Updating/upgrading Apple Watch
To make sure that your Apple Watch has the latest bug fixes and security updates installed, make sure to keep your Apple Watch up to date. If you don't update regularly, or when you have not used your Apple Watch for a prolonged period of time, it could be that your iPhone gives a notification: ' update apple watch" You will need to update the watch in order to keep syncing data between your iPhone and your watch.
Eligible models
The Apple Watch series 0 (original model) cannot update further then watchOS 4
The Apple Watch series 1 cannot update further then watchOS 6.3
The Apple Watch series 2 cannot update further then watchOS 6.3
The Apple Watch series 3 and above are compatible with the latest version of watchOS watchOS 8.7. For the series 3, there is a specific watchOS version that fixes a particular bug: watchOS 8.7.1
The Apple Watch series 3 cannot update further then watchOS 8.7.1
Apple Watch 4 and higher (including Apple Watch SE) are compatible with watchOS 10, current release watchOS 10.4
Problems that might occur during the actual upgrade/update
The first problem I want to talk about is what to do when your Apple Watch is stating that there is not enough space to update the watch. For the Apple Watch series 3 and below, the only thing you can do is follow these steps to un-pair your watch and after that updating it again
- Keep your Apple Watch and iPhone close together as you unpair them.
- Open the Watch app on your iPhone.
- Go to the My Watch tab and tap your watch at the top of the screen.
- Tap the info button
next to the watch you want to unpair. - Tap Unpair Apple Watch.
- For GPS + Cellular models, choose to keep your mobile plan.
- Tap again to confirm. You may need to enter your Apple ID password to disable Activation Lock. Before erasing all content and settings on your Apple Watch, your iPhone creates a new backup of your Apple Watch. You can use the backup to restore a new Apple Watch.
Next, set up your Apple Watch with your iPhone. When asked whether you want to set up as new or restore from a backup, choose to set up as new. Then follow the on-screen instructions to finish setup. If you want to update to the watchOS beta, reinstall the beta profile after setup is complete.
Finally, update your Apple Watch.
For the Apple Watch series 4 or later, including Apple Watch SE, you can first try to remove media or apps to see if you can get some space free with this. If this is not the case, you should follow the above steps to unpair and erase your watch and set it up as new before running the update.
If you're getting a message that you're not connected to wifi when trying to update your Apple Watch from your iPhone, please try and update from your watch itself. This is only possible if you're running watchOS 6 or later.
If your Apple Watch has watchOS 6 or later, you can install subsequent updates without your iPhone:
- Make sure that your watch is connected to Wi-Fi.
- On your watch, open the Settings app.
- Tap General > Software Update.
- Tap Install if a software update is available, then follow the onscreen instructions.
If you need further help with updating
First, make sure that your watch is connected to the charger and is charged 50% or more
Restart your Apple Watch and try the update again .To restart, hold the side button until you see power off, and then drag the slider. To turn the watch on again, press the side button until the Apple logo appears
After that, you can try to restart your paired iPhone and try the update again.
If the update won't start, open the watch app on your paired iPhone, go to general>usage>software update>then delete the downloaded update file. You can then try and update your watch again.
Doing the actual update
There are 2 ways to update your Apple Watch. One method is using the paired iPhone to download and install the update.
To update you apple watch manually via the watch app on the paired iPhone, follow this steps
- On your iPhone, open the Apple Watch app, then tap the My Watch tab.
- Tap General > Software Update.
- Download the update. If asked for your iPhone passcode or Apple Watch passcode, enter it.
- Wait for the progress wheel to appear on your Apple Watch. It could take from several minutes to an hour for the update to complete.
Leave your Apple Watch on its charger while the update completes. Don't restart your iPhone or Apple Watch, and don't quit the Apple Watch app. When the update completes, your Apple Watch restarts on its own.
The other method to update is only available when running watchOS 6 or later. With this method, we're going to update the Apple Watch directly from the watch itself
- Make sure that your watch is connected to Wi-Fi.
- On your watch, open the Settings app.
- Tap General > Software Update.
- Tap Install if a software update is available, then follow the onscreen instructions.
Leave your Apple Watch on its charger while the update completes, and don't restart your Apple Watch. When the update completes, your Apple Watch restarts on its own.
A little word about watchOS 9 compatibility
According to the site of watchOS 9, watchOS 9requires an iPhone 8 or later with iOS 16 or later and one of the following Apple Watch models
- series 4
- Series 5
- series 6
- series 7
- SE (2020 and 2022)
A little word about watchOS 10 compatibility
For watchOS 10, the same models will be compatible as for watchOS 9. But beware, to pair a new watch to your iPhone that is running watchOS 10, your iPhone needs to run iOS 17!
As you can see, the Apple Watch series 3 will have NO watchOS 9 compatibility. That one, is due to hardware limitations, stuck on watchOS 8.