new apple watch 6 will not update so I cannot pair to iphone.

When I try to pair my new apple watch 6 with my iphone 6 plus, the watch app says the watch needs to be updated. When I select to update the watch, the app says activating watch then returns to the pairing screen. The watch has a circular pattern that describes the watch but nothing happens. Is the new watch broken (out of the box) or have I missed something?