In a world that is increasingly becoming full of gadgets that are nearly useless, the Apple Watch stands out of the crowd. Not only has it become a style icon in its own right but it is actually useful beyond what you may have expected.
This is especially the case considering that Apple has such a strong rep that they really hardly even need to try anymore! So, here we are with this Apple Watch, pleasantly surprised by its simple utility and the sheer number of features that it managed to pack in.
It’s convenient too, and they seem to have thought of there preferences of as many of their customer base as they possibly could have. There’s a whole load of different straps to pick from, for example. And of course, there’s a decent range of sizes too.
Connectivity Issues With The Apple Watch
When everything is working as it normally should, here’s how it all happens. To begin with, the Apple Watch that is currently on your person will hook up to your iPhone, enabling the whole system to work.
This is the absolute paramount piece of info to explain how the whole thing works. The Apple Watch is useless unless it can do this. It can’t hook up directly to your Wi-Fi, nor can it connect to an Android device.
The Apple Watch actually has its own unique OS, too. Overall, this OS will rarely if ever give you any hassle. It’s reliable and generally won’t lead to issues such as the one you are currently having.
However, it is totally possible that an update could have thrown a spanner into the works. Having trawled the boards and forums, it would seem like this is happening to a lot of you.
So, to help you out, we decided to put together this list of troubleshooting tips to help you out. Let’s get stuck right into it.
Apple Watch Update Not Connected To Internet
1. Try giving the watch a restart
As we always do with these guides, we are going to start out with the really easy stuff. However, just because it is easy, does not mean it isn’t going to work for you.
Restarting any device is excellent at clearing out any minor bugs and glitches that may have accumulated over time, allowing the watch to perform to its best ability. All you need to do to restart it is to use the power button.
Once you have switched the watch off, just let it rest for a few minutes doing nothing at all. Once you have done that, all that remains is to switch it back on again and check to see whether you can connect it up now.
Even if it doesn’t work this time, we would recommend keeping this one up your sleeve to use any time there is some other minor issue with your watch. For now, let’s move onto the next troubleshooting tip.
2. Try restarting the phone
In the same vein as the last tip, it is also worth ruling out any minor bugs and glitches on your phone. Again, restarting is a great way to do that, refreshing the device and giving it the best chance of working properly.
This is especially the case if there has been a recent update that may have changed the way your various devices communicate. So, before moving on to the more complex fixes, be sure to restart the phone.
3. Pair the two devices again
After you have restarted both devices, you will need to make sure that you pair them up again. As we mentioned earlier, the Apple Watch doesn’t have the capacity to connect to your Wi-Fi directly.
Instead, it is totally reliant on your iPhone, using the credentials that it gets via the phone to get what it needs from the internet. So, it’s very important to make sure that they are paired up.
However, this could be exactly why there is a problem with your watch not connecting to the internet and updating. To make sure we have all bases covered, here is exactly what you need to do to pair them properly.
There is a chance that the two devices will be already paired, so the first thing that we will need to do is to unpair the two. Now, all that remains is to pair them up again.
For most times after a recent update, you will need to do this process to allow the two devices to resume normal communication again. On occasion, doing this process can actually prompt the phone to install a download that will allow it to communicate better with the watch.
4. Check the strength of your internet signal
As is the story with all internet enabled devices, they just don’t work at all unless they have a steady and reliable connection to the internet. It could just be that the signal today is particularly weak.
One way you can test this is to run an internet speed test on your connection. There are plenty of free websites out there that provide this service. If we were to personally recommend one, we would go with Ookla.
If it turns out that you are getting incredibly bad internet at the moment, this could either be because you are in a black spot or that there is something wrong with your service.
In either case, it can be worth getting in touch with the customer service department of your service provider to make sure of this.
5. Is MAC filtering enabled?
So, if none of the above tips have worked for you, it is likely this last one that will resolve the issue once and for all. A critical part of getting your watch to connect is whether or not the watch is being blocked by MAC filtering.
Though we generally only think of the MAC filter settings on the router when trying to connect something directly to it, it does also apply here. You see, Apple Watches, though they connect to the phone and not the router still have a MAC address of your phone.
And this can still prompt a router to exclude it from receiving a connection. To make sure that this isn’t the case, it will be a good idea to go to your router and switch off the MAC filtering option.
This will effectively allow your Apple Watch to connect to your router and resolve the issue for you. This will also mean that any outstanding updates will be queued and downloaded accordingly.
The Last Word
In rare cases, none of the above fixes will work. When this happens, it will mean that you are one of the unlucky few who may have picked up a faulty device.
We cannot recommend taking anything apart or doing anything that risks damaging the device in any way. So, the only remaining course of action in these cases is to simply get in touch with customer services to detail the problem to them.
While you are talking to them, we would recommend that you let them know everything you have tried to fix the problem. That way, they will better be able to assess what the issue is and come up with a solution for you much quicker.