How To Pair an Apple Watch [iPhone, Peloton, More…]

Pairing an Apple Watch with your iPhone can make life easier in many ways. For instance, you can answer calls or go through your notifications without taking the iPhone out of your pocket. However, you’ll first need to connect your watch to the iPhone, which can sometimes be tricky.

This article will provide all the information you need to know to pair an Apple Watch with your device.

How to Pair an Apple Watch

There are various ways you can pair an Apple Watch with an iPhone. That’s what makes things somewhat easier, knowing there’s not just one method you can use to connect the watch to your device. Here are several ways to pair an Apple Watch and an iPhone. Choose your preferred method.

How to Pair an Apple Watch to a New iPhone

Before pairing your Apple Watch to a new iPhone, you’ll need to backup your watch. Once you backup your Apple Watch, it will transfer vital information, such as health data, and sync that information to the new phone’s health app, etc. This is how to backup your Apple Watch:

1. Navigate to “Settings” on the currently paired phone.
   
   
2. Go to “Apple ID,” followed by “iCloud,” and verify that the “Health” app is turned on.
   
   
3. Hit the “My Watch” section and tap your Apple Watch at the top of its screen.
   
   
4. Choose the “I” symbol beside the watch you wish to unpair.
   
   
5. Choose the “Unpair Apple Watch” option.
   
   

This will allow you to backup the watch automatically and unpair it from the old phone. After that, you can move on to pairing it up with the new phone. This can be done during your initial phone setup:

1. Make sure that both the watch and the phone have at least 50 percent battery power and a Wi-Fi connection. Keep the devices within just a few inches of each other.
   
   
2. In setting up the new phone, Apple will ask if you wish to use the Apple Watch with the new phone. Hit the “Continue” button.
   
   
3. After this point, the phone will guide you through all the steps necessary to set up the watch. The steps are straightforward, and there should no problem following them.
   
   
4. During the setup process, Apple will ask you to enter or create a passcode. Make sure to do so to ensure the privacy of your information and proper syncing between the devices.
   
   

You can also pair your Apple Watch after the setup of the new phone:

1. Connect the phone and watch to a power source and position them close to each other.
   
   
2. Start the “Watch” on the phone.
   
   
3. Select the “Start Pairing” option.
   
   
4. Once the watch has started pairing to the phone, press the “Restore from Backup” option.
   
   
5. Select which backup you wish to restore. The process might take a while.
   
   
6. Again, start the “Apple Watch” app on the phone and wait until the “Use your iPhone to set up this Apple Watch” notification appears.
   
   
7. Hit the “Continue” button.
   
   
8. Hold the phone over your Apple Watch’s animation.
   
   
9. Choose the “Set up as New” option.
   
   
10. Use your Apple ID to sign in.

How to Pair an Apple Watch Manually

If you’re pairing an Apple Watch manually, you’ll need to locate the “I” symbol in the bottom-right corner of your screen. This will let you see your watch’s name and pair it manually.

However, if you can’t see the “I” symbol, the watch may need to unpaired or erased first. If you can still see the apps, lock screen, or time on the watch, it may still be paired with the phone. Before it can be paired again, it’ll need to be unpaired first:

1. Go to the “Watch App” on the phone.
   
   
2. Press the “My Watch” section, followed by “All Watches” located at the top of the display.
   
   
3. Hit the “I” symbol beside the watch you wish to unpair.
   
   
4. Press the “Unpair Apple Watch” option.
   
   
5. Hit the button again to confirm and wait until the watch unpairs.
   
   
6. Once it’s unpaired, proceed to pair it using the “I” icon

The other option is to erase the watch:

1. Go to “Settings,” followed by “General” and “Reset.”
   
2. Hit the “Erase All Content” option and confirm your decision.
   
3. Wait for the process to complete, after which time you can pair the Apple Watch manually.

How to Pair Your Apple Watch with Peloton

You can even transfer your Peloton workouts to an Apple Watch. Just follow these steps:

1. Start the Apple Watch application on your phone.
2. Start the Workout app
3. Scroll to the “Detect Gym Equipment” option and enable it.
4. Choose a Peloton cycling class. If you select a live class, start pairing the watch when the countdown reaches one minute. If you’re taking an on-demand class, choose your class and press the “Start” button on the menu to enter it.
5. Place the unlocked watch to face the camera’s left atop the touchscreen. The watch will vibrate, and there will be a prompt indicating it is “connecting.” Press the “OK” button to confirm the connection.
6. Hit the “Start” button on your workout. There will be a green symbol at the upper-right corner of the touchscreen that indicates active connection.

Once your ride is over, the watch will automatically disconnect.

How to Pair an Apple Watch Without Updating

You can’t pair your Apple Watch if you haven’t updated the software. Here’s how to do it:

1. Make sure that the watch is plugged into a charger throughout the update process. Also, there needs to be a Wi-Fi connection to complete the update.
2. If there’s a message saying there is an update available, press the “Install Now” button. Alternatively, you can hit “Later” and choose to install the update overnight. In this case, connect the device to power before going to bed, and it will update automatically.
3. Whether you choose to install the update now or overnight, the device may ask you to enter a password. If so, type it in and start the update process.

How to Pair an Apple Watch to Your iPad

Unfortunately, you can’t pair an Apple Watch with an iPad. The watch is primarily designed to pair with iPhones, and it won’t work on an iPad. It isn’t possible to even install the watch app on your iPad, since Apple made sure that the App Store doesn’t show it in the search results on an iPad.

Additional FAQs

Why Is My Apple Watch Not Pairing?

The first thing you should do if your Apple Watch won’t pair with your phone is to check the Bluetooth connection. If you’re not receiving any calls, messages, and notifications on the watch, it might not be connected through Bluetooth to the iPhone. In this case, there will be a red “X” or the red iPhone symbol on the watch’s face. Also, check the connection in the control center.

If the Bluetooth connection isn’t the problem and you can see the green iPhone icon, you can try the following steps to try and pair your watch:

• Keep your phone and watch close together to ensure they are in range.

• Don’t forget to turn on your Bluetooth and Wi-Fi and turn off Airplane Mode (if it’s on) on your phone. If the Airplane Mode symbol (a tiny plane) is on your watch’s screen, it means that it’s turned on. Go to the Control Center and turn off the mode.

• Restart your phone and watch and try to pair the devices again.

How Do You Activate Your Apple Watch?

If you have a Wi-Fi connection, you shouldn’t have too much trouble activating your Apple Watch. This is how you can perform the activation:

• Bring the phone and watch close together. There should be a screen on your phone saying “Use Your iPhone to Set up This Apple Watch.”

• Hit the “Continue” button.

• Press “Start Pairing.”

• When the watch starts showing an animation, hold your phone over the Apple Watch so that the camera can detect the animation.

• Follow the rest of the instructions to complete the process.

Can You Pair an Apple Watch with Android?

Apple doesn’t allow connecting your watch with an Android device. The two won’t work together using Bluetooth, and if you try to pair them, they will refuse the connection.

What Is the “I” Icon on Apple Watch?

The “I” icon appears when you’re pairing your Apple Watch manually. During the process, you’ll see a message on your watch saying, “Bring iPhone near Apple Watch” and the “I” icon in the lower right corner. You can tap the icon to see your watch’s name and pair it with the phone manually.

How to Pair and Unpair an Apple Watch

Here’s how you can pair and then unpair an Apple Watch:

• Keep your phone and watch close together.

• Start the Apple Watch application on the phone.

• If the phone asks you to verify that you want to use the watch, follow the instructions to finish the process.

On the other hand, if the phone asks you to “Start Pairing,” first unpair the watch to set it up later:

• Keep the phone and watch close together while unpairing the devices.

• Open the Watch app on the phone.

• Navigate to the “My Watch” section and press the “All Watches” option.

• Press the “i” icon beside the watch you wish to unpair.

• Press the “Unpair Apple Watch” button.

Phones and Watches Are an Ideal Match

In today’s hectic pace of life, saving even a few seconds can go a long way toward improving your efficiency. That’s where your Apple Watch comes into play.

We’ve given you all the ways to connect an Apple Watch to an iPhone and make some of your daily tasks easier. So, don’t wait a moment longer. Pair your watch with your phone, and you’ll notice the difference right away.