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

I also hit this issue trying to set up a service replacement from Apple. I spent hours trying all these suggestions on my main iPhone 11 without success. I even set up an old iPhone 8 from scratch (as a new phone, but still linked to my iCloud account) and that still failed in the same way.

The solution for me was to set the watch up using my wife’s iPhone and iCloud account first - the update went through first time. I then removed it from her account and was then able to set it up successfully on my phone and iCloud account, as it didn’t need to do the update, so didn’t hit this error.

So, for me at least, it seems to be some sort of issue with my iCloud account (or some data synced to it), possibly related to the way the Genius removed my old watch from my account when I took it in for servicing.

Omg so crazy I struggled with this for a couple days. It was pretty frustrating to say the least but, have patience because there is hope! So I know everyone’s circumstance seems to be different but this is what worked for me:

1. Put the watch on and restarted it, once it turned on I didn’t even touch it.
2. Then, I went over to my iPhone and uninstalled the dumbass watch app.
3. I then went to my settings and put my phone into low battery mode.
4. Then I powered off my iPhone normally, waited 15 seconds and powered it back on.
5. Once my iPhone turned back on I didn’t unlock it, I immediately did a soft reset; pressed the volume up button once let go and pressed the volume down button once and then let go, then I pressed and HELD the side button until I saw the apple logo appear. (The button combination I did fairly rapid just to ensure the integrity of the sequence).
6. After the apple logo finally disappeared, I unlocked my phone and brought it over to my Apple Watch that was on my wrist, so I essentially just rested the phone on the back of my hand so that it was side-by-side to the watch. NOTE: I did NOT re-install the Apple Watch app!! like I said, all I did was bring it next to watch.
7. Watch and iPhone recognized one another and a message popped up on iPhone asking if I wanted to restore watch with this iPhone and of course I followed the prompts and voilà!! I don’t quite understand exactly why this particular method worked comparatively speaking to all the millions of other ones I tried but it did!

So hopefully this works for someone! Thanks for letting me share, cheers!

I finally fixed the issue for my Apple Watch series 2 that I just got used. I connected to a 2.4ghz network instead of a 5ghz network (don’t know if this was needed). I then charged both my Apple Watch and iPhone to 100% at the same time, and then KEPT them on the charger while trying to update. Then it just went through the update as normal.

I was attempting to add two series 6 watches (one for a family member) to an iPhone 11 and while removing the watch app resolved this issue for the first watch, I couldn’t recreate this solution to add the second without unpairing the original watch. Below are listed the steps which finally resolved this issue for me:

1. Make sure both devices are fully charged and connected to power
2. Reset iPhone (for iPhones without home button - volume up, volume down, side button)
3. Hard reset watch (press crown until option to reset appears)
4. Turn on Airplane Mode for iPhone
5. Ensure WiFi (2.4 GHz) and Bluetooth are on
6. Manually pair watch

This should resolve cases where Apple Watch requires an update prior to being paired. Hope this helps!

Easy fix after wasting a ton of time. RESET your network setting. You will need to enter in your Wi-Fi password after your network settings are rest.

Reset your Network Settings. If you're using iOS or iPadOS 15 or later, tap Settings > General > Transfer or Reset [Device] > Reset > Reset Network Settings. If you're using iOS or iPadOS 14 or earlier, tap Settings > General > Reset > Reset Network Settings

I figured out the problem. The problem is that the Apple Watch you are trying to pair again already exists in your iCloud device list. To fix this go to (on your iPhone) Setting -> click on your name and then there is a list of devices ever associated with you Apple ID on your account. Remove the Apple Watch you are trying to pair again. Bam! Update will work. It may say you have to update your phone. Follow the link even if your phone doesn’t need an update then go back to the watch app and boom it will start updating.

I hope this will help someone.. after struggling few days with different settings, this is what worked for me with an Apple Watch Series 4:

• Reset the watch
• Language: Portuguese
• Country: Afghanistan
• Connect on your iPhone to a 2G wifi (not 5G)
• Start the pairing

I Upadated my phone first then afterwards the update for my apple watch worked

My daughter upgraded and gave me her old watch. It would pair but not update. I tried all of the solutions here. Almost Nothing worked. After doing a bit of googling, and trying combinations of these suggestions, in the end, only one small thing did the trick. I saw many people saying to change the language/region. I tried on the watch, the watch and phone both. That didn't work. I tried it on my phone only, didn't work. After seeing a few suggestions on Google that said to change region only on the phone (which I tried already), I tried again. It took trying several different locations. But once I chose UK, it worked!! I'm in USA and tried Antarctica, Portugal, Canada, Vietnam. None worked, I hit UK and that did the trick. SMH. Now I'm waiting on a 2 hour update!!

Jerm3085 below with the life-saving tip: turned my phone onto low battery mode. Bam, connected. Amazing.

Connect your phone to 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi and it should work "If you have Apple Watch Series 6, you can connect to 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz Wi-Fi networks. Apple Watch Series 5 and earlier, and Apple Watch SE, can connect only to 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi networks"

Apple Watch 3 with Iphone 7 plus..the suggestion of changing the language, as crazy as that sounds worked. I used Spanish and US for country. Spent a few days trying to get this to work, but success.

Tried low power mode, factory reset, reset network settings..no success till changing the language.

I experienced the same issue and went through all the steps here many times. I am not sure if the changes I made solved the problem or not, but what finally worked was doing BOTH lower power mode AND a different language (I used Spanish). I tried both of these by themself initially and they did not help, but together it finally got me passed the stupid checking for update screen.

Make sure your Apple watch is charging and you should be able to do the update. I had the same problem for a while and I finally solved it. The problem was for a family member so I created an Apple ID to hopefully help others out.

making sure my phone and watch were on the charger and changing location to Antartica were the only things that worked for me.