How to Pair Apple Watch to a New Phone

After updating your iPhone, you might be unsure about what to do with your Apple Watch. Discover the best way to connect your Apple Watch to your brand new iPhone. Need alternative instructions for connecting a new watch to your iPhone?

Learn how to activate your new Apple Watch, whether it’s the latest Apple Watch Ultra or one of the previous models.

How to Pair Apple Watch to a New Phone

How to Pair Apple Watch to a New Phone

WatchOS 9 doesn’t make it any simpler to manually back up your Apple Watch 8 or any other Apple Watch to iCloud, unlike the greatest iPhones. That’s because backups made on an Apple Watch aren’t actually backups.

The majority of the information used by your watch comes from the iCloud or iTunes backup of the associated iPhone. When your watch is paired with your iPhone over Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, it will automatically upload any new Health or app data it collects to your iPhone (via your phone, iCloud) on a regular basis.

Your Apple Watch will always sync its most recent data to your iPhone without your intervention, but you have no control over when this occurs.

New with iOS 16 – Automatic Transfer for Existing Apple Watch

When iOS 16 is released, the process for transferring an existing Apple Watch from one iPhone to another should undergo a radical overhaul, becoming much more streamlined and user-friendly.

Step 1: Set up your new iPhone and either restore from a backup or use the Quick Transfer feature to move your data from your previous iPhone.

Step 2: Make sure your Apple Watch is on your wrist (with the passcode entered) after setting up your now iPhone.

Step 3: If you just got a new iPhone, your watch should tell you how to connect it.

Step 4: Please select OK.

Step 5: You don’t even need to remove your watch from your wrist; the transfer won’t affect your workout or Ring progress from earlier in the day.

If you’re having trouble seeing this procedure, try these steps:

Step 1: In order to pair a new or old Apple Watch, you can use a backup.

Step 2: Set up the new iPhone first (restore from a backup) if you’re replacing an older model.

Step 3: Start the pairing process by opening the Watch app on your new iPhone (you may also choose to connect your new Apple Watch before uninstalling the old one: If the auto-pair window doesn’t appear, select All Watches > Add Watch.

Step 4: On your Apple Watch, press the power button and search for the pairing sphere code.

Step 5: Select “Restore from Backup” when prompted to do so when setting up your new Apple Watch, and then select the most recent backup.

Step 6: If your most recent iPhone backup isn’t automatically backing up your Apple Watch, you can force it to do so by following the steps below.

Pair New Apple Watch With New iPhone

To link a new Apple Watch with your iPhone, or to use an existing watch as if it were new, follow these steps:

Step 1: Launch the iPhone’s Watch application.

Step 2: In the top left, select All Watches.

Step 3: Make use of the Add to Watch menu option.

Step 4: Just do what it says.

Step 5: You should be able to import the backup from your old watch into the new one.

Step 6: Backup your Apple Watch automatically.

Step 7: If you cannot find a backup to restore from, you may need to initiate one manually.

Step 8: Since Apple Watch backups aren’t automatically created after every iPhone iCloud or Mac/PC backup, here’s how Apple recommends you initiate them:

Force an Apple Watch backup

Launch the iPhone’s Watch application. Select your watch from the list that appears when you select All Watches, then press the “i” in the upper right.

Step 1: To disconnect your Apple Watch from your iPhone, select the Unpair Apple Watch option.

Step 2: To stop using your current Watch, just follow the on-screen instructions.

Step 3: To transfer your data from your old iPhone to your new one, simply create a new backup.

Step 4: To begin the process of pairing your new Apple Watch with your iPhone, launch the Watch app.

Step 5: Turn on your brand-new Apple Watch and look for the pairing sphere code; then, comply with the on-screen steps.

Step 6: Select “Restore from Backup” when prompted to do so when setting up your new Apple Watch, and then select the most recent backup.

Conclusion

In the market for an upgrade from your Series 7 Apple Watch to a Series 8, Ultra, or SE? If you already have an Apple Watch, you can probably just sync it with your new iPhone. Learn the new iOS 16 approach for pairing an Apple Watch with an iPhone without losing any information. Your linked iPhone will automatically save backups of your Apple Watch.

However, there is no option in Settings for backing up your Apple Watch manually or checking the time of the latest automatic backup. If you’re upgrading to a new Apple Watch and want to be sure your old one is backed up, read on. Get it out of the way if you’re planning on upgrading to the iPhone 14 (or any other new model).