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User profile for user: spookymay53
spookymay53 Author
User level: Level 1
6 points

Pairing new phone

Just purchased new iPhone 14 pro and transferred all data and apps. However now my phone is unable to "pair" with my apple watch. When I go to the watch app on new phone and hit My Watch it does NOT have all watches at top left as ALL the instructions say it will. It just has at bottom Pair New Watch or Pair Existing Watch. Neither of these options does anything except to say UNABLE to Connect to Apple Watch. The old phone has now been wiped and is being boxed to send back to Apple. Just a side complaint, Invariably the fixes offered online and by apple don't correspond to the problem at hand. You folks are my only reliable resource for help.


Apple Watch Series 7, watchOS 9

Posted on Feb 16, 2023 8:32 AM

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3 replies
User profile for user: Tesserax
Tesserax
User level: Level 10
152,103 points

Feb 16, 2023 9:07 AM in response to spookymay53

You're very welcome! ... and I believe you are right. It's been awhile since I got a new iPhone, so I reviewed the following Apple Support article for the step-by-step to setting up a new iPhone ... and it DOES NOT include a step to unpair the Apple Watch.


Ref: Set up your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support


Just for reference for next time:


Before you begin

  • If you have an Apple Watch and you got a new iPhone, unpair your Apple Watch from your previous iPhone before you set up your new device. Unpairing automatically backs up your Apple Watch so you can restore it after you pair with a new iPhone.


Ref: Transfer data from your previous iOS or iPadOS device to your new iPhone or iPad - Apple Support


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User profile for user: Tesserax
Tesserax
User level: Level 10
152,103 points

Feb 16, 2023 8:36 AM in response to spookymay53

spookymay53 wrote:

Just a side complaint, Invariably the fixes offered online and by apple don't correspond to the problem at hand.

Just to make sure. Did you also follow the instructions in the support article you arrived here from? It has a section, titled: If you don't have its paired iPhone, erase your Apple Watch. These would be the steps to take in this case.


FWIW. When setting up a new iPhone, there should have been a step that "warns" you that you need to unpair an Apple Watch before proceeding. Did you not see this?

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Pairing new phone

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