Watch OS 5 update says not connected to Internet

I was having the same issues with my series 3 Nike Apple I watch. I had tried everything on this forum and nothing helped.

Then I read where someone had deleted the iwatch app from their phone, hard reset the watch and their phone, then manually paired their watch. It worked!

So, do this:

—Delete the iwatch app
—Hard reset the watch (factory default)
—Hard reset your phone (volume up and down and the power at the same time) If you can’t do that, then just restart your phone
—Make sure your phone is still connected to wifi
—re-download the iwatch app
—when pairing your phone and watch, be sure to do it manually.

Then, you’ll be able to download the needed software to proceed!

Hello people may I firstly say thank you to all the people that have already commented with advice on this issue.

after hours of trying to pair and update an Apple Watch series 1 to iOS 14.3 and receiving countless errors being told I’m not connected to the internet I finally managed to solve the issue and paid and update the watch.

I spent an hour on the phone with Apple and I exhausted everything I read in the comments to this thread and more including changing WiFi frequency’s from 5ghz to 2.4ghz,
erasing all data and settings from the Apple Watch,
reseting network settings on iPhone,
using 3 different iPhones on iOS 13&14
and all the obvious resets and power cycles

Nothing seemed to be working and I was about to give up and as a last effort instead of having my phone connected to WiFi or 4g cellular
I connected to my iPads personal hotspot
tried the update and paring process again and it worked no problem !! ( took a good while approx 2 hrs but completed successfully )
the Apple Watch had 100% battery and like I say had been reset
after the anguish and stress it caused me and after reading the pain others are going through I thought I’d post.
I’m not suggesting it’s a fix but being connected to the iPads personal hotpot is the only factor that changed and my watch updated
worth a shot if nothing else

good luck

I have a much lower tech solution.

My watch was out being repaired and I just got it back. I tried to set up and got the same error as all of you. Probably tried to turn everything off and back on 10 times. Before wiping or re-installing anything I tried one more thing... I left BOTH the phone and the watch connected to their chargers for the entire pairing and set up without disconnecting them for even a second. Worked without any further problems. Weird.

I did a lot of googling and finally realized the root cause of the problem was the fact that the iPhone was connected to a 5GHz Wi-Fi band and the watch only operates on a 2.4GHz band.

1) You need to ideally restart/reset your watch
2) Connect your iPhone to a 2.4GHz Wi-Fi band
3) Pair the iPhone and the watch

The iPhone then configures the Apple Watch with the 2.4GHz Wi-Fi connection, and then Apple Watch is able to update itself. If you first connect to a 5GHz Wi-Fi and then begin pairing, switching to a 2.4GHz while the pair is in progress will not work.

I hope this helps someone!

I was having the same issues with my series 3 Nike Apple I watch. I had tried everything on this forum and nothing helped.

Then
I read where someone had deleted the iwatch app from their phone, hard
reset the watch and their phone, then manually paired their watch. It
worked!

I Upvote Ashton_C

This worked for me on apple watch series 5 iphone xs max ios 14

So, do this:

—Delete the iwatch app
—Restart apple watch
—Make sure your phone is still connected to wifi
—re-download the iwatch app
—when pairing your phone and watch, MAKE SURE to press MANUAL on the iphone apple watch app!!

Then, you’ll be able to download the needed software to proceed!

I followed tarpondiver's solution, specifically the airplane mode with wifi on and this is the only solution that worked for me after exhausting all others.

So! DONT LISTEN TO ANY COMMENT!

I tried every one and it didn’t work!

the only way to solve it like I did is to

1) get an old iPhone and pair the watch to that!

2) straight away then you unpair it from the old
Iphone!

3) then pair it to your current IPhone!

4) then it lets you update the update!

please listen to this as it’s the only way to get it to work!

Hi,

I spoke with a representative on the phone and they said I needed to send my watch in to have the techs look at it and fix it. My screen had a chip in it so they would not perform the software update on their end and wanted me to pay over $200 to have the screen repaired. This is for a Series 1 btw. I assume if your watch is in good condition, and you contact them, you can get the issue resolved but for me it was a huge disappointment and waste of time.

Important:

• Need to have your phone and watch both on charge

Hello. Bought a Nike Series 5 New.

After being on the phone with my carrier for 3 hrs on & off. I literally figured it out on my own.
For XR w/ SERIES 5

Once your watch is back at the...sit the devices side by side screen:
All apps closed including WATCH APP

Slide down CONTROL CENTER & SHUT OFF CELLULAR DATA with WIFI ON

Open WATCH APP and go through the steps to update manually, which is in fine print on the UPDATE NOW screen.

PAIR by inputting the number on the WATCH to the WATCH APP prompt.

That should do it!
Currently waiting 25mins for software update.

HOPE THIS WORKS

I was having this same problem, tried everything suggested on this thread. I did hard resets, deleted the app, ipad as a hotspot, etc. But as someone else mentioned, the only thing that worked for me:

Both devices plugged in
At 100% battery
Then finally after hours of messing around it finally just worked.

Hope that helps someone.

I’ve been tracking this question and all it’s answers since I got the new iPhone 12 because my Apple Watch Series 2 wasn’t connecting to the internet. I tried everything on this thread, but here’s what worked for me and hope it helps someone else..

• Go to Settings > General > Reset > Reset Network Settings

• Delete Apple Watch App

• Hard reset your phone

• Redownload Apple Watch App

• Manually pair Apple Watch to your phone

• When you get stuck on the “cannot connect to internet” part, leave your app but DO NOT CLOSE IT for a few hours. (I left both devices charging overnight.)

• After a few hours, while connected to WiFi, go back to the Watch app and press “Try Again”

This worked for me and the software update took 5hrs but I can finally use my watch again!!

Hi, everyone. So last night I finally updated mine after struggling so long. The solution was simple and worked immediately. You need a macbook - not sure if it’ll work on ipad. I basically used wifi through my macbook to update rather than being connected to wifi directly.

This may sound complicated but it isn’t - I just made sure to include all steps.

1. I rest and disconnected my watch from my iphone.

2. Turned off wifi and data on iphone.

3. Setup wifi sharing on my macbook. (Check how to do this online - I chose to share from wifi to iphone through usb cable)

4. Plug iphone into macbook with usb and check internet is working. Leave it connected for duration of update and make sure macbooked is charged or also plug it in.

5. Also put watch on charge and start update.

Worked so easily! Hope it helps!

I had the same problem when I tried to set up the watch for the first time.
I then used my wife's old iphone to set up the watch and then there was no issue ( I did not do anything else).
Had both the watch and the phone charging.
So try using another iphone to setup the watch, worked for me.

Rest set series one watch and iPhone 11 then it was able to connect to internet and updat watch

same with me my dad and my brother nothing is happening it says not connected to the wifi. and then it won’t let me update it. idk if it is the app rn or if it is my phone or watch i have the sires one my dad has the sires 3. idk if it is because it is so out of date or not but it would be nice if some one knew how to do it without a different phone or a macbook!!!!

I had the same problem. Tried to pair, connected to iPhone, update required, no internet connection message.

1. Reset watch

2. Turn off Bluetooth on your phone

3. Make sure your phone is connected to wifi

4. Start pairing process again without bluetooth.

Works like a charm. There must be an issue with the Bluetooth.

TechnoDad
watch won’t pair without Bluetooth on phone switched on

Same problem again with Version 7.3.2

new Apple Series 5, same issue
turning off Bluetooth is just not working as Bluetooth need to be enabled

switching from 5GHz network to 2.4GHz network solve the issue

Apple should fix it... it's annoying...

Had the same issue with the Series 4 watch. Disabled WiFi, and I was able to download the update using a mobile network (iPhone 12).

The update to watch was paused so I used a 2.4GHz WiFi network and it worked.

I just spent an hour on the phone with Apple support going through several of the suggestions above. My watch has been in a drawer for a year and a half and paired fine with my older iphone 6. Now my series 1 watch will not pair with my iphone 8.

The support manager's only suggestion was that it must be hardware - I have to prepay $218.31 to mail it to them to fix it.

What else can I try to get the watch to upgrade? It is working fine.

Turn off cellular only have wifi activated.

Take the watch off the charger and try again. It will begin the update. You can now put your watch back on the charger. I know, I know, it says to leave the watch on the charger while updating. But it works, so who cares. Give it a shot. It worked for me.

I tried all these suggestions, and what finally worked after multiple resets and powering on and off is pairing it back to the phone manually, with the code instead of with the camera. Doesn’t make sense but it worked.