How to Connect a New Apple Watch to an iPhone in iOS 16

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You received the new Apple Watch 8, Ultra or SE and you want to transfer the data from your old watch to your new iPhone, then follow the guide to pair a new Apple Watch with the new process included in iOS 16, including the plan cellular. Ditto if you have a new iPhone and want to pair it to your current watch.

Apple Watch Backups

Apple Watch backups happen automatically and are saved on the iPhone your Apple Watch is Paired with. However, there’s no place in Settings to manually back up your Apple Watch or see when the last auto-backup occurred.

Please note that Apple notes that certain items are not included in Apple Watch backups: Bluetooth pairings, credit or debit cards used for Apple Pay, Apple Watch passcode, and Messages.

This tutorial from our “Easy iPhone” section applies to all watches sold by Apple, from the Apple Watch 8 to the Apple Watch Ultra, including the Apple Watch SE and the Apple Watch 7 (up to the Series 4). Similarly, you can track it with an iPhone 14 Pro, such as an iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 12 or iPhone X, it does not change the procedure.

apple watch iphone 14 pairing tutorial

How to pair the Apple Watch with a new iPhone

A new process provided by iOS 16 should allow you to transfer an existing Apple Watch from your old iPhone to your new phone.

  1. Set up your new iPhone and restore a backup or use the quick transfer option from your old iPhone.
  2. After setting up your new iPhone, make sure your Apple Watch is on your wrist, turned on (hold side button disabled), and passcode entered if equipped.
  3. A message should appear on your watch saying “Pair Apple Watch with new iPhone”.
  4. Validate.
  5. You can leave your watch on your wrist during the transfer – even the current day’s workouts/activity progress are retained after the transfer.

If this process is not showing up for you, don’t panic, there is the manual option.

Manually pair the Apple Watch with a new iPhone

Use an Apple Watch backup to pair a new or existing watch.

  1. If you are switching to a new iPhone, you must configure the configurator first.
  2. Open the Watch app on your new iPhone to start the pairing process (you can also choose to add your new Apple Watch before deleting your existing watch: “All Watches” > “Add Watch” if the screen automatic pairing is not displayed).
  3. Turn on your Apple Watch and find the pairing sphere code, follow the instructions.
  4. When prompted, choose to restore your new Apple Watch from a backup.
  5. If you don’t see a backup available from your most recent iPhone backup, follow the instructions below to force an Apple Watch backup, see below.

Pair a new Apple Watch with a new iPhone

If you want or need to pair a new Apple Watch with your iPhone or pair an existing watch as a new watch:

  1. Open the Watch app on your iPhone.
  2. Tap “All Watches” in the top left corner.
  3. Choose “Add a watch”.
  4. Follow the instructions.
  5. You should see an option to restore your old watch backup to your new watch.

Force an Apple Watch Backup

If you don’t see a backup available to restore, you may need to force a backup.

Since Apple Watch backups don’t happen with every iCloud or Mac/PC backup with your iPhone, here’s the comment Apple says to force them:

  1. Keep your paired Apple Watch and your old iPhone close to each other.
  2. Open the Watch app on your iPhone.
  3. Tap “All Watches” at the top, choose your watch, then tap the “i” on the right side.
  4. Tap “Unpair” (during the unpairing process, your Apple Watch will make a new backup to your iPhone).
  5. Follow the instructions to unpair your current watch.
  6. Make a fresh backup of your old iPhone and then restore that backup to your new iPhone.
  7. Open the Watch app on your new iPhone to start the pairing process for your new watch.
  8. Turn on your new Apple Watch and find the pairing sphere code, follow the instructions.
  9. When asked, choose to restore your new Apple Watch from a backup and choose the most recent one.

Transfer an existing cellular plan to a new Apple Watch

If you have 4G on your “old” watch, you can transfer your Apple Watch’s cellular plan to a new Apple Watch with cellular service. To do this, do the following:

  1. While wearing the Apple Watch, open the Apple Watch app on your iPhone.
  2. Tap “My Watch,” tap “Cellular Plans,” then tap “i” next to your cellular plan.
  3. Tap “Delete plan [nom de l’opérateur]”, then confirm.
  4. Take your old Apple Watch off your wrist, put on your Apple Watch with cellular service, tap “My Watch,” then tap “Cellular.”
  5. Follow the instructions to activate the package.

Quickly switch to another Apple Watch

If you have several Apple Watches connected to the iPhone, then you can “switch” from one to another easily. Put the correct one on your wrist, and the iPhone should recognize it. If not, you can also choose an Apple Watch manually:

  1. Open the Apple Watch app on your iPhone.
  2. Tap “My Watch,” then tap “All Watches” at the top of the screen.
  3. Disable “Auto Change”.
  4. Select the “right” watch.

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