Setup Apple Watch Series 11 with iPhone 11

[zterm]

Hi everyone,

I recently received an Apple Watch Series 11 as a gift and was excited to set it up. My iPhone 11 was running iOS 17 until recently, but I updated to iOS 18.7 just a few days ago and it’s been running perfectly.

When I tried to pair the new watch, I discovered that it requires iOS 26 on the iPhone. This worries me a lot, because I’m afraid that updating my iPhone 11 all the way to iOS 26 could make it significantly slower or even barely usable — I’ve read many comments online from people saying performance takes a big hit on older devices with the latest versions.

I should add that I don’t really need a better phone — I only use it for calls, WhatsApp, Apple Fitness+ and the occasional picture — so I’d prefer to keep this one running smoothly as long as possible.

Has anyone here updated an iPhone 11 to iOS 26? How is the performance in day-to-day use? Would you recommend updating just to make the Apple Watch work, or would it be better to return the watch and keep my iPhone running smoothly on iOS 18.7?

One last question: would it be possible to set up the Apple Watch using another compatible device (for example, my wife's iPhone), then sign in with my Apple ID and use it as a health and fitness tracker with my iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV for Apple Fitness+? Or does the watch have to remain paired with the iPhone that was used to set it up?

Any advice or real-world experience would be greatly appreciated.

 

[jz0309]

Hi everyone,

I recently received an Apple Watch Series 11 as a gift and was excited to set it up. My iPhone 11 was running iOS 17 until recently, but I updated to iOS 18.7 just a few days ago and it’s been running perfectly.

When I tried to pair the new watch, I discovered that it requires iOS 26 on the iPhone. This worries me a lot, because I’m afraid that updating my iPhone 11 all the way to iOS 26 could make it significantly slower or even barely usable — I’ve read many comments online from people saying performance takes a big hit on older devices with the latest versions.

I should add that I don’t really need a better phone — I only use it for calls, WhatsApp, Apple Fitness+ and the occasional picture — so I’d prefer to keep this one running smoothly as long as possible.

Has anyone here updated an iPhone 11 to iOS 26? How is the performance in day-to-day use? Would you recommend updating just to make the Apple Watch work, or would it be better to return the watch and keep my iPhone running smoothly on iOS 18.7?

One last question: would it be possible to set up the Apple Watch using another compatible device (for example, my wife's iPhone), then sign in with my Apple ID and use it as a health and fitness tracker with my iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV for Apple Fitness+? Or does the watch have to remain paired with the iPhone that was used to set it up?

Any advice or real-world experience would be greatly appreciated.

The 11 comes with is 26 and requires the iPhone to run on 26, no way around that.
AW needs to be paired to an iPhone for it to function, with same appleID, except there is an option to set it up for a family member without iPhone but there is limited functionality. Do a search in this forum, quite a few threads on that topic.

As for an iPhone 11 and running iOS 26, you'd probably get better and more answers in the iPhone sub forum

 

[dbirnbaum7]

I have an iPhone 11 updated to iOS 26 that runs perfectly well in concert with my AWU2 with the latest operating system

 

[zterm]

After reading your posts, I went ahead and updated to iOS 26 — and it turns out my fears were unfounded. After leaving it charging and updating apps overnight, my iPhone 11 runs pretty much the same as it did on iOS 18.7. I already set up my new watch and everything’s running as expected. Thanks!