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User profile for user: AMeRiKaNoS88
AMeRiKaNoS88 Author
User level: Level 1
4 points

Apple Watch will not update to pair

I am trying to pair an apple watch series 2 to my iPhone 12 pro max but during the pairing process it says that the apple watch needs to be updated. When i attempt to continue it says it is up to date on watchOS 3.1 and remains on that screen with the only option to exit the pairing process and reset the watch. This issue has been around since ios 13 and still persists and is yet to be fixed. The only solution is to connect to an older ios version and update the apple watch to the latest version for the series 2 of watchOS 6 then connect it to my phone. I have tried all other recommendations multiple times but nothing works. Iphone on lates ios 15.4.1, reset and restarted both devices, reset network connections on iphone, tried different wifi connections and 5G and more but nothing works. Everyone from what I see is encountering the same issue with newer ios versions with older apple watchOS and works if updated from an older device, then unpair and pair to the new phone. This issue has existed since ios 13. APPLE PLEASE FIX THIS FINALLY. ITS BEEN YEARS

iPhone 12 Pro Max

Posted on May 4, 2022 10:44 AM

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User profile for user: Community User
Community User

Posted on May 5, 2022 1:51 AM

It's technically possible to pair a watch 1 or 2 to a newer phone,but in reality this is proving almost impossible for just about all the 1&2 owners on this forum.

Newer phone's require the watch to have updated hardware to cope with ios15 and unfortunately because of the age of these watches the hardware is very limited to what it can do.

Then there is the subject of storage,these watches have very little storage space and the average software update now requires gigabytes of space rather than megabytes and again these watches are very limited with the amount of storage space they have.


It is recommended that even a watch 3 should be unpaired and repaired in order to free up enough space to update.

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply
User profile for user: Community User
Community User

May 5, 2022 1:51 AM in response to AMeRiKaNoS88

It's technically possible to pair a watch 1 or 2 to a newer phone,but in reality this is proving almost impossible for just about all the 1&2 owners on this forum.

Newer phone's require the watch to have updated hardware to cope with ios15 and unfortunately because of the age of these watches the hardware is very limited to what it can do.

Then there is the subject of storage,these watches have very little storage space and the average software update now requires gigabytes of space rather than megabytes and again these watches are very limited with the amount of storage space they have.


It is recommended that even a watch 3 should be unpaired and repaired in order to free up enough space to update.

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Apple Watch will not update to pair

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