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Download Article Do you want to connect to a different Wi-Fi network but your iPhone is too far away? Fortunately, you can connect to almost any Wi-Fi network you want if you have watchOS 5 or later. If, however, you have an earlier Watch than that, you can only connect to networks that your paired iPhone has connected to in the past. This wikiHow article teaches you how to connect to a Wi-Fi network on your Apple Watch without an iPhone. Steps
Advertisement Ask a Question 200 characters left Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. Submit Advertisement Thanks for submitting a tip for review! ReferencesAbout This ArticleArticle SummaryX 1. Open Settings. Did this summary help you? Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 1,727 times. Is this article up to date?The Apple Watch is a really useful tool that has many more capabilities than just being used for telling time. It’s designed to be paired with an iPhone, allowing you to track applications used on your watch. Although you will need to pair it with an iPhone for initial set up, you can use your Watch in a wide variety of ways without consistent pairing. How can you use an Apple Watch without pairing? Here are seven ways you can use an Apple Watch without it being paired:
Let’s dive into all the things you can use your Apple Watch for without an iPhone being paired. In addition to those mentioned above, there are even more features you can access if you set up your watch with a cellular connection or Wi-Fi source. This article will detail these as well to allow you to get the most out of your watch when you aren’t paired to your phone. How to Use an Apple Watch When Not Paired (Without Internet Range)Because the Apple Watch is meant to be an iPhone companion, you will need to initially pair it for any functionality. The more applications you set up as you sync your iPhone, the more you’ll be able to do with the watch even when it’s not paired or connected for extended periods of time. It is important to note that more capabilities are offered with newer watch series. There is a wide range of things you can do with an Apple Watch when it is not paired, making it a fun and useful tool when you are both near and far from an iPhone. 1. Track Physical ActivityOne of the coolest features of the Apple Watch with or without an iPhone is the Activity and Workout applications. These apps work together to track your fitness, workouts, and physical activity throughout the day. You do not need to be paired with a phone to take advantage of them, either. The Activity app challenges you to close three rings every day, with each ring representing a different fitness accomplishment:
You can set your watch to notify you when you close your rings and push yourself to keep the ring moving beyond its goal. This not only keeps you moving with a target to hit each day but also gives you weekly and monthly challenges to partake in. The Workouts AppThe Workouts app helps you close your rings with more specific workouts and provide the watch with more data about your athletic capabilities. This app will give you over 60 workouts to log, which will directly appear in your Activity app. Recording more workouts will help to calibrate your watch to understand your strides and body movement measurements. During the workout, your screen will provide you with the following information:
The watch will reset itself each day so you can look forward to closing all three rings and beating the previous day’s work! The watch won’t let you look at your progress or data over multiple days, for which you will need the paired iPhone to access this data. 2. Set Stopwatches and AlarmsBeyond telling time, the watch is equipped with other time-related functions. These applications are ready to use at any time and do not need to be added to your watch face when you start using it for the first time. All your time-related applications on the watch are the same color orange so you can easily find them! Check out these time-related features that can be applied to numerous areas of your life:
These offer more features and customization than your typical digital sports watch, making it more accessible and functional for fitness metrics as well as everyday timing needs. Setting a timer for cooking something on the stove can be easily done without your phone. 3. Monitor Your Heart RateHeart rate monitoring ties into your fitness tracking as well as your overall health. The Heart Rate app allows you to check your current, resting, and walking heart rate throughout the day. You can see changes that occur on the watch face graph and gauge your rate during hard workouts. You can set your watch to notify you when your heart rate gets too high or too low based on a number you choose. This can be a great health tool if you experience large fluctuations in speed. You can also track irregular heartbeats if you set this notification up on your phone. The Apple Watch can identify these irregular rhythms and notify you. Apple Watches (especially newer models) do a great job of tracking your heart rate but should not be relied on solely as a heart monitoring tool. The watches are quite accurate, but they are not designed to be medical devices! 4. Music and Podcast SyncingWhile you will need to configure the songs and podcasts that get sent to the Apple Watch from your phone, you can enjoy all of these media options without having your iPhone on you. This is an excellent tool if you like going for runs and don’t want to worry about bringing your phone along. You will need Bluetooth headphones to take advantage of this feature! To send podcasts to your watch, open the Apple Watch app on your iPhone. Under ‘My Watch,’ you’ll find the Podcast app where you can customize which shows and episodes to download when out of iPhone range. The same process can be completed to sync your music to the watch. You will need to have music available on the Apple Music application to use this feature. Apps like Spotify and other music services do not currently allow for offline listening on the watch. The Apple Watch will only allow for 2 GB of storage to be allocated to music, meaning you’ll have to pick songs! Specific playlists and music must be uploaded ahead of time to enjoy them on the watch. Any music additions or changes will need to be done from the compatible iPhone. After this is configured, you will not need to use the iPhone with the watch unless you want to change music. 5. Practice Your BreathingDuring a busy day running from commitment to commitment, taking a minute to breathe can help to calm and center you. The Breathe application reminds you to take some time out of your day to relax and be mindful. You can set the watch up to remind you of these sessions (up to 10 times a day) or mute them if it isn’t a good time! The watch can be configured to different breathing rates based on your ideal speed. The session will encourage you to breathe in and out slowly and give you a light vibration on the exhale to help you time your breaths. During this session, you will also benefit from these watch features:
This is just another feature that Apple has included on the watch to promote a healthy lifestyle, both in monitoring your breathing patterns and as a stress reliever. 6. Photo DisplaysSimilar to music and podcasts, you can store photo albums on your phone to show off to friends or keep looking back on! There is a Photos app (looks just like the iPhone app) where Favorite photos from your phone get added to the watch, and you can select specific albums to add. You can add up to 500 photos to the Apple Watch, depending on space availability. From the watch photos, you can set desired ones as your watch face, so it appears as a background wallpaper whenever you check the time or go to do something on the watch. You may need to clear some music and podcasts if you are not able to upload the desired 500 photos (75 MB). The opposite can be said if you aren’t able to store as much audible media as you’d like. 7. Use Apple Pay and WalletSomething that is even cooler than being able to pay for something from your phone is being able to do so with only your Apple Watch. Once you set up Apple Pay to mirror your watch by adding credit cards and enabling a passcode (for security), you can use the feature when you run into a store with or without an iPhone. You simply hold up your watch to the automated machine you would use for tapping your iPhone at a register. Your entire wallet will show up with other important cards, gift cards, and passes you may need easy access to. Consider scanning your boarding pass at an airport or transit cards for your commute to work with this wallet feature. You do not need your phone to execute these features from day to day. Just make sure you set up Apple Pay and configure the necessary items in your wallet, so the watch is ready to use. How to Use an Apple Watch with a Wi-Fi ConnectionWithout being paired to your iPhone, there are even more ways you can use your Apple Watch when connected to a Wi-Fi network. Just as you would on an iPhone, you can connect to a Wi-Fi network under the settings icon on the watch. You can type in Wi-Fi network passwords with the Scribble feature. Networks previously joined on your phone will be automatically joined. Beyond all the features mentioned above that can be used without your phone nearby, there are additional features that Wi-Fi connection provides for your watch:
Your Apple Watch performs nearly all the same functions while connected to Wi-Fi as it would when near your phone. The only caveat is you must remain within the range of the Wi-Fi network. Going for a run or moving around will not allow you to maintain this consistent connection, and you will only have access to apps mentioned in the previous section. How to Use an Apple Watch with a Cellular ConnectionThe Apple Watch can also be equipped with a cellular connection if you purchase the models that are specifically designed to do so. This costs more upfront and will also include an additional charge of around $10 per month, depending on your service provider. For some users, the extra capabilities of the cellular watch make it worth it. With cellular service, the Apple Watch is fully functional even if your phone is not nearby, and you are not near a Wi-Fi connection. These are some of the key features people take advantage of this watch for:
While you will still need an iPhone to set up the Apple Watch and update it, purchasing the cellular model allows you to leave your phone at home or be out of Bluetooth range and still benefit from all its features. If you find yourself not wanting to carry your phone with you, this may be the best Apple Watch model. There are multiple situations you may find yourself not wanting to carry a phone, but still wanting to stay updated:
Using a cellular connection on your Apple Watch is not necessary to give you enough features to make the Apple Watch worth using without an iPhone nearby, but it dramatically enhances its capabilities. If you are someone who would benefit from the features mentioned above, then the extra dollars spent may be worthwhile. Cellular usage on your Apple Watch will drain its battery more quickly than using Wi-Fi or being connected to the iPhone. Your iPhone and Apple Watch will need to use the same cellular carrier to function together. Setting up these plans will be completed through your service provider rather than Apple. Initial Apple Watch Configuration with iPhoneAs mentioned throughout the article, you will need to set up the Apple Watch with an iPhone before you can take advantage of any of the features that are accessible without pairing. Let’s go through this setup process so you can get right to using your watch with or without the iPhone! Here are the steps to follow when setting up your Apple Watch:
If you want to make updates to the Apple Watch, you can either update it from your phone or without it. If not connected to the watch, you will need to be on a Wi-Fi network. In either case, make sure your phone is charged so it can successfully complete an update. Leaving it on the charger is often recommended so that the watch does not die during the process. The Apple Watch is designed to be a companion to the iPhone, meaning that it cannot be fully functional without the iPhone. You should not purchase an Apple Watch unless you have an iPhone that you can configure and pair it with. Once you have the watch set up to a phone, there are so many things you can do with it even when your phone is not nearby. Full accessibility with or without the phone is achieved by purchasing a cellular plan, giving you every feature all the time. If you don’t want to pay the monthly fee, you can still a ton of cool things with your watch on Wi-Fi or connected to no network at all! These features are especially useful for fitness, tracking your heart rate, and paying for things with Apple Pay. The Apple Watch is an excellent tool to take advantage of without being around an iPhone. It provides you with many more features than any digital watch will, and when you are paired, it’s like having a mini-phone on your wrist! Can you connect Apple Watch to Internet before pairing?Apple Watch pairs to your iPhone using Bluetooth, but can use Wifi if there is a network that the watch and the phone can connect to. If the software needs to be updated on your Apple Watch during setup, then your iPhone will require access to Wi-Fi.
Can I use my Apple Watch without pairing it to my phone?Your Apple Watch will work without an iPhone, but depending on what model of Watch you have, you might not have access to every feature. You'll need to have access to either a cellular or Wi-Fi connection if you want to use the majority of your Apple Watch's features without an iPhone.
Why can't my Apple Watch connect to Internet?Your Apple Watch isn't updated to the latest watchOS. The Wi-Fi network you're trying to connect has poor connectivity strength. There's a problem with your Wi-Fi router or modem.
Can you use Apple Watch without WiIf Bluetooth and Wi-Fi aren't available, and you set up a cellular plan, cellular models of Apple Watch can connect to mobile networks.
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