HT204568: Unpair your Apple Watch and iPhone

Learn about Unpair your Apple Watch and iPhone
joelmg
Level 1 (9 points)
Apple Watch

Q: Watch became unpaired.  How do I repair?

I'm overseas on a trip to China.  Evidently my Watch lost power yesterday, although it shouldn't have.  Upon recharging it is fine but no longer paired with my Phone.  Trying to re-pair, I held my watch up to the phone camera as directed, but nothing happened.  Could my Watch now be unable to communicate with my phone for some reason (something is broken in the Watch)?  Suggestions on how to fix?

Posted on Jul 4, 2016 5:45 PM

by Jonathan UK,Apple recommended
Jonathan UK Jonathan UK
Level 7 (31,626 points)
Apple Watch
A:

Hi

 

If your watch is unpaired according to your iPhone, but not according to your watch, follow these steps to re-pair your watch:

 

- On your watch: go to the Home screen (via a single press of the Digital Crown) > Settings (cog icon) > General > Reset > Erase all Content and Settings.

- Re-pair it using the Watch app on your iPhone, choosing to Restore from Backup if the option is offered:

- Set up your Apple Watch - Apple Support

Posted on Jul 5, 2016 12:19 AM

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joelmg

Q: Watch became unpaired.  How do I repair?

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Jonathan UK,Apple recommended

    Jonathan UK Jonathan UK Jul 5, 2016 12:19 AM in response to joelmg
    Level 7 (31,626 points)
    Apple Watch
    Jul 5, 2016 12:19 AM in response to joelmg

    Hi

     

    If your watch is unpaired according to your iPhone, but not according to your watch, follow these steps to re-pair your watch:

     

    - On your watch: go to the Home screen (via a single press of the Digital Crown) > Settings (cog icon) > General > Reset > Erase all Content and Settings.

    - Re-pair it using the Watch app on your iPhone, choosing to Restore from Backup if the option is offered:

    - Set up your Apple Watch - Apple Support

  • by Jonathan UK,Apple recommended

    Jonathan UK Jonathan UK Jul 5, 2016 12:42 AM in response to joelmg
    Level 7 (31,626 points)
    Apple Watch
    Jul 5, 2016 12:42 AM in response to joelmg

    For future reference, there is a difference between your devices being "unpaired" vs them becoming temporarily "disconnected".

     

    If your watch becomes temporarily disconnected from your iPhone via Bluetooth and cannot connect to a known Wi-Fi network at the time, it will show the Disconnected icon on the watch face:

    disconnected.gif

    Such disconnections can be normal, occurring whenever the paired iPhone is unavailable (such as during iOS updates or when your iPhone is out of range).

     

    It is not normally necessary to unpair and re-pair your devices after this happens. They should instead reconnect automatically a short while after being brought close together again. If they do not, keep your iPhone and Apple Watch close by each other and follow these steps until they do:

     

    • Check that both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are enabled on your iPhone:
      • It may help to toggle Bluetooth off and on again on your iPhone (Settings > Bluetooth).
    • Check that Airplane Mode is not enabled on your watch:
      • When viewing the time on your watch, swipe up on the watch face > swipe left / right to the Settings Glance.
        • If the Settings Glance states Connected and the symbol at the upper-right corner is a green phone symbol, then your watch is connected to your iPhone via Bluetooth.
      • If your watch is not connected and Airplane Mode is turned on, tap the button to turn it off.
      • It may otherwise help to toggle Airplane Mode on and off again.
    • Restart both devices, turning both off together, then restarting your iPhone first.

     

    For the best performance from your watch, keep both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi permanently enabled on your iPhone.

     

    If they still do not reconnect, unpair and re-pair your watch by following the steps in my previous reply.

     

    More information:

    If your Apple Watch isn't connected to your iPhone - Apple Support