[Question] Pairing Apple Watch without updating the iPhone

[Dagangstah]

So my iPhone 6s is on iOS 9.3.2, and I just got the Apple Watch Series 3. In order to pair my phone with the watch it says I have to update my phone, and I don't want to update my phone because of that whole iPhones getting slower through updates after the new phone comes out, and I never jailbroke it either.

Any way around this? I saw someone ask this question here 7 months ago and you guys said there isn't anything to do about this, so just wondering if anything has changed since then.

 

[chrfr]

So my iPhone 5s is on iOS 9.3.2, and I just got the Apple Watch Series 3. In order to pair my phone with the watch it says I have to update my phone, and I don't want to update my phone because of that whole iPhones getting slower through updates after the new phone comes out, and I never jailbroke it either.

Any way around this? I saw someone ask this question here 7 months ago and you guys said there isn't anything to do about this, so just wondering if anything has changed since then.

Nothing has changed. You’ll need to update your phone.

 

[Hal~9000]

Any way around this?

Nope.

You can use an iPhone with a higher version iOS with a lower version WatchOS, but not the other way around.

 

[Dagangstah]

Nope.

You can use an iPhone with a higher version iOS with a lower version WatchOS, but not the other way around.

Thank you for the response.

Is it possible to downgrade the Apple Watch firmware? At the Apple Store or something?

Or is it possible to find out what is the lowest iOS I need to update my phone to in order for it to work with the Apple Watch firmware?

 

[Otflyer]

So my iPhone 6s is on iOS 9.3.2, and I just got the Apple Watch Series 3. In order to pair my phone with the watch it says I have to update my phone, and I don't want to update my phone because of that whole iPhones getting slower through updates after the new phone comes out, and I never jailbroke it either.

Any way around this? I saw someone ask this question here 7 months ago and you guys said there isn't anything to do about this, so just wondering if anything has changed since then.

I would update the phone.

 

[Hal~9000]

Thank you for the response.

Is it possible to downgrade the Apple Watch firmware? At the Apple Store or something?

Or is it possible to find out what is the lowest iOS I need to update my phone to in order for it to work with the Apple Watch firmware?

From what I understand even if you could downgrade the watch, the lowest version it ever ran on was WatchOS 4 (which requires iOS 11 to pair with).

Unfortunately the only way to use the Apple Watch 3 is updating the phone.

 

[Apple_Robert]

1) Update your current phone to the latest version of iOS
2) Buy new phone
3) Don't update phone and return watch

Those are your choices.

I vote to update your phone, especially if the battery life is still good.

 

[Dagangstah]

Thanks man I really appreciate your help. I really didn't want to update my phone, but I guess I have no choice, shame there's no workaround but I guess it isn't too big of a deal.

I don't think I'd want to go as far as to return the Series 3 for a Series 2 or something.

 

[Dagangstah]

Thanks for the help guys, really appreciate it.

I really didn't want to update my phone, but I guess I have no choice, shame there's no workaround but I guess it isn't too big of a deal.

I don't think I'd want to go as far as to return the Series 3 for a Series 2 or something.

And I'm not really sure if my battery life is bad or not. I do know that my phone dies when it's cold outside, like even if it's on 80% or something if it's really cold outside it'll just die. I carry around my Anker portable charger all the time, so I kinda got over that but I guess I can't really do much about my phone going slower haha. Hopefully it isn't too bad and still usable, maybe I can get a new iPhone before too long.

 

[Otflyer]

Thanks for the help guys, really appreciate it.

I really didn't want to update my phone, but I guess I have no choice, shame there's no workaround but I guess it isn't too big of a deal.

I don't think I'd want to go as far as to return the Series 3 for a Series 2 or something.

And I'm not really sure if my battery life is bad or not. I do know that my phone dies when it's cold outside, like even if it's on 80% or something if it's really cold outside it'll just die. I carry around my Anker portable charger all the time, so I kinda got over that but I guess I can't really do much about my phone going slower haha. Hopefully it isn't too bad and still usable, maybe I can get a new iPhone before too long.

If you have an apple store nearby, you can have the battery tested. If necessary get a new battery installed. It’s much cheaper than a new phone. Going from a 6S to an iPhone 8 or 10 will be a significant performance improvement.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Thanks for the help guys, really appreciate it.

I really didn't want to update my phone, but I guess I have no choice, shame there's no workaround but I guess it isn't too big of a deal.

I don't think I'd want to go as far as to return the Series 3 for a Series 2 or something.

And I'm not really sure if my battery life is bad or not. I do know that my phone dies when it's cold outside, like even if it's on 80% or something if it's really cold outside it'll just die. I carry around my Anker portable charger all the time, so I kinda got over that but I guess I can't really do much about my phone going slower haha. Hopefully it isn't too bad and still usable, maybe I can get a new iPhone before too long.

I agree with flyer. You can take your phone to Apple and they can test the battery. If it is still under warranty and less than 80% when tested, they will replace the battery. If the phone is not under warranty and needs to be replaced, they will do that for you for about $80 dollars I believe?

 

[dave006]

Hey @BasicGreatGuy you are very close the Apple quoted price is $79 for battery service and is a good value if your iPhone 6S is in good condition. If Apple can't do it while you wait, they should offer you a loaner iPhone.

Dave

 

[xraydoc]

So my iPhone 6s is on iOS 9.3.2, and I just got the Apple Watch Series 3. In order to pair my phone with the watch it says I have to update my phone, and I don't want to update my phone because of that whole iPhones getting slower through updates after the new phone comes out, and I never jailbroke it either.

Any way around this? Please and thank you!

Have an Apple Store check the battery on your phone and schedule a replacement if necessary. Most Apple Stores can do it in an hour or so.

 

[TokMok3]

Thank you for the response.

Is it possible to downgrade the Apple Watch firmware? At the Apple Store or something?

Or is it possible to find out what is the lowest iOS I need to update my phone to in order for it to work with the Apple Watch firmware?

no, you can't downgrade. with the Apple Watch you have to think carefully in every upgrade because there's no way back. If you install a beta only apple can downgrade and you have to send the device to apple...

 

[newellj]

Thank you for the response.

Is it possible to downgrade the Apple Watch firmware? At the Apple Store or something?

Or is it possible to find out what is the lowest iOS I need to update my phone to in order for it to work with the Apple Watch firmware?

Unlike other iDevices, backgrading the Watch is actually impossible.
[doublepost=1514223736][/doublepost]

Thank you for the response.

Is it possible to downgrade the Apple Watch firmware? At the Apple Store or something?

Or is it possible to find out what is the lowest iOS I need to update my phone to in order for it to work with the Apple Watch firmware?

You can only backgrade iDevices to whatever is still being signed. At the most, that will be 11.1.2.

 

[Dagangstah]

I went on here and I found out that I can replace the battery on my iPhone for free, since it's eligible for the iPhone 6s unexpected shutdown battery replacement.

https://www.apple.com/support/iphone6s-unexpectedshutdown/

Checked the serial and it said I'm eligible, so I'll do that as soon as possible and update my phone now. Hopefully my phone doesn't slow down too much when I update it.

Thanks for your help guys

 

[Dagangstah]

Alright I have 1 more question for you guys. Should I update my phone before or after I get my battery replaced?

 

[dave006]

It does not really matter much but I would wait to update until after the battery service is complete. That way you will not "feel" that your iPhone 6S slowed down due to the iOS update.

Dave