Wearable technology and smartwatches are becoming more and more popular! If you have just purchased a smartwatch, you might be wondering how to get it up and running. Below, we explain how to connect Android Wear, Samsung Gear and Apple Watch devices to your smartphone.
Connecting a smartwatch to an Android phone
If you have a device that runs on Android Wear (e.g. watches such as LG, Polar, Diesel, and Michael Kors), download the Wear OS by Google from the Google Play Store by clicking here.
Once you have downloaded the app, follow these steps:
- Turn on your smartwatch.
- On your phone, open the Wear OS app.
- Tap ‘Set it up’ and then the name of your watch.
- Now you will see a code on your phone and your watch. If the codes are the same, tap ‘Pair’. If they are different, you may need to restart your watch.
- If your device has paired successfully with your watch, you will see the 'Connected' label in the Wear OS app.
You can connect more than one watch to your phone if necessary. To add multiple watches, follow these steps:
- Open the Wear OS app.
- Beside the Connected watch’s name, tap the downwards arrow and tap ‘Add a new watch’. Follow the steps on screen.
Click here for further information on the Wear OS app and troubleshooting.
The Wear OS app also works on iPhones.
Connecting Samsung to your phone
If you have a Samsung smartwatch, you will need to download the Samsung Galaxy wearable app by clicking here. You can then connect your device by following these steps:
- Turn on your Gear watch by pressing and holding the Home key.
- On your phone, go into the Samsung Gear app and tap ‘Connect to Gear’.
- Tap ‘Pair’ to connect your devices.
- On your Gear watch, confirm the passkey matches the one on your phone.
- Once your devices are connected, you will have the option to sign into your Samsung account, turn on battery optimisation, review notifications settings and more.
Click here for more information and support on connecting your smart phone to a Samsung.
Connecting an Apple Watch to an iPhone
Here is how to set up your Apple Watch to your iPhone:
- First ensure that the iPhone’s Bluetooth is switched on (you can turn this on in Settings). You will also need to be connected to a Wi-Fi or cellular network.
- Turn on your Apple Watch by pressing and holding the side button until you see the Apple logo.
- Put on your Apple Watch.
- Ensure the Apple Watch and iPhone are close together until you see the 'Use your iPhone to set up this Apple Watch' message on your iPhone. Tap 'Continue'. If you don’t see this message, open the Apple Watch app and tap Start Pairing.
- Hold your iPhone over the animation, centre the watch face on the screen, and wait for a message to say your Apple Watch is paired.
Once your phone and watch have been paired, simply follow the steps onscreen to set up as a new watch, or restore from a backup.
Click here for more information on setting up your Apple Watch.
Other devices and smartwatches
The above processes cover the three most popular smartwatch device types. For other devices and wearables, you may need to download a specific app. For example, if you have a Fitbit, you will need to download the Fitbit app to get started.
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