The new iPhone and AW came today. It's been a while since I got a new AW.
I'm setting up the phone first, then the watch.
Is that the best order? I need the phone working first and it's 3 hrs to transfer data from the old phone (jeez). You'd think they'd have that better by now.
Hey, let’s start with the watch first! It’s super quick compared to the iPhone.
You can easily pair the new watch with your existing iPhone, and it’ll copy all the data from your old watch to it as long as your Apple Watch Ultra is still connected to your iPhone. 📲 Plus, it’s way faster than unpairing it and setting it up on your new iPhone, and it keeps all your data safe. I’ll show you how to do that after the next step.
Once that’s done, ✔️, you can power up your iPhone 17, 17 Pro, or Air, and get that quick start and direct transfer going. Just make sure to select everything you want to transfer, including Connections, because that includes all your Apple Watch pairing history with your old iPhone. That way, the next iPhone will have a smoother time connecting your Apple Watch from the old iPhone to the new one.
Now, let’s start the transfer and be patient! Make sure you have a good WiFi connection on both iPhones and that Bluetooth is on for all your Apple iPhones and Apple Watches. I’ve been through this before when I switched from an iPhone XR to an iPhone 15 Pro on iOS 18 during the holidays last year, and it took me about an hour or two. But hey, I made the most of it by reading a book and sipping coffee while keeping an eye on my iPhones. You can also play on your iPad or do something else on your Mac while the transfer is happening. I’d recommend that all your iPhones are on chargers because the transfer might drain the battery a bit more since it uses so much power.
After the transfer is complete, your new iPhone is ready to use. The previous iPhone will display a message indicating the transfer process’s completion and prompt you to perform a temporary iCloud backup and initiate Erase Assistant to factory reset your old iPhone. This prepares it for selling or trading in if you wish. On the new iPhone, open the Watch app and select My Watches. Then, select your watch from the list. Tap on complete pairing and follow the instructions on the Apple Watch to switch to the new iPhone for pairing. Repeat this process for the remaining watches you have.
