What You Need to Set Up an Apple Watch
Setting up an Apple Watch consists of two parts: Pairing the watch with your iPhone and then setting it up as a new watch or restoring the data from a previous Apple Watch. Before you can set up an Apple Watch, you need:
An iPhone 5S or newer (iPhone 6 or newer for cellular Apple Watch models) with the Watch app installed. The app comes installed on all recent versions of iOS. Bluetooth enabled on your iPhone. Your iPhone connected to a Wi-Fi network.
How to Pair Your Apple Watch and iPhone
While the Apple Watch can do many things on its own, it gets much of its functionality from being connected to an iPhone in a process called pairing. Follow these steps to pair your Apple Watch with your iPhone. Continue to one of the next two sections, based on your choice in the last step: Set Up as New Apple Watch or Restore From Backup.
How to Set Up a New Apple Watch
If you haven’t had an Apple Watch before or don’t want to restore from a backup, this is the option for you. You need to have followed the steps from the first section of this article and selected Set Up as New Apple Watch. Here’s what to do next:
How to Set Up an Apple Watch With Restore From Backup
If you had an Apple Watch in the past and want to move the data from your previous Watch to your new model, this is the option for you. First, you need to have followed the steps from the first section of this article and selected Restore from Backup. Then, follow these steps, most of which are the same as setting up a new Apple Watch. Your Watch inherits many settings from your iPhone. If you’ve already set up emergency contacts and health and activity goals, those settings are automatically added to your Watch. If not, you may be prompted to set them up before selecting Continue.
Quick Apple Watch Guide: Using Your New Watch
Now that your Apple Watch is set up, it’s time to learn how to use it. There’s a lot to learn, of course, but here is some useful content for both beginners and experienced users.
Using Apple Watch. For a good overview of basic functionality and uses of the watch, check out Apple Watch 101 for the New Apple Watch Owner. Getting apps. To learn how to expand the watch’s functionality by adding new apps, read How to Add Apps to Your Apple Watch. Using important apps. Want to learn more about using some favorite apps on the watch? Read How to Use Spotify on Apple Watch and How to Use Facebook on Apple Watch. Updating watchOS. As with iOS on the iPhone, Apple regularly releases new versions of watchOS for the Apple Watch. These updates fix bugs and add new features. Learn how to install them in How to Update Your Apple Watch. Key Apple Watch accessories. You need more than just the watch itself for the best experience. Check out our suggestions for our favorite Apple Watch accessories. Running low on battery? If your battery is low and you can’t recharge soon, put your Apple Watch into Power Reserve Mode.
Quick Apple Watch Guide: Troubleshooting Problems
Sometimes things go wrong with the Apple Watch and, when they do, you need to know how to fix them. Check out this collection of troubleshooting articles.
Restarting Apple Watch. Just like with the iPhone, sometimes problems can be fixed just by restarting the watch. Learn how in How to Restart Apple Watch. Finding a lost Apple Watch. The same technology used for Find My iPhone helps you find a lost or stolen Apple Watch. Find out how in How to Find My Apple Watch. Apple Watch won’t turn on? If your Apple Watch won’t turn on, you need the tips in How to Fix an Apple Watch That Won’t Turn On. Unpairing Apple Watch and iPhone. If you’re upgrading to a new Watch model or need to take some advanced troubleshooting steps, you may need to unpair your Watch and iPhone. Find out how in How to Unpair Apple Watch and iPhone.
