The Apple Watch is undoubtedly the best smartwatch for iPhone users. Not only does it offer complete integration with iOS, but it also packs some pretty advanced sensors that can help you track your health and fitness habits. However, for you to actually use a new Apple Watch, you first have to pair it and set it up. To do so, follow the steps below.
How to pair and set up your new Apple Watch
- Start by turning on your Apple Watch by holding on its side button.
- Give it a few seconds to boot. Once it does, bring your iPhone close to it and make sure you have Bluetooth and Wi-Fi enabled.
- A pop-up should appear on your iPhone. Click on Continue.
- If you don’t see the pop-up, launch the Watch app on your iPhone and tap Set Up for Myself.
- Your Apple Watch will then display an animated sphere. Scan it with your iPhone, as it instructs you to do. You need to position the Watch squarely in the frame.
- Allow it to download and install the latest software update available for watchOS. This will ensure you get to make the most out of the new features and security patches.
- Click Set Up Apple Watch.
- Choose which wrist you will be wearing it on. It’s important to choose the correct wrist to ensure that the sensors, features, and health tracking work accurately.
- Agree to the Terms of Service after reading them carefully and thoroughly.
- Enable Route Tracking to make the most out of your watch. Disabling this feature will stop your watch from showing the location of your workouts and the weather conditions when performed.
- Decide whether you want to share watch analytics with Apple or not. If you share them, the company will get anonymous reports of crashes encountered and other usage data to help fix bugs and improve the watch and watchOS.
- Adjust the text size, depending on your preferences. A live preview of the text will appear on your watch’s screen to help you decide.
- Set an optional numerical passcode on your Apple Watch. You can choose between a 4-digit and an 8-digit passcode.
- Set up Activity if you plan on using your watch for fitness tracking.
- You will have to fill up information regarding your body.
- Decide what your daily Move goal will be. That’s the number of active calories you have to burn per day to close the Move ring.
- Choose how many minutes of exercise you want your daily Exercise goal to be.
- Set up your daily Stand goal. Each hour, you’ll have to stand up for at least one minute to earn a Stand point.
- Optionally enable Blood Oxygen monitoring.
- Choose whether you want your watch to automatically download software updates in the future. We advise you to enable it to get the latest features and security patches from Apple.
- Click on Continue when you’re presented with the Heart Rate Notifications screen — which informs you about high/low heart rate notifications.
- Tap on Continue when the Emergency SOS explanatory screen appears. Emergency SOS and Fall Detection optionally alert your emergency contacts and local emergency services when the watch believes you’ve fallen or had an accident.
- Click Continue after the always-on display prompt shows up. This allows you to have the time and other complications displayed on your watch’s screen at all times. The feature is designed with the watch’s battery life in mind, but it will still reduce its life if you enable it.
- Decide whether you want your Apple Watch to install all available third-party apps from your iPhone. If you skip this step, you can always install third-party apps available from your iPhone through the Watch app on iOS.
- Choose whether you want your apps to appear as a grid or an alphabetical list.
- Give it time to sync your data. Keep your watch on its charger, as this process can take a while.
- A pop-up will inform you that your Apple ID is now being used for iMessage and FaceTime on the new Apple Watch. Tap OK.
- Click OK when the welcome screen pops up.
- There, you will find a list of installed (Apple and third-party) apps. Click on any of them to adjust the respective settings.
- In Face Gallery, you will get to choose between dozens of watch faces and customize them.
- The Discover tab includes tips and resources revolving around your new watch and the latest version of watchOS.
- By clicking on All Watches in the My Watch tab, you get to view the watches paired to your iPhone and set up new ones. Additionally, you get to unpair existing ones if you decide to factory reset, sell, or gift them.
The Apple Watch is a complex device, and watchOS 10 is a feature-rich wearable operating system. That’s why after setting it up, we advise you to check all the settings, one at a time, to ensure you don’t miss out on any of the perks the watch has to offer. This way, you get to customize it fully based on your personal preferences. And you only need to go through this process once since you could just restore a backup when setting up new Apple Watches in the future.