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

I have being dealing with the same issue on my Apple watch. Actually, i closely monitored the Update process after clicking Update now. Just for a fraction of time I saw a Pop up Window asking for access permission to update, the main issue is that just after a second, without even giving time to click on update, the Update process starts and in sometime you see the Unable to update error with no Internet! Then Infinite loop fun starts...

• I somehow managed to click on Update Button in above-mentioned permisson window before the Infinite loop starts in. Worked like charm.

Can confirm. Switching your phone to your 2.4g network will allow your Apple Watch to connect to the internet to download the update. I was having the same issue as everyone in this thread and this is the only thing that fixed it.

I had the exact same problem. I tried to troubleshoot using different methods for over a month & have attempted to update the watch using 3 different wifi networks but to no avail. Today I bit the bullet and took my iPhone & Apple Watch into the Apple store. While waiting for a technician to become available, I decided to connect to Apple’s wifi & tried updating again. To my surprise, this worked. The no internet connection alert disappeared and the watch began updating on Apple’s wifi straight away. The estimated update time was 3 hours so I left my phone and watch with the technician and came back 3 hours later. My watch is now setup and working great! I hope this helps!

Hey guys.

Just wanted to help you guys out with this issue. I came across this check for update issue around 6 months ago and gave up entirely (my watch collected dust since then).

Decided to give it another try today - and it fricken WORKED.

What I did (following some steps from the first page)

1. Signed out and in of icloud on my iphone (uninstalled and reinstalled apple watch app)
2. Reset/erased contents of apple watch.
3. Turned on apple watch.
4. Turned on iphone + signed back in.
5. When setting up my apple watch - I DID IT MANUALLY (Don't use the camera to sync the watch and your iphone, instead use the serial code).
6. Voila

After numerous attempts, I changed the language again to Portugese then Afghanistan as Country. I was able to update the apple watch. I had another stumbling block when the watch was stuck in signing in to icloud account for hours. I just chose skip and continue when the iphone was asking for me to update the watch again then restore from back up or set up as a new watch. I hope this helps.

Can be an abrupt suggestion but, give a try while wearing it once its 100% charged and then go for update. Worked for me.

I ran into this issue when trying to pair my iPhone X running iOS 15.1 with my Apple Watch Series 5 trying to update to watchOS 8.1.

I was able to get to the screen which asks to update the OS on the operating system.

When I tapped the 'Update Now' button, I notice a modal flash on the screen with buttons 'Dismiss' | 'Update' that displays for less than a second and disappears without prompt. I couldn't read the message but it seemed like it was related to the update.

The iPhone screen immediately redirected to the spinning screen 'Checking for Updates' after which I get the error 'Unable to check for update - you are not connected to the internet' (Try Again | Start Over).

I tapped on 'Start Over' again to unpair and go through the process again. When I re-tried the update by tapping the 'Update now' button, I immediately tapped the area where the 'Update' button on the brief modal would display briefly and somehow I was able to see the watchOS 8.1 Software Update screen.

Hopefully this will help someone else save time as I went through pretty much all of the other suggestions (hard reset, change of region, etc) to no avail.

I was having the same exact issue ! I was so frustrated and I was definitely connected to the WiFi all bars to be exact ! Delete the app watch and reinstall also turn off your Bluetooth this is what worked for me it may say the same thing after doing these steps just press “TRY AGAIN”

This is what worked for me - Hope this helps :)

My solution was totally different from other answers; I just needed to get the most recent iOS software update, which hadn't auto-updated because I didn't have enough remaining storage space.

So I cleared out some storage space via settings, got the software update on my iphone, reset my phone, reset my watch, went to the Watch app, and it worked perfectly from there.

I hope this helps!

I had the same problem. Tried everything suggested. I finally tethered the wifi to my other iPhone for data and it worked.

Most likely the issue can be resolved by turning off your cellular data and exclusively using wifi. If you don't turn it off it creates a conflict and simply spins it wheels, never updating

Hi everyone

I was also having this issue because Apple had to replace my iphone X after damaging it in store fixing my camera…my series 3 watch was happily connected to my original phone but refused to connect to the replacement one and insisted on an update to the watch which said it would take 24hours (!!!) and then failed to update after all that anyway. I tried restarting both devices and resetting the watch, turning off Bluetooth, changing the location/language as suggested in this forum and none of it worked. I was then clicking through almost all options in settings to see if anything looked remotely relevant and went into the name/ID bit with my initials at the top of settings, scrolled down and it listed my devices of which one of them was my watch. Clicked into the watch and selected ‘remove from account’’. For whatever reason this then allowed me to pair with my watch without updating. I’m not sure if this will work for others but worth a try?

NONE of anything in this forum has worked for me. So disappointing. Getting this error when trying to setup a brand new Apple Watch for a family member for Christmas. Ugh. Using a iPhone 13 Pro to setup a Apple Watch Series 5 (GPS + Cellular) Any other ideas anyone?

As I mentioned under another comment, I got an Apple Watch 5 Ceramic Edition and tried to pair it with my iPhone 13 Pro, which is on iOS 15.1.1, so it's the newest Update possible at the moment. I tried every "Solution" in this whole forum, sadly nothing worked for me. I called up the Apple Support and we went trough some troubleshooting, without success. At the end he basically said that I need to send in my Watch and get it replaced for around 900€, that's actually more than i paid for it lol. I made an appointment at the Genius Bar for Monday, I will update my Comment here then.

Try changing your wifi on your phone to your hotspot. It worked for me. The update for the watch is loading and hopefully the watch will pair with my phone when completed.

I tried all of the above recommendations with no luck. I finally tried turning my phone on airplane mode and it WORKED!!! Good luck to you all!

Ok, Here is the answer to all your problems... LOL!

Seriously though... I have an Apple iWatch 3 been in a drawer for over a year and not updated or paired to a iphone.

I tried everything mentioned on this forum. What really worked was the activation locks have to be fully removed from the iWatch.

1. log in to https://appleid.apple.com/, and remove the device from any previous owners.

Example: I owned the watch, it was paired to "appleID1", and I needed to pair for "appleID2". Well, I never removed the device 100% from "appleID1". Once I removed it, boom, everything started working, pairing, updating and successfully working iwatch.

1. retry steps you have read here for pairing and everything should be smooth sailing.

I have same problem with an iwatch3 I tried everything,no luck Customer service said model to old i need to send to them to update manual which cost more than the watch worth This was the last straw after 12 years we are moving to Android

Hi, I solved putting language as Portuguese (Portugal) in iPhone, after, I started the process in watch and put the same language/region. And after that, I put in economy mode. It will update now, but shows it lasts more tan 2 hours :/

I was trying to link a series 5 to a iPhone 12 and had this exact issue.

The watch was a "replacement" watch that was sent to me and I sent in an series 5 for repair. I keep the replacement watch.. which I am assuming is not "new" but a refurbished watch.

I tried everything listed here. EVERYTHING.

I did chat support, to no avail.

The Apple Support person said that I needed a new watch. Confirmed that there was a software issue..

What finally worked for me was plugging my phone in to the charger. It seems like Apple just needs to update their error messaging.

I think I tried every other suggestion and nothing else worked.

I've been struggling with my Apple Watch 3 for a while now. Here are the steps I did to resolve the problem:

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.

Delete all backups from Apple Watch App > General > Storage > Watch > Delete All Backups

Force your phone to use a WiFi 2.4 GHz channel! This is what finally fixed my watch. I have a mesh network so I had to go into the router settings and force 5.0 GHz channel off, you may have a separate 2.4 GHz channel you can join.

Start the pairing process, it should work.

If I were to do this again, my first step would be using a 2.4 GHz network and trying the update before factory resetting the watch and deleting backups from my phone.

Good Luck!

I've spent the last two days trying to set my old watch up (series 4) for my mum. I literally tried everything but tonihht I Finally got it I don't know what part was the winner in the end but these are the things is did °Made sure iphone is up to date °Put both on charge °Signed out of icloud in media and purchases then deleted the watch app °restarted watch °signed back into icloud media and purchases and re installed app ° changed language to Portuguese and country to Afghanistan on watch °paired manually to watch app °left both on charge the whole time

Somehow along the way something worked and it's currently installing latest update to the watch.🤞

I tried most of the suggestions as well. Mine was an Express replacement What got me out of the loop was starting a manual setup on the watch and choosing Spanish, as the language and Afghanistan as the country. The update started!

Shut off your Wi-Fi on your phone , then turn off your iPhone, turn your phone back on and then follow with the WiFi and it should work, that’s what I had to do.