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I have watch series 6 and iphone 7 Plus. I want to upgrade to WatchOS 9

  1. I have a watch series 6 on OS 8 and iphone 7 plus on iOS 15. when i try to update my watchOS to 9 from Apple Watch it gives me error "Unable to check for update, An error occurred while checking for a software update". Please guide how to update Watch OS to 9?
  2. can i pair Watch series 6 on OS 9 with iphone 7 plus?

iPhone 7 Plus

Posted on Sep 13, 2022 1:15 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Sep 15, 2022 12:14 PM

Ashrafjk - u CAN'T update the iPhone 7 Plus to iOS 16. Max is 15.7.1. If you need to update your Apple Watch to WatchOS 9, you'll need iOS16. Which means you'll need an iPhone from iPhone 8 onwards. Or the latest and greatest iPhone 14 - Pro or otherwise. My Apple Watch 6 is only @2 years old, but since it can't be updated to WatchOS 9 - since I have the same iPhone 7 Plus as u - it can thus be considered as 'obsolete.'


13 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Sep 15, 2022 12:14 PM in response to Ashrafjk

Ashrafjk - u CAN'T update the iPhone 7 Plus to iOS 16. Max is 15.7.1. If you need to update your Apple Watch to WatchOS 9, you'll need iOS16. Which means you'll need an iPhone from iPhone 8 onwards. Or the latest and greatest iPhone 14 - Pro or otherwise. My Apple Watch 6 is only @2 years old, but since it can't be updated to WatchOS 9 - since I have the same iPhone 7 Plus as u - it can thus be considered as 'obsolete.'


Sep 16, 2022 10:24 AM in response to Ashrafjk

Yes, you can, Ashrafjk. Once you have an iPhone on iOS16, you can pair it to your Apple Watch, and upgrade your Apple Watch to WatchOS 9, and thereafter, pair the Apple Watch with your iPhone 11 again. However, I'm not sure if the Apple Watch, AFTER upgrading to WatchOS 9, will automatically unpair from your iPhone 7 Plus that's still on iOS 15.7.1.


But, from what I can tell, the procedures are as follows:

  1. Unpair your Apple Watch (on WatchOS 8) from your Apple 7 Plus (on iOS 15.7.1)
  2. Pair your Apple Watch (on WatchOS 8) to your iPhone 11 (that MUST BE on iOS 16)
  3. Update your Apple Watch to WatchOS 9.


Thereafter, once the above processes have been complete, you should be good to go.


Let me know how it turns out.


Regards.


Sep 13, 2022 10:04 AM in response to Ashrafjk

I tried updating my iPhone 7 to IOS 16 today (and it downloaded the new version, etc) but apparently did not install it because v16 is only for iPhone 8 and later. But when I try to update my Apple Watch Series 7 to WatchOS 9, I'm given a message "To update the software on your Apple Watch, you need to update the software on your iPhone." So, Catch22, I can't get the new WatchOS until I update the software on my iPhone, but I can't update my iPhone 7 to IOS 16.

Is there any other way to update my Apple Watch's OS?

I have watch series 6 and iphone 7 Plus. I want to upgrade to WatchOS 9

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