How to Pair an Old Apple Watch with a New iPhone

So, you just purchased the new iPhone Air or iPhone 17 Pro, but during the transfer process, your Apple Watch didn’t pair with the new device. In this guide, I will show you how to solve this problem. Here’s how to pair an old Apple Watch with a new iPhone.

Pair an Apple Watch with a new iPhone

This guide covers two methods. The first method is for people who still have their old iPhone with them. The second method works even without your old iPhone.

Pair Apple Watch with a new iPhone from an old iPhone

If you can access your old iPhone, follow these steps to pair your Apple Watch to your new iPhone.

1. Launch the Apple Watch app on your iPhone and tap the All Watches button in the top-left corner.

2. Tap the (i) button next to your Apple Watch and scroll to the bottom.

3. Now, tap the Unpair Apple Watch button and confirm on the pop-up.

4. Finally, enter your Apple ID password to confirm the operation.

Now, wait for the unpairing process to finish. It can take anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes. After the Apple Watch finishes unpairing, it will reboot into pairing mode.

5. Bring your new iPhone close to the Apple Watch, and you will see the pairing pop up. Tap the Continue button to proceed.

6. Tap the Set up for Myself button. It will open a scanner on your iPhone.

7. Scan your Apple Watch with the scanner and wait for the pairing process to start.

8. You will get a terms and conditions page, tap the Continue button to proceed.

9. On the next screen, tap Create a passcode for your Apple Watch.

10. Now create the PIN on your Apple Watch.

11. Finally, tap the Continue button on your iPhone and wait for a few seconds.

When you reach the Apple Watch syncing screen, you can exit the Watch app and continue using your iPhone as usual. Your Apple Watch will finish syncing in the background.

Pair Apple Watch to New iPhone without old iPhone

If you have exchanged your old iPhone or sold it to someone before pairing the Apple Watch, you can follow these steps to pair your Apple Watch to the new iPhone.

1. Press the Digital Crown to open the apps list.

2. Now, launch the Settings app.

3. Open the General settings and scroll to the bottom.

4. Scroll to the bottom and tap the Reset button.

4. Tap the Erase All Content and Settings button.

5. Now, confirm with your Apple Watch pin.

After the reset process finishes, your Apple Watch will boot up in the same pairing mode I showed in the first method. Follow the same methods to pair your Apple Watch with the new iPhone.

The drawback of this method is that it will delete all your Apple Watch data. That said, Apple regularly backs up your Apple Watch, so you should see an option to restore from a backup.

That is how you can pair your old Apple Watch with a new iPhone. If you have any questions, drop them in the comments, and I will answer them.