Switch your Apple Watch to a

new iPhone
If you want to use a new iPhone with your
Apple Watch, you can transfer your Apple
Watch and its contents to a new iPhone.

1 Update your old iPhone

Before you switch your Apple Watch from
your old iPhone to a new iPhone, update
your old iPhone to the latest version of iOS.

If you already erased your old iPhone or no

longer have it, you can get help.

2 Back up and unpair your

Apple Watch
Unpairing backs up your Apple Watch to
your old iPhone, then erases your Apple
Watch, so you can pair it with your new
iPhone. You can't use your Apple Watch
until you pair it again, so don't unpair until
you're ready to start using your new iPhone.

To unpair your Apple Watch, open the

Apple Watch app on your iPhone and
tap the My Watch tab. Tap your watch at
the top of the screen, tap the i icon, then
tap Unpair Apple Watch. Tap again to
confirm. If asked, enter your Apple ID
password. Keep your Apple Watch and old
iPhone close together until you finish
unpairing them.

3 Back up your old iPhone,

then transfer your
backup to your new
iPhone
Use these steps to create an iCloud backup
of your old iPhone, then transfer all your
content to your new iPhone. If you use
iTunes, remember to encrypt your
backup to save your Health and
Activity content.

4 Pair your Apple Watch

with your new iPhone
Use these steps to pair your Apple
Watch with your new iPhone. When you're
asked, select Restore from Backup,
then select the most recent backup to
transfer your content back to your Apple
Watch.

After you pair, check for updates to your

Apple Watch.

Get help
Follow the steps below for your question.

What if I transferred my content to my

new iPhone using iTunes, but my Health
and Activity content is missing?
To back up and restore your Health and Activity
content, you need to restore your new iPhone from
your previous iPhone’s backup. If you use iTunes,
make sure that you encrypt your backup.

If you want to restore your missing Health and

Activity content:

If you have your old iPhone and didn't erase it,

make a new iCloud backup or encrypted iTunes
backup. Then erase your new
iPhone and restore it from the new backup.
Remember to pair your Apple Watch and iPhone
again.
If you don't have your old iPhone or you can't
back it up, you can't recover your Health and
Activity content.

What if I didn’t unpair my Apple Watch

before setting up my new iPhone?
Your Apple Watch might still be paired with your
old iPhone. Use the steps below to pair your
devices.

If you have your old iPhone, and you didn't

erase it
Unpair your Apple Watch from your old iPhone.
Then choose one of these options depending on
when you set up your new iPhone:

If you just restored your new iPhone from a

recent backup, pair your devices. When you're
asked, restore from a watch backup. Your
recent Activity, Workouts, or settings content
might be lost depending on how old the backup
is.
If your iPhone backup is several days or weeks
old and you want to preserve as much content
as possible, erase your new
iPhone. Then transfer the content from your old
iPhone to your new iPhone. You might lose
some of the content on your new
iPhone. Remember to pair your Apple Watch
and iPhone again.

If you have your old iPhone, but you

erased it
You should erase your Apple Watch, then pair
it with your new iPhone. If you restored your new
iPhone from a backup, you can restore your watch
from a backup when you pair. You might lose
Activity, Workouts, or settings on your watch that
changed between the last backup and now.

If you don't have your old iPhone or a

backup
You should erase your Apple Watch, then pair it
with your new iPhone. If you’re asked to restore
from a watch backup, select the most recent
backup. You will lose Activity, Workouts, or settings
on your watch that changed between the last
backup and now.

Without an iPhone backup, you’ll need to set up

your Apple Watch as new. You will lose any
previous Activity, Workouts, or settings, but your
other content will sync from the new iPhone to
your Apple Watch.

Published Date: Jul 26, 2017

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