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Apple watch won't pair with old iPhone

I have an Apple Watch Series 3 and an iPhone 6, both hand-me-down. I have already erased the watch and the phone is updated to the latest version, 12.5.6. When I try to pair the two devices, a pop-up comes up saying the watch can't be paired because the phone is not updated, even though it is on the latest version of iOS it can run. I know the iPhone 6 can only run iOS 12 and not the latest iOS 16, but I would think that there'd be a way for Apple Watches to pair with older iPhones.


This is what the pop-up and update screen looks like.

I would really appreciate it if someone could help me find a solution.

Thanks.

iPhone 6s, iOS 15

Posted on Sep 21, 2022 4:49 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Sep 21, 2022 4:57 PM

If your watch is running WatchOS6 then you need an iphone running at least ios13 which is an iphone 6s.

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1 reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Sep 21, 2022 4:57 PM in response to ha1ya

If your watch is running WatchOS6 then you need an iphone running at least ios13 which is an iphone 6s.

Apple watch won't pair with old iPhone

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