How to Fix When Apple Watch Not Pairing with Your iPhone 12

One of the common problems that Apple users face is the difficulty of connecting the Apple Watch to the iPhone, which makes them miss many of the wonderful privileges, and if your Apple smart watch does not connect to your iPhone 12, here are some easy solutions that you can try to fix the Apple Watch pairing problem. 

apple watch not pairing

Steps to fix Apple Watch not pairing with your iPhone 12

There are a few easy steps you can take to solve If your Apple Watch isn’t connected or paired with your iPhone 12 by following the guide below.

Check the connection on the Apple Watch

watch not connected

You may not receive notifications, messages, or even calls because the watch is not connected, so let’s start by first checking the connection status on the Apple Smart Watch by:

  • Swipe up on the Apple Watch screen.
  • In Control Center you will see one of the following icons.
  • The red iPhone icon, or “X”, means disconnection.
  • The green iPhone icon means that your watch is connected to the device.
  • If you see a red mark, bring the two devices closer together.
  • If the problem persists then try the next solutions.

Check settings on the Watch and iPhone

apple watch setting

The iPhone uses a Bluetooth connection or a Wi-Fi network to connect to the Apple Watch, and a problem with either of them may lead to a disconnection between the iPhone and Apple Watch, so you need to examine to find the cause of the problem as follows:

  • Airplane mode: If it’s orange, you need to turn it off because it disables all connections in the watch and device.
  • Wi-Fi connection: When the Wi-Fi is blue, this means that the watch is connected to the network, and if it is not, click on the Wi-Fi icon and start pairing with the iPhone and watch.
  • Bluetooth connection: Make sure that the Bluetooth is blue on the iPhone, which means that it is turned on.

Sometimes resetting the network settings can solve the pairing issue, if it doesn’t work then proceed with the next solutions.

Restart the Watch and the iPhone

After we have completed the necessary checks, it is time to try the most common and smooth solution for any problem, you need to restart both the iPhone and the Apple smartwatch, as this very simple step can contribute to removing the bugs and fixing the problem.

Check for updates

apple watch update

The reason behind the problem of not pairing the watch with the iPhone may be the presence of some errors in the operating system, whether iOS or watchOS, and because Apple is distinguished in discovering problems and correcting them through updates, the next step that you need to do is upgrade to the latest operating system, whether in the watch or the device.

Reset iPhone network settings

iphone reset network

Usually the iPhone stores all the information about the connected networks to reconnect them more smoothly the next time, however, this data may be corrupted sometimes, and it can prevent the Apple Watch from communicating with your device and for this, you need to reset the settings in the iPhone, but before we start, you must realize that this step will erase all network passwords.

  • Turn on Settings and then tap on General.
  • Scroll down and tap Reset.
  • Choose Reset Network Settings.
  • You will be asked to enter the passcode to lock the screen.

When reconnecting the iPhone to the network, the Apple Watch will not have a problem pairing with the device, and if that happens, here is the last solution.

Reset Apple Smart Watch

reset apple watch

Does the problem still exist yet? It is time to try the nuclear option, which is to reset the Apple Watch again through two methods:

The first method of the hour

  • By opening the Settings app and clicking on General.
  • Scroll down and select Reset.
  • After that tap on Erase Content and Settings.
  • Finally, tap Clear all to confirm the action.

The second way from the iPhone

  • By opening the watch application on the device.
  • Click on the My Watch tab.
  • Click on General then Reset.
  • Choose to Erase Apple Watch content and settings.
  • Press again to confirm (you may be asked to enter the password).
  • The Apple Watch is now back to its factory default settings.
  • Try to pair with the iPhone device, as the problem is over.

In the end, these were the methods to fix Apple Watch not pairing with your iPhone 12 within minutes, if none of the previous solutions worked, then you need to contact Apple Support to help you fix that problem. 

Have you encountered this problem before and how did you deal with it, tell us your experience in the comments?

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