reset Network Settings on iPhone
The Apple Watch not connecting or pairing to your iPhone can be resolved by resetting the network settings of your iPhone. Doing so will restore all f the network settings, like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, etc., to their default values, thus fixing any problem affecting the connection between the Apple Watch and iPhone. To reset the network settings on your iPhone, go to “Settings → General → Transfer or reset iPhone → Reset → Reset network settings.” All images and screenshots by Mehvish Mushtaq.
