Apple Watches are incredibly useful and practical accessories, which allow you to track your wellness progress, make contactless payments in shops, and stay updated on any important notifications when on the move. However, as Watches actually tend to “borrow” their data from a connected iPhone, instead of storing it themselves, what happens when you shift to a new model of iPhone? Will all your previously saved data suddenly be lost?
Thankfully, there’s no need to worry. There’s a quick and simple way to save all your current data, and then transfer it effortlessly to your new device, without losing anything in the process. Here’s a helpful guide that will teach you how to do just that:
Table of Contents
Step 1: Saving your personal Watch data
In case you don’t wish to lose any of your current data, you have to first make a backup copy of the Watch before you can connect it to your new phone. However, since there is no simple backup option on any Watch, you will need to use your old phone to complete this step. Here’s how you could do it:
- Using the phone that was previously connected, open the Settings application.
- Click on your ID/name, and then click on the iCloud option. Here, ensure that any apps from which you would like to save data are switched on.
- Next, load the Watch application on that same device.
- Click the My Watch option, and then select your linked Watch.
- Click the “i” icon located beside the Watch that you wish to disconnect.
- Finally, press on Unpair Apple Watch. A backup copy of any data from your Watch will then automatically be created on the previously connected iPhone.
Step 2: Setting the new iPhone up and connecting your Watch
Once you’ve ensured that your data is safely stored, it’s now time to move onto your new phone. There are a couple of different ways in which you could link your new device to the Watch, depending on how you chose to set the phone up in the first place. Here are some explanations:
During the primary setup
If you’ve only just decided to switch on your new phone, you can begin the setup procedure as you normally would. Just ensure your phone and Watch are in close proximity to one another during the procedure.
Once you reach the Apps & Data section of this procedure, click on the ‘Restore from iCloud Backup’ option to bring back the data saved from the old phone.
As you carry on following this setup procedure, your phone will automatically provide you with the option to link your Watch. When this happens, click on Continue.
Then, simply follow the directions that are shown on the screen, in order to link your new phone to the Watch.
After the primary setup
In case you’ve already gone through the setup procedure with your new phone, without connecting the Watch, or the option for automatically connecting the Watch never came up, you could also decide to link it manually. Here’s how:
- Ensure your phone and Watch are in close proximity to one another during this entire procedure.
- With your new phone, load the Watch application.
- Click on the Start Pairing option.
- After the linking procedure has finished, click on Restore from Backup. Here, choose the iCloud option to bring back all your saved data.
Although it takes a couple of additional steps compared to the regular backup procedure that is done with a single tap, you still have the option of making a copy of the Watch and easily linking it to your new device, without actually losing your data in the process.
