Apple Watch for Elderly Parent, Non-Household Member

I would like to buy an Apple Watch for my elderly parent who lives 250 miles away from me. She won't buy an iPhone but would take an iWatch. I would want the medical alert features of an iWatch 7 and presumably the iWatch 8 to work for her. For example, the hard fall feature. So, if I buy a watch and buy a family program line for her watch, will these features work with her having an iPhone?


Posted on Sep 17, 2022 5:05 PM

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1 reply

Sep 21, 2022 8:25 AM in response to NAMREMAZTREBOR

Hello and welcome to Apple Support Communities, NAMREMAZTREBOR,

If we understand your post correctly, you'd like to set up an Apple Watch for a family member who does not not have an iPhone. We’d like to help.


You can set up and manage Apple Watch for someone who doesn’t have their own iPhone, such as your parent. There are some restrictions you'll need to keep in mind:


  1. You must be the family organizer or parent/guardian in your Family Sharing group.
  2. The iPhone you use to initially pair and set up the Apple Watch must be within normal Bluetooth range (about 33 feet or 10 meters) of the Apple Watch to manage settings and update the software. 
  3. The person you set up Apple Watch for must be part of your Family Sharing group and have a cellular-capable Apple Watch SE or Apple Watch Series 4 or later. (Your family member’s watch doesn’t have to use the same cellular carrier as the iPhone you manage it with.)



For more information check out this guide:


Set up a family member’s Apple Watch - Apple Support


Let us know if that resolves this issue for you.


Thanks for using the Apple Support Communities.


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Apple Watch for Elderly Parent, Non-Household Member

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