After spending your money on an apple watch, the last thing you need is a problem operating it, starting with pairing it with your iPhone. And this is a common problem faced by most Apple watch users. ‘Why is my Apple watch not pairing‘ has become a trendy question in many smartwatch forums. What might be the problem?
Your Apple Watch might not be paired because of a software issue (solvable) or a hardware problem (requires technical help), though it’s rare. The most common issue is the connectivity issue between the Apple Watch and your iPhone. Another culprit could be wireless settings on the iPhone that aren’t correctly configured.
Those are only a few of the many reasons you’re having issues trying an Apple watch pairing with your iPhone. This post explores these and a few more problems causing the pairing issue and how to solve them.
Why is My Watch Not Connecting to My Phone?
The main culprit here is the connection problem that you can solve by reestablishing a connection between your Apple Watch and your iPhone.
Ensure your Apple Watch and your iPhone are next to each other. If they are too far, the pairing could be impossible.
Open the control center of your iPhone by dragging the screen up. Before doing anything else, make sure the iPhone’s plane mode is set off. The airplane icon inside a circle should be clear when disabled.
Next, make sure Bluetooth is on by making sure the circled icon looks like a capital B has some color. It can be any color, depending on your theme.
Not able to see the “i” icon on Apple Watch?
If your Apple Watch isn’t automatically pairing, you should try it manually. Where is the “i” icon on the apple watch for pairing? The step requires you to tap the “I” icon. If you do not see it, you troubleshoot the issue by unpairing or erasing it first.
Before you can do this, you have to ensure your watch isn’t paired. If you still see the lock, time, app, or screen on your Apple Watch, it might still be paired with your iPhone.
Unpair your Apple Watch from your iPhone before attempting to pair it again. You can also reset or erase it. If your apple watch still can’t connect, unpair your devices, then pair them again:
How to Unpair an Apple Watch with a Phone
- Open your Watch’s app on your iPhone.
- Tap the ‘My Watch’ tab and the ‘All Watches’ at the screen top.
- Now tap the “I” icon. But where is the ‘I’ icon on the phone?
- It’s next to the Apple watch you’re trying to unpair.
- Next, you can tap ‘Unpair Apple watch.’
- Confirm, and you’ll have unpaired your Watch.
- You can now retry the pairing.
How to Reset Apple Watch
- Go to the Settings app on your Apple watch.
- Tap “General” then “Reset”.
- Tap the ‘Erase All Content and Settings’ option and confirm.
- Wait for your watch to restart and then unpair from your iPhone.
- When done, you can try to pair them again.
How to pair Apple Watch manually
If you get stuck in the pairing animation for several minutes, the best solution will be to reset the Watch.
- While the Apple watch is in the pairing mode, press and hold its Digital Crown.
- Tap the ‘Reset’ option when it appears on the watch screen.
- Once it’s done resetting, you can pair it again.
If you’re facing the ‘Apple watch not pairing after update‘ problem, you could try the rest method, especially if you’re getting stuck in the animation.
However, if this doesn’t work, you will have to reset it back to the factory setting. That would clean everything, including the update.
If your Apple Watch couldn’t pair with your iPhone, you can try pairing it manually and see its name; you will need to tap the ‘I’ icon. Where is the “I” icon on the apple watch for the pairing? You can find it in the lower-right corner of the watch screen.
If your Apple Watch won’t pair even after resting, then the problem is, it won’t pair without an update. Check the Apple watch’s app on your phone, go to update, and confirm. If the previous update failed, your problem might be there. Try another update, and this time, make sure it is successfully updated.
Why is My Apple Watch Not Syncing with iPhone?
The problem could be a configuration mismatch that you can solve by restarting both your Apple Watch and iPhone before pairing them.
How to Restart Your Apple Watch
- Start by pressing and holding the side ‘power on’ button until the ‘Slide to Power Off’ slider appears on the watch display.
- Drag it to the red button (right) to shut off your Watch.
- Once it’s off, wait for some seconds and press and hold the side button.
- Wait until the Apple logo appears, indicating your Watch is restarting.
How to restart your iPhone
- Suppose you’re using an iPhone X or above, press and hold the side button and either of the volume buttons. The ‘Power Off’ slider will appear. Slide it to your right, and the phone will turn off.
- Once it’s off, press the side button again, this time alone, to restart the device. If the Apple logo appears, then the device has restarted successfully.
- If your iPhone is a 6th, 7th, or 8th generation, press and hold the side button alone until its “Power Off” slider comes up. Slide it to your right, and the phone should shut down.
- Now, press and hold the side button once more until the Apple logo appears. You can now wait for the phone to restart entirely.
- Once you have restarted both devices, you can now retry pairing them up.
Final Verdict!
The main culprit for the Apple watch not pairing is the connection problem between it and your iPhone. If you solve that, your Apple Watch will be able to pair again. However, that isn’t the only cause. It can also be a misconfigured setting that requires a restart, unpairing, or a reset. If that doesn’t work, then you might be dealing with a hardware problem. The good news is, a technician can help solve the problem. And the best news is, if you’re still under the Apple Watch warranty, the AppleCare+ package can help you out.
