Re-pair Apple watch after iPhone reset

As Jackie's watch is locked and cannot be unlocked by unlocking the iPhone, Jackie will need to follow the instructions in my reply in order to reset the watch.

I did the same thing! First thing I did was Reset the iWatch information on my phone under General and then deleted, by Reset - under General through the settings icon on my watch. I then started the pairing process again. It had two backups available. I chose the newest one and re-paired it and it worked. Worth a try!

On the watch, you have to go to Settings -> General -> Reset -> Erase All Content and Settings.

After the watch has erased its contents, the Watch App on the phone will be able to pair to it again and you should be presented with the option to restore the watch settings from backup.

How do you reset just the phone application? Mine is in this frozen state where I can't interact with it at all...

Hi Jackie

Connect your watch to its charging cable - with power connected.

Press and hold the side button until you see the Power Off slider.

Force Press (ie more firmly than usual) on Power Off and then tap on Erase all content and settings.

Then re-pair it using the Watch app on your iPhone, choosing to restore your watch from backup if the option is offered.

I should have said reset the iWatch App on the iPhone, not the iPhone itself!

Certainly one way is to reset the watch (from the Settings app on the Watch) - you can then re-pair, but you lose any history unless you were able to restore a backup to your iPhone

I just did the same thing...replaced my iphone 6 and restored from itunes backup but where is apple watch data....what did you find out? Where you able to get the watch back up and running or did you have to reset the watch too...that seems ridiculous!!

Don,t forget to reset the iPhone so that it will re-pair with the watch!

This worked for me as well.

same here, the watch up on my iPhone can only take me as far as asking me to initiate pairing.

butchluna,

i think i may be experiencing the same problem as you and have scoured the web and the community for assistance.

previously, my iphone and watch were paired, had no problems. a couple of weeks ago, i stopped using the watch (have been having a hard time "adopting" it). in the meantime, my iphone got wiped and had to restore it from factory settings (it was terrible and my fault). now, i'm back to trying to use the watch. when i open the watch app on my phone, i'm stuck on the pairing screen (can't reset from the app nor can i delete the app). on the watch itself, i keep getting the message "device locked unlock iphone to start using apple watch". I can of course unlock my iphone, but it doesn't help me - watch doesn't unlock and the app is stuck in pairing mode.

on a side note, i do have a letter/number passcode on my phone due to company policy...not sure if that affects anything.

does anyone have info on how to resolve this ASAP? would like to start using my watch again (or at least try!)

Jackie :

I kept on trying to pair again but it only took me as far as saying that the pairing was unsuccessful and that I should try again. so I got desperate and took the extreme per an advice I got somewhere on this thread. I went to settings>general>reset and chose to "erase all contents and settings" and just start up again (this is after backing up my iphone first on the desktop). after the total reset, I went ahead to "restore" from a backup and did the pairing again. IT WORKED finally but I had to go through the entire hassle of having to download all the apps again. but all my other settings remained intact. now im back to life.

THANK YOU SO MUCH THIS WORKED!!!!!

You are most welcome - glad to have helped! 🙂