Q: Why is it when I leave my iphone in the living room to use the bathroom (which is less than 50 feet away and the next room over), my watch no longer is connected to my iphone??? I am on wifi and have reset my phone and watch, and I've unpaired as wel

Hi

Normal Bluetooth range is around 33 feet / 10 meters. The actual range will vary in practice due to wireless interference (including, for example, due to walls), but you don't necessarily need to have your iPhone on or immediately around you (within arm's reach, for example) for the devices to maintain their Bluetooth connection.

If your watch becomes disconnected from your iPhone via Bluetooth, it will attempt to connect with a known Wi-Fi network as a fallback.

To check the connection status of your watch, go to the Settings Glance:

• When viewing the time on your watch, swipe up on the display, then swipe left / right to the Settings Glance.
• This will state either Connected or Disconnected:
  • If it states Connected and the icon at the upper-right corner is a green phone, then your watch is connected to your iPhone via Bluetooth.
  • If it states Connected and the icon is a green cloud, then your watch is disconnected from your iPhone via Bluetooth, but has instead connected (as a fallback) to a known Wi-Fi network.
  • If it states Disconnected, your watch is disconnected from your iPhone and also is not connected to a Wi-Fi network. The icon at the upper-right corner will be a red phone with a line through it.
    • Under these circumstances, the same Disconnected icon will also be shown at the top of your watch face.
• Swipe down again to return to the watch face.

If your watch does not connect to Wi-Fi in the absence of a Bluetooth connection with your iPhone, try these steps:

• Check that the Wi-Fi network is compatible:
  • Apple Watch can connect to 802.11b/g/n 2.4GHz networks.
  • It cannot connect to 5GHz Wi-Fi or to public Wi-Fi networks that require logins, subscriptions or profiles.
• Make a note of your Wi-Fi network name, the type of encryption that it uses and your Wi-Fi password.
• With your iPhone connected to the Wi-Fi network and with your watch close by and connected to your iPhone via Bluetooth:
  • On your iPhone, go to: Settings > Wi-Fi.
  • Tap on the "i" icon at the right hand side of your current Wi-Fi connection's entry.
  • On the next screen, tap on Forget This Network - allow a few moments.
  • Then, with a short pause in between, disable and re-enable Wi-Fi using the toggle at the top of the Wi-Fi screen.
• Reconnect your iPhone to your Wi-Fi network:
  • Ensure that you connect to a 2.4GHz network.
  • If you have a hidden network (ie the network name / SSID is not broadcast), choose to add the network via "Other", then enter the network name, encryption type and password.
• After your iPhone has reconnected, allow a short time for the information to be shared to your watch.
• Re-test your watch's ability to connect to the network by following the steps in my previous reply.

More information:

About Bluetooth and Wi-Fi on Apple Watch - Apple Support

Note that there is a difference between your devices being "unpaired" vs them becoming temporarily "disconnected".

Once they have been paired, your watch and iPhone will remain paired until they are manually unpaired. However, they can become disconnected or connected (multiple times) whilst still being paired.

Disconnections can be normal, such as when the watch loses the Bluetooth connection with the paired iPhone and no known W-Fi network is available.

They should 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 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.
  • Restart your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support
  • Restart your Apple Watch - Apple Support

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

If they still do not reconnect, only then should you unpair and re-pair your watch:

• Unpair your Apple Watch and iPhone - Apple Support
• Set up your Apple Watch - Apple Support

More information:

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