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Upgrading to new iPhone with Apple Watch

dedufour41

dedufour41

macrumors regular
Original poster
Saw on Apple support pages that they suggest unpairing Apple Watch from previous phone first and then pairing with the new phone.

Did everyone do this and did it require initial setup as if it's the first time ever wearing it?

@@
 
dedufour41 said:
Saw on Apple support pages that they suggest unpairing Apple Watch from previous phone first and then pairing with the new phone.

Did everyone do this and did it require initial setup as if it's the first time ever wearing it?

@@
Click to expand...

I did this, and yes it did. restored it from backup and back like it was before the phone switched
 
Newtons Apple said:
Unless the watch is unpaired first you will not have the watch information in the latest backup.
Click to expand...

perkedel said:
I did this, and yes it did. restored it from backup and back like it was before the phone switched
Click to expand...

Newtons Apple said:
Unless the watch is unpaired first you will not have the watch information in the latest backup.
Click to expand...

So then before I get the new iPhone:

Backup old iPhone to iTunes
Unpair watch
Upgrade to new iPhone
Install backed up data to new iPhone via iTunes
Pair watch

This sound right?

@@
 
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Newtons Apple said:
Unless the watch is unpaired first you will not have the watch information in the latest backup.
Click to expand...

This is incorrect. The watch is continually and automatically backed up to the iPhone and even if you skip unpairing it before backing up the iPhone, the iPhone backup will still have the latest backup of the watch (usually the same day). What it may not have are information since the automatic backup last occurred. That's why unpairing right before you back up the iPhone is recommended, as that forces the iPhone to perform a last second backup of the watch.

dedufour41 said:
So then before I get the new iPhone:

Backup old iPhone to iTunes
Unpair watch
Upgrade to new iPhone
Install backed up data to new iPhone via iTunes
Pair watch

This sound right?

@@
Click to expand...

It's best to unpair the watch before you back up the old iPhone.
 
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dedufour41 said:
So then before I get the new iPhone:

Backup old iPhone to iTunes
Unpair watch
Upgrade to new iPhone
Install backed up data to new iPhone via iTunes
Pair watch

This sound right?

@@
Click to expand...

Unpair watch
Backup old iPhone to iTunes, check Encrypted is enabled.
Upgrade to new iPhone
Install backed up data to new iPhone via iTunes
Pair watch, choose restore.
 
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JayLenochiniMac said:
This is incorrect. The watch is continually and automatically backed up to the iPhone and even if you skip unpairing it before backing up the iPhone, the iPhone backup will still have the latest backup of the watch (usually the same day). What it may not have are information since the automatic backup last occurred. That's why unpairing right before you back up the iPhone is recommended, as that forces the iPhone to perform a last second backup of the watch.



It's best to unpair the watch before you back up the old iPhone.
Click to expand...
I backed up before un-pairing and lost 2 active calories. 😀 If you open Activity app on the iPhone it usually updates from the :apple:Watch. However un-paring first is the safest/latest. While some have reported data taking a while to get to the iPhone I have always found it VERY current. Still better to be safe.
 
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Julien said:
I backed up before un-pairing and lost 2 active calories. 😀 If you open Activity app on the iPhone it usually updates from the :apple:Watch. However un-paring first is the safest/latest. While some have reported data taking a while to get to the iPhone I have always found it VERY current. Still better to be safe.
Click to expand...

I in error put the word "latest" in the wrong place. It should have read "Unless the watch is unpaired first you will not have the latest watch information in the your backup. I agree that the watch pretty well is keeping the iPhone updated near real time. Unpairing also get the watch ready to be paired again.
 
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Julien said:
I backed up before un-pairing and lost 2 active calories. 😀 If you open Activity app on the iPhone it usually updates from the :apple:Watch. However un-paring first is the safest/latest. While some have reported data taking a while to get to the iPhone I have always found it VERY current. Still better to be safe.
Click to expand...

That's exactly what I wrote. It's best to unpair it right before you back it up as that forces the iPhone to perform a last second backup of the watch. Otherwise, you'll have to content with however long has passed since the automatic backup last occurred. Some members are under the false impression that the iPhone won't have a recent backup of the watch if you neglect to unpair it first.
 
JayLenochiniMac said:
That's exactly what I wrote. It's best to unpair it right before you back it up as that forces the iPhone to perform a last second backup of the watch. Otherwise, you'll have to content with however long has passed since the automatic backup last occurred. Some members are under the false impression that the iPhone won't have a recent backup of the watch if you neglect to unpair it first.
Click to expand...
I was agreeing and giving an example of it.😉
 
Thanks a lot everyone, this is very helpful information. You'd think they would have given us watch wearers a better heads up on this.

@@
 
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Ok, so I did it wrong, but it was fixable. Backed up old phone before unpairing, but since this was at the end of the day and I was hardly running laps, it wasn't a huge deal. What was a huge deal was that my health data disappeared (even though I did an encrypted back up on iTunes).

So, before I threw in the towel, I decided to back up the old phone again, this time to iCloud. I wiped the new phone and restored with the iCloud backup and my health data was back.

I only had one choice for Watch back up, so I used it. End result was that I lost about 100 calories from my move ring, which kept me from completing the ring by about 80 calories. 🙁

But, I had over an hour of exercise and 14 standing hours, so I wasn't harmed there.

But dang it. There goes my perfect month.

So, if I were doing it all over again, I'd do like stated above:

Unpair watch (after completing all rings)
Back up old phone to iCloud
Activate new phone and restore with iCloud back up
Pair watch to new phone (and you'll be asked to restore Watch first)
 
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By the way, Health data is always encrypted if you do your backups to iCloud. Did not know that, and I'm glad to know it because I prefer not to use iTunes.


iCloud Encryption.JPG
 
I saw that, but it looked like you could only restore Health, but not Activity data, by using the 3rd party app.
 
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