How to Control Your Apple Watch with Your iPhone. Apple introduced a new Apple Watch Mirroring feature in iOS 16 that lets you see and control your Apple Watch screen from your paired iPhone.
Apple Watch Mirroring is designed to make the watch experience more accessible for people with physical and motor disabilities, but it can be useful for anyone. Do so through this page to learn how it works.
How to Control Your Apple Watch with Your iPhone
Once you have the iPhone you want to connect to your Apple Watch, you are good to go with the steps below:
- Wear the Apple Watch on your wrist. Turn it on by holding down the side button, not the crown.
- Hold the watch close to the iPhone.
- Once the setup prompt appears on the iPhone, click on Continue.
- An animation appears on the Apple Watch. Using the iPhone camera, align the animation in the frame on the iPhone screen. This pairs the watch with the iPhone.
- With pairing complete, choose your settings and configurations for the watch, and add apps and content to it.
That is all you have to do to control your Apple watch with your iPhone.
How to Manually Pair My Apple Watch
In such cases, you can’t pair the new Apple Watch to your iPhone automatically and will need to do it manually. In that case, follow these steps:
- Use the first 4 steps above. Instead of aligning the animation on the watch in the frame on the iPhone, click “Pair Apple Watch Manually.”
- Click the I on the Watch.
- On the iPhone, click on the name of the watch displayed on the watch.
- On the iPhone, enter the 6-digit code displayed on the watch.
- The Apple Watch and iPhone are now paired and you can complete the setup.
Those are the steps you will be able to manually pair your Apple Watch.
Why Is My Apple Watch Not Pairing Up With My iPhone?
There are lots of reasons why you can’t pair the Apple Watch with an iPhone. Here are some potential causes and solutions:
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The Watch may already be paired with another iPhone already.
Each Apple Watch can only be paired with one iPhone (though an iPhone can be paired with more than one Apple Watch). If pairing isn’t working, your watch might be connected elsewhere.
To unpair the watch, you can either remove it from the iPhone it’s currently paired to (go to the Watch app > My Watch > All watches > I > Unpair Apple Watch) or reset it directly on the watch (go to settings > General > Reset > Erase All Content and Settings > Confirm), but you’ll need the Apple ID used to activate the watch originally.
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The Activation Lock may be activated on the Watch.
If you bought the watch from someone and can’t pair it, it might be protected by Apple’s anti-theft Activation lock feature. If so, contact the person you got it from and ask them to remove the activation lock.
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Bluetooth and Wi-Fi Are Disabled on iPhone
The iPhone and Apple Watch communicate over Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, so if either is disabled, the process won’t work. Make sure they’re on by opening Control Center and checking that both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are lit up in blue. If they’re not, tap the icons.
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The Watch is Low in Battery
If the battery of your watch has run down, it may not be able to pair. Put it on the watch charger for an hour or so and try again.
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iPhone Needs an OS Update
If your iPhone’s OS is out of date, it might have trouble pairing with a watch running a newer version of the OS. In such cases, look for and install the iPhone operating system update and try to pair again.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can You Operate Apple Watch from iPhone
You can fully control your Apple Watch from your iPhone and use assistive features like Switch Control and Voice Control on your iPhone to get the most out of your watch.
Can the Apple Watch be controlled with screen time?
You can use screen time to configure controls for a family member’s Apple Watch. You can schedule time away from the screen and limit both the contacts and the apps your family member can use to communicate with those contacts using screen time.
Can I use my Apple Watch without my phone?
When your iPhone is off or out of range, your Apple Watch can use a Wi-Fi network to send and receive data. Your watch can also connect to a cellular network if it’s a cellular model. And if you’ve set up an Apple Watch for a family member, they can use a cellular or Wi-Fi connection with their watch.
