Apple Watch recovery mode loop

The apple watch 3 GPS only has only 8GB of internal storage, most of that is taken

up by the operating system and other critical software with not much space left for the

update.So installing or even pairing to an ios15 phone is proving nearly

impossible for just about all the watch 3 users on this forum.

same applies to Apple watch 1 and 2 they are almost impossible to either pair or

update with an ios 14 or ios15 phone.

Your best course of action is to call in at an apple store and ask them to pair/update it for you.

I am experiencing the exact same issue. After my iphone was updated to 15.4.1, it was unable to connect to bluetooth devices (both airpods and apple watch). At this same time, my apple watch entered "recovery mode". After erasing and restoring from backup, the iphone was able to connect to the watch to run the recovery mode process. I experienced the same loop where the process would end with being in recovery mode again. At an apple store, they attempted to use a newer iphone to connect to perform the recovery process, but this was unsuccessful. Under a software exception (my apple care has expired at this point), they sent it in for repair, but then decided that since there is some corrosion around the port and damage to the microphone, they would not bother with fixing the software issue. I was told I can buy a new watch or get my inoperable watch back.

All this to say, if you find a work around, I would be very interested in hearing it. At the moment, I have not found a fix, and Apple Support has decided that they have no interest in restoring issues related to software problems they create.