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Can't update Apple Watch without first updating iPhone

I was using iPhone 7 plus - IOS 11.2.1 and Apple Watch series 1 - watchOS 4.2.3 and everything was fine. Today, I updated my phone to IOS 13.4.1 as a new device, so I lost pairing between my devices. Now when I try to pair, it tells me that i need to update my watch, that's OK, but when i click to update it tells gives me error saying: "to update the software on your apple watch you first need to update the software on your iPhone". My IOS is already the latest version, so I am stuck. I also checked that my device is supported with latest update. (as far as i know i am not able to select OS version for watch but still confirmed that i should be able to upgrade.)


Here are the things I tried:

  • Put my phone to DFU mode and installed IOS 13.4.1 again. not solved. Still says i need to update my phone in order to update my watch.
  • Tried to reset my watch to factory settings. not solved.
  • Tried to turn off on on both devices multiple times. not solved.
  • Tried to pair manually and automatically. none of them worked.
  • Tried to fully charge both devices. Tried to update and pair while charging and not charging.


any ideas to solve my problem?


thank you in advance.



​[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Apple Watch, watchOS 4

Posted on Apr 13, 2020 9:08 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Apr 15, 2020 5:37 AM

Any ideas to help me? There is no update for IOS 13.4.1, so I am up to date. Why I am getting this error?

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4 replies

Apr 13, 2020 9:27 AM in response to Aphrodisian

Try this;

Press and hold both the side button and Digital Crown for about 10 seconds, then release both buttons when you see the Apple logo.Wait a few seconds, then hold down just the side button for about 20 seconds until the “erase all settings” prompt shows up on the screen, then tap on it, then tap on the green check button.

Then try pairing again.

Apr 15, 2020 7:26 AM in response to Aphrodisian

Found this on another forum,it worked for this person,worth a try;

I found a friend, who was on iOS 12 and used his iPhone to pair. Before pairing it asked to upgrade the watch OS (iOS 13 didn't offer this option). After I upgraded the watch OS I unpaired the watch from the ios12 phone and then was able to pair it with any iPhone running iOS 13.

Can't update Apple Watch without first updating iPhone

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