pairing an "old" Apple watch to new iPhone

Hi Laurel

Follow the process below. If you no longer have your old iPhone: some of the steps will not apply (just skip to the next) and the second step will resolve your problem of not being able to place your watch into pairing mode.

• Unpair your watch from your old iPhone using the Apple Watch app (this will also refresh the watch backup):

  iPhone: Apple Watch app > My Watch > General > Apple Watch > Unpair Apple Watch.

• If you no longer have your old iPhone and did not unpair your watch from it, instead first reset your watch:

  Watch: go to the Home screen (single press on Digital Crown) > Settings (cog) > General > Reset > Erase all Content and Settings.

• Back up your old iPhone via an encrypted method:
  • via iCloud (encrypted as standard) or;
  • via iTunes on a computer - IMPORTANT: choose to "Encrypt iPhone backup", so the backup includes sensitive data (including Health and Activity data, saved passwords, Wi-Fi settings).
  • https://www.apple.com/support/iphone/backup/
• Follow Apple's recommended steps to remove personal information from your old iPhone (you may prefer to only do this after you have verified that all data has been transferred successfully to your new iPhone and back onto your watch):

  What to do before selling or giving away your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support

• Restore your new iPhone from backup:

  Restore your device from an iCloud or iTunes backup - Apple Support

• Pair and set up your watch:
  • Choose to restore the watch from backup when offered the option during set up.
  • This will restore most of your data and settings, with some exceptions (eg Apple Pay cards, passcode).
  • Set up your Apple Watch - Apple Support