Apple Watch is the most feature-rich wearables in the market. Undoubtedly, Apple Watch holds lots of data, and no one wants to lose them. In that case, backing up the device or data is all that the user thinks of. Like any other Apple device, the company has designed watchOS to backup automatically. i.e., users don’t need to perform a backup process manually as it takes place anytime in the background. Hence the users aren’t familiar with the process of backing up watchOS. Even if you prefer backing up manually, then read along as we guide you on backup Apple Watch.
Data-Backed Up by Apple Watch
This section aims to give you an overview of the data that gets backed up by watchOS.
- Notification settings and time zone.
- Synced photo album.
- App-specific data, settings, and app layout on the home screen.
- General system settings – brightness, sound, and haptic settings.
- Clock face settings – current watch face, order, customizations.
- Dock settings – order, favorites, or recent, available apps.
- Health & fitness data – history, awards, calibration data, user-entered data.
- Playlists, mixes, and albums sync to Apple Watch and music settings.
- Siri voice feedback setting that controls when Siri speaks.
Data Not Backed Up by Apple Watch
The following data are those that will usually not be backed up.
- Messages
- Bluetooth pairings.
- Credit or debit card details that you synced on Apple Pay.
- Passcode of your Apple Watch.
How to Backup Apple Watch
There is no special backup method for watchOS. However, there are ways in which you can activate the backup process on your Apple Watch.
Using iPhone
By default, Apple Watch will be paired with iPhone to sync all your data from the wearable. Check if your iPhone and Apple Watch are in range to each other and connected via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.
With this, your Apple Watch will be sync to iPhone and will get backed up with iPhone back up process.
Steps to Backup iPhone and Apple Watch
It is clear that backing up the iPhone will automatically backup the data of watchOS as well.
1. On your iPhone, open the Settings app.
2. Make a click on your device name or the section that includes your Apple ID and iCloud settings.
3. Now, click on the iCloud option and scroll to iCloud Backup.
4. Choose automatic iCloud Backup or manually back up on the device.
5. With iPhone backup, the settings and data of your watchOS will be backed up as well.
Unpair Apple Watch
If the above procedure seems to take too much of your time, opt to unpair Apple Watch method.
Apple Watch will perform an automatic backup process whenever it is paired with the iPhone. If you unpair it, then the backup process will take place at first. It is the simplest way to backup Apple Watch.
You shall restore Apple Watch data by pairing it again to the same iPhone or to a new one. All you need to do is to
1. Launch the Watch app on your iPhone and press the Start Pairing button.

2. Choose Restore from Backup.

3. Choose a backup option and enter Apple ID to sign in and restore the backup data.

Bonus! Force Backup
1. With Apple Watch charged, open the Watch app on iPhone.
2. Select the My Watch tab and click on Watch name.
3. Press the ‘i‘ icon next to your watch.
4. Choose the Unpair Apple Watch option.
End of session. That’s was all the information we have gathered for you regarding the Apple Watch backup. If in case you want us to resolve any issues, connect us through comments.