Apple Watch won’t pair with your iPhone? Check the watch screen

Open the Watch app on the new iPhone and go to My Watch → All Watches. If Pairing Not Complete appears beside your watch, wear it, unlock it, and tap Finish Pairing on the iPhone. This is the option to try after transferring your old iPhone if the watch setup did not finish.

If you still have the paired iPhone and need to move the watch, open Watch → My Watch → All Watches on that iPhone. Tap the info button next to the watch, then Unpair Apple Watch. This erases the watch and removes Activation Lock as part of unpairing. Pair it with the new iPhone and choose a watch backup if offered. Changes made since that backup may be lost.

Check that you have the Apple Account and password used to set up the watch before erasing it. On the watch, open Settings → General → Reset → Erase All Content and Settings. Erasing directly on the watch leaves Activation Lock in place. If a used watch asks for the previous owner’s account, have the previous owner remove the lock before continuing.

When the watch is already in pairing mode and the animation has stayed on screen for several minutes, press and hold the Digital Crown and tap Reset if it appears. Try pairing again after the reset. If you are instead stuck at a white Apple logo or cannot get to the pairing screen, use Apple’s instructions for the screen you see.