I cannot pair my Apple Watch to my iPhone and I have tried everything. What should I do???

I unpaired my Apple Watch yesterday because I was having issues with it, and then when I wanted to pair it again it wouldn’t allow me.

iPhone 13

Posted on Sep 3, 2023 10:46 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Sep 4, 2023 12:26 AM

Did you put in your sister's apple ID password to unpair it?

Then check you have no other sports watches like Fitbit that are paired to your iPhone  


Then force restart the watch. i.e. press and hold both the side button and Digital Crown for at least 10 seconds, then release both buttons when you see the Apple logo. 


Then while the watch is restarting Force Restart the iphone  


Force restart iPhone - Apple Support 


Then in the iphone, Settings, General, Transfer or reset iphone, Reset, Reset network settings


Then reconnect the iPhone to Wi-Fi.


Make sure you have no VPN or VPN based adblocker in the iphone in Settings, General, VPN & Device Management.


Then, if you have a home router, tun it off and turn it on again. 


Try again to pair the Watch. 


If still unsolved I recommend reviewing the steps in the articles below 


If you see 'Unable to Verify Update' when updating Apple Watch - Apple Support


How to pair your Apple Watch with a new iPhone - Apple Support


If you can't pair an Apple Watch with your iPhone - Apple Support  


If your Apple Watch isn't connected or paired with your iPhone - Apple Support


Series 3 2 or 1


If you have iOS16 or later on the iphone, series 1 to 3 Watches are difficult to pair because of relatively low storage but…


Ensure the iphone is on iOS16.4 or later.


Erase the Watch completely. Put your watch on its charger and keep it there until you complete these steps. (select the watch OS version) Erase Apple Watch – Apple Support (UK) 


When pairing do not try to restore the backup, pair as a New Watch Set up your Apple Watch – Apple Support (UK)






3 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Sep 4, 2023 12:26 AM in response to keannact

Did you put in your sister's apple ID password to unpair it?

Then check you have no other sports watches like Fitbit that are paired to your iPhone  


Then force restart the watch. i.e. press and hold both the side button and Digital Crown for at least 10 seconds, then release both buttons when you see the Apple logo. 


Then while the watch is restarting Force Restart the iphone  


Force restart iPhone - Apple Support 


Then in the iphone, Settings, General, Transfer or reset iphone, Reset, Reset network settings


Then reconnect the iPhone to Wi-Fi.


Make sure you have no VPN or VPN based adblocker in the iphone in Settings, General, VPN & Device Management.


Then, if you have a home router, tun it off and turn it on again. 


Try again to pair the Watch. 


If still unsolved I recommend reviewing the steps in the articles below 


If you see 'Unable to Verify Update' when updating Apple Watch - Apple Support


How to pair your Apple Watch with a new iPhone - Apple Support


If you can't pair an Apple Watch with your iPhone - Apple Support  


If your Apple Watch isn't connected or paired with your iPhone - Apple Support


Series 3 2 or 1


If you have iOS16 or later on the iphone, series 1 to 3 Watches are difficult to pair because of relatively low storage but…


Ensure the iphone is on iOS16.4 or later.


Erase the Watch completely. Put your watch on its charger and keep it there until you complete these steps. (select the watch OS version) Erase Apple Watch – Apple Support (UK) 


When pairing do not try to restore the backup, pair as a New Watch Set up your Apple Watch – Apple Support (UK)






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I cannot pair my Apple Watch to my iPhone and I have tried everything. What should I do???

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