How to set up and pair your Apple Watch with your iPhone
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The first thing you need to do with your new Apple Watch is set it up and pair it with your iPhone.
That's what the Apple Watch app is for. It comes pre-installed on your iPhone and lets you set up and manage almost every aspect of your Apple Watch. The Apple Watch app is what you'll use to complete the initial pairing and sync, and how you'll adjust settings and install apps going forward. If you're not sure how to get started, we'll walk you through the entire process!
Note: You need to be running iOS 8.2 or later on an iPhone 5 or later to pair with Apple Watch.
How to automatically pair Apple Watch with iPhone
- Launch the Apple Watch app on your iPhone.
- Tap on Start Pairing.
- Center your Apple Watch within the yellow box on the screen.
- Once paired, tap on Set Up as New Apple Watch.
- Choose either left or right so Apple Watch knows what wrist you're wearing it on.
- Tap Agree on the iTunes agreement.
- Log in to your Apple ID when prompted.
- Tap OK after reading the information on Location Services.
- Tap OK after reading the information on Siri.
- Tap OK after reading the information on Diagnostics.
- Choose a passcode for your Apple Watch. You can also choose a long passcode for more security if you prefer. You'll need to enter the passcode on your Apple Watch, not your iPhone.
- Choose whether or not you want your iPhone to unlock your Apple Watch as well.
- Choose whether or not you want to automatically install all available apps. If you choose no, you can manually install whatever app you'd like later with the Apple Watch app.
- Let your Apple Watch finish syncing. When it's done, you'll be good to go!
How to manually pair Apple Watch with iPhone
If for some reason your Apple Watch doesn't want to pair automatically using the camera method, you can choose to pair it manually as well. Instead of using the camera, you'll just choose your Apple Watch's name to initiate the pairing process. After your iPhone finds it, you can proceed with the same steps laid out above, starting with step 4.
- Launch the Apple Watch app on your iPhone.
- Tap on Pair Apple Watch Manually at the bottom of the screen.
