[Apple Watch] Unable to Check for Update - Not connected to the internet error

Hi. I am pairing my Apple Watch Series 5 to my iPhone running ios 14. The pairing is successful but unable to proceed with the set up because an update is needed to be downloaded first. I updated the os for watch but I keep on getting “Unable to Check for Update - Checking for a software update failed because you are not connected to the internet”. I am definitely connected to the internet.

Watch was reset to factory defaults and I am now pairing it as a new device but it fails due to the issue mentioned above.
Post not yet marked as solved Up vote post of heisenbert Down vote post of heisenbert
393k views
  • I solved this issue by uninstalling the Watch app from my iphone and reloading it. After reloading the app I paired the watch to the phone and the update started loading.

  • I will say one thing today was a frustrating day trying to get the watch to pair for a few hours. Finally I have success. My fix is the same as many but it took only one try when I changed the Country and Language. I decided to use language Portuguese, and country Afghanistan. It worked. so mad I could not see straight. But success, hope it works for you. It will.

  • Apple Watch 3, iPhone 11Pro w/ iOS 14.6 - nothing works to update the watch and make it a usable device, it's basically a dud now. I've tried resetting the iPhone and trying to update the watch in different language. No dice!

Accepted Reply

Hard resetting iPhone fixed this issue.

Steps are:
  1. Press Volume Up and let go.

  2. Press Volume Down and let go.

  3. Press and hold the side button.

Note: This does not wipe any data from your phone
  • This didn't work for me.

  • Same issue here. Reset series 3 Apple Watch to factory settings and tried to pair with iPhone X on iOS 14.6 and no matter what I do, I get the not connected to internet error when I am most definitely online.

    restart, reset, reinstalling watch, changing languages, changing region- none of that worked. Very frustrating!

  • @Patcwin thanks, that worked for me

Replies

Hard resetting iPhone fixed this issue.

Steps are:
  1. Press Volume Up and let go.

  2. Press Volume Down and let go.

  3. Press and hold the side button.

Note: This does not wipe any data from your phone
  • This didn't work for me.

  • Same issue here. Reset series 3 Apple Watch to factory settings and tried to pair with iPhone X on iOS 14.6 and no matter what I do, I get the not connected to internet error when I am most definitely online.

    restart, reset, reinstalling watch, changing languages, changing region- none of that worked. Very frustrating!

  • @Patcwin thanks, that worked for me

Have same issue on replacement series 5 due to charging issues. I tried everything including the suggestion here but still complains about not being connected to internet. Its not an internet issue, I have this problem setting the watch up on my wifes iphone 8/ios14 and mine iphone8+/ios14.
  • did This issue ever get resolved?

  • I’ve been trying to update my series 3 Apple Watch and it keeps telling me that I am not connected to the internet. ( I am) I have tried all the solutions recommended on this page and none of them worked (I tried changing my language re installing watch app etc) none of it works it just keeps on telling me I am not connected to the internet. I need a solution.

  • I’ve been trying to update my series 3 Apple Watch and it keeps telling me that I am not connected to the internet. ( I am) I have tried all the solutions recommended on this page and none of them worked (I tried changing my language re installing watch app etc) none of it works it just keeps on telling me I am not connected to the internet. I need a solution.

I have the same issue with a brand new apple watch series 5 and iOS 14.0.1. I got error “Unable to Check for update, your phone is not connected to the internet.” It’s just infinite loop from there. 

I tried using iphone 6s and 8, both are running newest iOS 14.0.1 and I got the same error. I don’t have other iphone running older iOS.
  • Does not work. Seriously about to go buy a Samsung and one of their watches. This is ridiculous.

  • Try this site.. : https://not.justsolutionsproducts.com/solved-apple-watch-unable-to-check-for-update-not-connected-to-the-internet-error/

Add a Comment
I have the same issue. I have done the hard reset and it did not help. My error says:

Unable to Check for Update
Checking for a software update failed because you are not connected to the Internet.

However, I am connected to the internet!?
  • Same issue. Tried to talk to apple support but they were pretty rude about it. Asked me to reboot my router after telling them i had tried at several different locations and on several different iphones. They then told me it would cost 300 to fix a software issue because they hire pretty dumb people to save them money from actually fixing their shit software

  • yep! same thing just happened to me. They told me apple stores were all booked up and my best chance was to go to a best buy because i had a "pretty old watch." Apple Support can be amazing one day, than complete A$$ the other. SO done with this company, and i've been a supporter for years :/

Add a Comment
I’m currently having the same issue. I did the hard reset, I reset my network connections, uninstalled add reinstalled the watch app and still get the same message when I have internet connectivity. Has anyone else gotten past this?
  • I’m curious if you ever did find a solution?

  • I'm curious too. Can you please share the solution if you found any?

  • Same situation. Updated my iPhone 11 to iOS 15 and tried 8 different recommendations without any success. Watch is a paper weight at this point. Hello garmin if I can’t find a resolution.

Having the same issue with my wife’s watch. Why has nobody responded with a solution to this problem??? @apple
  • This site help me solve it ------->>>> [[Fixed] Apple Watch Unable to Check for Update - Not connected to the internet error)

  • The site link did not show up -

Add a Comment
Same issue. Can someone from Apple jump in here?
  • I literally tried EVERYTHING listed in this forum (and others) spent hours trying to figure this crap out! What finally worked for me was setting my phone to Low Battery mode! Crazy

  • Switched phone to low battery mode adnow it's working. I tried everything above before that!

I have the same issue!

Hard resetting iPhone doesn’t fix it!

I reset my network connections, uninstalled and reinstalled the watch app and still get the same message when I have internet connectivity.

Please help!
Has anyone found a fix yet? I spoke with Apple for hours yesterday and all they could tell me was to send it back to Best Buy's.. I told them my replacement will probably have the same issue since I'm thinking this has to be software related. Sucks because I wanted to use this new S5 but it's a sitting brick at my house at the moment.
  • removed comment. Moved to correct post.

  • Yep it’s pretty clearly a software issue but they refuse to acknowledge it. My support person became extremely rude when i told him i had already tried everything he was asking and then just tried to charge me 300 to fix it

  • Beemi335i’s suggestion worked with signing out of my Apple ID, the 2nd time. I had to reset all settings on my iPhone first, then Beemi’s steps worked for me on the 2nd go around!

Add a Comment
I finally fixed it, guys! This is what I did to get it to finally update...
  1. Hard reset apple watch > when the apple logo shows hold down the button next to the crown and hold for 30 seconds > select erase all settings and content.

  2. After watch resets > power down the watch do not hard reset, move the power slider to the right you might have to put in your wrist to do that and then put it back on the charger.

  3. On your iPhone sign out of iCloud completely > go to settings > general > scroll down > shut down iphone (do not hard reset)

  4. Power up Watch and then your iPhone > sign into iCloud/AppleID

  5. Start the pairing process > it should say your watch is now paired > select update > it will give you the update error again saying no internet but let it sit for a minute > boom it will start updating the watch. Headache is GONE hopefully!

Hope this works for everyone because after trying everything these are the steps that I took you might have to try a few times but mine worked the very first try.

Cheers!!


  • 2 Questions: 1. How do you sign out of icloud? 2. How do you power the watch down from the setup screen? I'm still stuck.

  • worked for me as well!

  • Also worked for me. When it appeared I'd be stuck in the endless pairing/unpairing loop, I gave it some time and it finally updated my AppleWatch3. The update took about an hour from when it started.

Same problem here. Apple watch series 3, iPhone 12 mini running iOS 14.4. Apple, please help.
  • You are everything that is right in the world. It worked the first try. I've been treated like an ***** twice now by Apple tech support "Are you sure your watch is on? Are you sure you're connected to the internet? Have you tried powering down? Its working because its checking for an update, my job is done here, you're welcome..." It's been checking for an update now since June 15.

    I don't know what they're being paid but you should get a reward twice their salary. You are Neo. Thank you.

    I should add, my phone was in low battery mode when I attempted @Beem335i suggestion.

  • This did not work for me. Still got the same “update failed because you are not connected to the internet” error message!

  • On the watch, erase all content and settings. On your phone go to Settings, General, reset, reset network settings. I have done this on 3 watches so far and it worked on all 3.

Got the same issue with watch series 1 =( Hard reset not helped me at all.
  • Try leaving it with the error up for a few minutes, my watch series 2 finally connected to my phone 12, was seriously out of date as was previously connected to an iPhone 6 after following instructions posted copied from above

    `I finally fixed it, guys! This is what I did to get it to finally update... Hard reset apple watch > when the apple logo shows hold down the button next to the crown and hold for 30 seconds > select erase all settings and content.  After watch resets > power down the watch do not hard reset, move the power slider to the right you might have to put in your wrist to do that and then put it back on the charger.  On your iPhone sign out of iCloud completely > go to settings > general > scroll down > shut down iphone (do not hard reset) Power up Watch and then your iPhone > sign into iCloud/AppleID  Start the pairing process > it should say your watch is now paired > select update > it will give you the update error again saying no internet but let it sit for a minute > boom it will start updating the watch. Headache is GONE hopefully!  Hope this works for everyone because after trying everything these are the steps that I took you might have to try a few times but mine worked the very first try. 

    Cheers!! 

    Posted 1 year ago by [Beem335i]

  • I am not able to fix this problem for my series 1 watch. I am using iphone XR with OS 15.6.1. Please help. Should I try using old iphone (6s) or should I reset my XR? The watch is become useless. Hats off to Apple people for such costly watches and then letting customers face these issues.

Add a Comment
@Beem335i solution worked for me, thank you!
After spending couple hours trying to figure out the "Unable to Check for Update," issue on my Apple Watch series 5 setup, I found something that worked for me.

I first did what @heisenbert suggested and hard set set the phone.
"Steps are:
Press Volume Up and let go.
Press Volume Down and let go.
Press and hold the side button.
NOTE*: This does not wipe any data from your phone"

Then, I also did a hard reset before pairing the watch to my phone and wiped all content from the watch.

You do this by:
-Turning off the watch completely from the side Botton below the digital crown.
-Turn it back on, and when you see the apple logo pop up, press and hold the same Botton for 30+ second
until it ask to wipe all content of the Apple Watch.

Once both of those steps are completed, I went and started paring the watched to my phone. Make sure you press the option do pair it manually and enter the sequence of numbers displayed on the Apple Watch. From there on, I was able to update the Apple Watch with no issues. This update took me more than an hour so keep that in mind.

  • This works for me as well!! After following complete iwatch S3 reset and deleting all data, signing out my icluoud account, signing up again, restarting my iPhone AND pairing manually with code. Works perfectly and in one shoot! Thx!

  • FINALLY!! THIS WORKED FOR ME AS WELL. NOTE: I DID HAVE TO START THE PAIRING WITH THE WATCH ON MY WRIST AND THEN MOVE IT TO THE CHARGER ONCE IT FINALLY ALLOWED ME TO UPDATE IT.

  • This worked for me!

Beem335i's Method worked! Strange that it had to do all for a software update.
  • I tried a lot of the helpful suggestions posted here, but no luck. The only way I got my wife’s watch to update was to add it on my phone’s Apple Watch app. After updating the watch I removed it from my phone and then added back to my wife’s. presumably any family or friend with Apple Watch app could do this for you if you’re stuck and then remove and add it back to your own phone. Hope this helps!

  • @madkins what series is your wife’s phone and what version was your phone? I’m trying to update a series 3 to an iPhone 11 at the moment but wondering if I should try your method.

  • I tried doing some of the above methods which did not work. And then I tried doing this for my watch on my husbands phone but I’m getting the same message. Unable to check for update. I’m so frustrated!