Would someone please explain this to me like I’m a third grader? I have an S4 that I use for sleep and workouts and an S5 for everything else. It says to put the watch on and raise the wrist but all I get when I do that is the lock screen for PIN code entry. When I check the phone, the watch that was previously connected is the one still connected even if I enter the PIN code. I tried unlocking the phone first but that doesn’t work. Either Apple needs to provide better instructions or this just doesn’t work because I’m literally doing what it says to do. Is there a method to get this working consistently? What am I doing wrong?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Auto-Switch Watches
- Thread starter Itinj24
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I have my series 3 for sleep tracking and my series 5 for everything else. If I use the automatic detection toggle, my series 3 will be recognized without me having to unlock my phone. If I try to switch from the series 3 to the series 5, the series 5 isn’t recognized at all, regardless of whether or not the series 5 is unlocked.
A few weeks before installing iOS 14, I set up the watch and phone as new and the automatic detection for both watches worked as it should for a day. After that, it went back to what i described.
A few weeks before installing iOS 14, I set up the watch and phone as new and the automatic detection for both watches worked as it should for a day. After that, it went back to what i described.
mine switch back and forth without me doing anything so not really sure what to suggest ..... mine are both S5 not sure if that makes any difference.
Used to use S0 to sleep tracking along with my S5 for daily use. Never have a problem switching between the 2 (or between S0 and S3 before that). Automatic switching works as expected. Maybe because once I took one off I put it on charger immediately?
Good point actually .... I hadn’t thought of that .... when I switch one goes straight on the charger or if I’m travelling the spare goes off ...... whatever I do the switch is unnoticeable to me. The only thing I do notice sometimes is the activity takes a few min to sync up.
I tried that a few moments ago. What is interesting is that when I took off the 5 and placed on the charger, when I put the 3 on my wrist, you could see the cog wheel on the Apple Watch app (where the auto switch screen is) turn on the Apple Watch 3 and then stop as the switch was completed. When I reversed the process, there was no cog wheel turn for the series 5 and thus, was not auto recognized.
Edited to add: I set up the series 5 as new again just now, and the auto switch is working. Last time I did this, it worked for about 24 hrs before it stopped auto-switching.
Edited to add: It worked 5 - 6 times and has now stopped auto-switching to the series 5. Back to where I was before I set up as new again.
Last edited:
Thanks all for the replies. I’m getting the same behavior as BasicGreatGuy. It auto switches to my S4 but my S5 isn’t being recognized. Ill try that charger method too but if that’s the case, Apple should make that more clear in the instructions lol. I’ll play around some more. Thanks again.
Yes 100%. It always has been. I think the Watch has to be connected to the phone for that to work which is where my issue seems to be. It stays connected to the watch I previously was using.
Are you making sure this option is selected?
If it weren’t, neither watch would engage and switch. Our problem has been the series 3 or 4 is automatically recognized and switches as it should, whereas the series 5 isn’t recognized by the watch app during the switching process.
Are you making sure this option is selected?
I have setup my series 5 as new twice day and it worked a few times and then stop being recognized during the switching process. I don’t know what else I can do.
I contacted Apple support last night about this problem. I told them it has been an ongoing issue since iOS 13 and now with iOS 14. I had already done multiple re-pairs and setting up as new, so support did not ask me to go through that again. The person I talked with talked to level one support while I briefly waited. I was told since I was running iOS 14, to submit feedback, which I just did.
Please submit feedback on this problem. @Itinj24 The more people that report the problem, the better chance we have of Apple fixing the buig.
Please submit feedback on this problem. @Itinj24 The more people that report the problem, the better chance we have of Apple fixing the buig.