Series of barriers to setting up new Apple Watch 11. TLDR: iOS 26 is required on iPhone, but can't get the upgrade.

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Level 1

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Series of barriers to setting up new Apple Watch 11. TLDR: iOS 26 is required on iPhone, but can't get the upgrade.

My wife bought me a new Apple Watch 11 for my birthday. Yay!!
I don't have enough space ( 22GB required!! ) to upgrade my iPhone to iOS 26. Boo!!
I learn I can use my Mac to upgrade it. YAY!!
My MacBook Pro runs Monterey, which can't update any iPhones to iOS 26. Boo!!
I have a work Mac running Sequoia. Yay!!
On the Sequoia work computer the macOS finder this about my iPhone "This version of the iPhone software (18.7.2) is the current version." Boo!!

Why the heck is this M4-Pro running the latest Sequoia 15.7.2 unable to upgrade my iPhone so I can set up my new Apple Watch? I'm so, so, so frustrated right now.

iPhone 12 Pro Max, iOS 18

Posted on Dec 3, 2025 9:13 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

LD150

Level 10

99,541 points

Dec 3, 2025 9:54 AM in response to StudioCrash

Backup

Reset to factory (erase)

Set up without restoring backup

Update to iOS26

The same day, erase it again, and restore the backup.

Risk? There may not be enough spare space to backup, and/or the backup may still be too big to restore.

Risk mitigation: Create a large enough iCloud plan and turn on iCloud Photos, and move documents to iCloud Drive. Then clean up and back up

Resources…

Backing Up: How to back up your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch - Apple Support

Erasing: Erase your iphone to factory settings

Restoring: Restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch from a backup - Apple Support

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Answer 2

Dec 3, 2025 9:45 AM in response to StudioCrash

You could always back up your phone, then restore it to factory settings. That would update it to iOS 26.1. Then restore your backup.

Or, even better and easier, make enough space on your phone to update. If there is too little space on your phone to update, there's too little space for it to operate correctly. You may start seeing slowdowns and possible data loss.

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