Cannot pair my Apple Watch with my new iPhone.

Question

Cannot pair my Apple Watch with my new iPhone.

My Apple Watch was paired with my old iPhone. I unpaired it (right now the old phone says "If you have an Apple Watch, you can pair it with your iPhone here"). I try to pair my Apple Watch to my new iPhone and will will not pair? If I look at the settings in my Apple Watch it still shows all the old iPhone info. What do I need to do to get the Apple Watch to pair with the new iPhone. FYI: all 3 are on the latest versions, all 3 are fully charged, and the WiFi signal is strong).

iPhone SE, iOS 26

Posted on Dec 21, 2025 6:49 AM

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Answer 1

Carol B.

Level 6

18,387 points

Dec 21, 2025 7:09 AM in response to HAPPYBEANCOUNTER

I know you say that all devices are on the latest versions but which version Apple Watch do you have? What is its Watch OS?

These Apple Watches show compatibility with an iPhone on iOS 26.

Copied from: Apple Watch and iPhone compatibility - Apple Support

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Answer 2

LD150

Level 10

103,332 points

Dec 21, 2025 3:23 PM in response to HAPPYBEANCOUNTER

"If I look at the settings in my Apple Watch it still shows all the old iPhone info."

It appears you did not unpair the watch from the old phone. No way you can even look at settings on your watch in an unpaired state. It should show a picture of a watch and a phone next to each other.

Unpair and erase your Apple Watch – Apple Support (UK)

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Answer 3

Dec 22, 2025 6:52 AM in response to LD150

I am aware of that - I did unpair it. Right now it says I can pair a new watch on the old phone - there is no way to unpair it again.

Also, I got an email that says Find My has been disabled on LYNNE’s Apple Watch.With Find My disabled, this device can no longer be located, placed in Lost Mode, or remotely erased using icloud.com/find or the Find My app.

This is why I am stuck.

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Answer 4

Dec 22, 2025 6:54 AM in response to Old Toad

I was afraid to do that - it says it will wipe all contents & I just want to make sure I am not locked out from re-pairing it to the new phone if I do this. I did get this email: Find My has been disabled on LYNNE’s Apple Watch.With Find My disabled, this device can no longer be located, placed in Lost Mode, or remotely erased using icloud.com/find or the Find My app. So maybe I will be ok if I reset the watch?

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