Watch stuck in limbo?

[kriista1234]

So I've had my Apple Watch Series 3 since it came out, and most recently it's been paired with my iPhone 13 mini. Today I upgraded to an iPhone 16 Pro, and while everything else migrated over well, the watch threw an error that it could not pair to the new device. After making sure all the apps and everything else was set up, I tried a few more times, turning the new phone on/off as well as the watch, and it kept giving me the same error.

I then read that if something like this is happening, to unpair the watch with the old phone, then pair it again, then try again. Well when doing that, rather than backing up the device, as it has in the past, it just unpaired from the old phone, so now I am left with a watch that has all my data/health stuff on it, that I want to keep, and it currently isn't paired to either phone (old or new).

If I open the Apple Watch app on my old phone I just see a "Start Pairing" message, and if I do that, it fails to find the watch.

I've checked that the watch has wifi/bluetooth turned on, and it's not even showing the red "not connected" icon either.

Is there a way to pair my watch back to a phone to get it working again as it is, without having to wipe everything and setting it up as a new watch?

 

[Howard2k]

Your data is not on the watch, there’s no real issue there. It’s in the cloud. Check the health app on the iPhone 16 and you’ll see your heath data.

 

[kriista1234]

I do see the health data there, so that's good. I always assumed that was baked in to the watch itself and just moved from the phone it was paired to and back.

So is there a way to get whatever is on my watch now (I guess just apps/faces/setup) paired up to a phone?

 

[jz0309]

I do see the health data there, so that's good. I always assumed that was baked in to the watch itself and just moved from the phone it was paired to and back.

So is there a way to get whatever is on my watch now (I guess just apps/faces/setup) paired up to a phone?

AW3 is certainly not compatible with the iPhone 16, and I h9onestly don't remember exactly what iPhones are supported, but that info is available from Apple, and that compatibility list will also list iOS/watchOS versions

Apple Watch and iPhone compatibility - Apple Support

Find out which versions of iPhone, iOS, and watchOS work with your Apple Watch.

support.apple.com

 

[kriista1234]

Ah interesting. I hadn't even considered that... I'll have a check.

 

[iStorm]

AW3 is certainly not compatible with the iPhone 16, and I h9onestly don't remember exactly what iPhones are supported, but that info is available from Apple, and that compatibility list will also list iOS/watchOS versions

Apple Watch and iPhone compatibility - Apple Support

Find out which versions of iPhone, iOS, and watchOS work with your Apple Watch.

support.apple.com

The AW3 is compatible with the iPhone 16. It's only the other way around when it may be a problem. Newer watches may not work with an older iPhone, but older watches will always work with a newer phone.

 

[jz0309]

The AW3 is compatible with the iPhone 16. It's only the other way around when it may be a problem. Newer watches may not work with an older iPhone, but older watches will always work with a newer phone.

View attachment 2441859

well, then why is OP having difficulties?
OP: contact Apple support and let them figure it out

 

[Howard2k]

AFAIK you cannot move the watch individually from one phone to another. If you move your phone from one phone to another then the watch will follow. But if you get a new phone and set it up as new, then move your watch, your watch will also be new.

I could be wrong, but that's my experience as I've done this recently in both scenarios. But only once each time so my memory may not be 100% correct

 

[TKSX]

You have to reset the watch and then set it up as a new watch. I don't think there is any way around it.

 

[kriista1234]

So if I have to set up my watch from scratch, is there anything I would be losing? (other than having to manually set apps/faces up again)

 

[BillGates1969]

So if I have to set up my watch from scratch, is there anything I would be losing? (other than having to manually set apps/faces up again)

In theory no.

I regularly do this to fix battery issues etc. Most stuff is in the cloud (health etc).

 

[kriista1234]

In the end, after wiping my watch and trying to pair it again, it prompted me to restore from a backup, which is great.

Seems to have borked the faces I had set up, and forgot about wrist orientation and all that, but it's better than nothing.

 

[Howard2k]

In the end, after wiping my watch and trying to pair it again, it prompted me to restore from a backup, which is great.

Seems to have borked the faces I had set up, and forgot about wrist orientation and all that, but it's better than nothing.

I found that my faces were gone but they came back after maybe 24 hours or so. Or maybe it was after a couple of reboots.

Either way, they did come back. It was strange.

 

[kriista1234]

From the looks of it, it reinstalls all the apps, including things like calendar/weather, so faces that used those loaded but with those bits missing.

It seems to have also reenabled things like 'standing up' notifications and such, so a bit of a mish-mash of a backup. But again, it's better than nothing.

 

[GusBougadis]

So I've had my Apple Watch Series 3 since it came out, and most recently it's been paired with my iPhone 13 mini. Today I upgraded to an iPhone 16 Pro, and while everything else migrated over well, the watch threw an error that it could not pair to the new device. After making sure all the apps and everything else was set up, I tried a few more times, turning the new phone on/off as well as the watch, and it kept giving me the same error.

I then read that if something like this is happening, to unpair the watch with the old phone, then pair it again, then try again. Well when doing that, rather than backing up the device, as it has in the past, it just unpaired from the old phone, so now I am left with a watch that has all my data/health stuff on it, that I want to keep, and it currently isn't paired to either phone (old or new).

If I open the Apple Watch app on my old phone I just see a "Start Pairing" message, and if I do that, it fails to find the watch.

I've checked that the watch has wifi/bluetooth turned on, and it's not even showing the red "not connected" icon either.

Is there a way to pair my watch back to a phone to get it working again as it is, without having to wipe everything and setting it up as a new watch?

I have an Apple Watch Series 3. I have read that many, have had issues pairing to a new iPhone. I have two iPhones and would swap my watch on each phone every quarter. Last swap was a month ago and it was a nightmare, and I am tech savvy. You probably won’t be able to pair it again. You can see similar comments online. Also, my Apple Watch stopped working with apple fitness plus on my Apple TV and iPad. The series 3 hasn’t received updates in years, so, there’s connectivity and compatibility issues. You probably need and new Apple Watch , Black Friday is November 29 if you want to save some money. As for your health data it’s backed up with the Apple Watch, I am sure once you get and new watch all the data should be there.

 

[GusBougadis]

Also, the Apple Watch Series 3 is low in storage. Try doing a factory reset then start the pairing process . Every time I switched to l my other iPhone , I had to do a factory reset. If the watch is frozen, hold down both buttons till you see the Apple logo. I had to do that last time I paired my phone.