Apple Watch Pairing - no pop-up message when I hold my iPhone close to my Apple Watch

I recently updated my Apple Watch to the new iOS 8 and had to repair it to my iPhone XR. I made sure to update my iPhone to the most recent iOS 15 before starting.

After going through the pairing process, I’m at the stage whereby I am being asked in various languages (eg “Approchez votre iPhone de votre Apple Watch”) to hold my iPhone next to my Apple Watch. I have been holding my iPhone next to my watch now for 10 minutes and I get nothing. According to the instructions I should receive a pop-up message to follow the pairing process but I’m getting nothing.

I tapped the “i” to follow the pairing process manually, but last time I did it it restored my watch to factory settings for some reason but I want my watch restored to the latest back up (I was given the option to pick my latest backup which I did).