Apple Watch Not Pinging on iPhone? Here’s the Fix!

Is your Apple Watch not pinging on iPhone?

In our busy lives, we sometimes forget to keep our belongings close, such as our iPhone. For the price it comes at, losing it is the last thing you would want to go through.

But if you also happen to own an Apple Watch, you can use the ping feature to produce a sound or vibration on your iPhone, informing you of its location. Unfortunately, there have been cases when even the stated feature has failed to work. 

Luckily, the error doesn’t have to be around for long. There are a couple of effective methods to resolve the issue, which we’ve explained in detail below. So look no further and simply read this guide till the end.

Let’s get started!

1. Check Your Wi-Fi and BlueTooth Connections. 

A network connectivity issue is the most common cause if you’re unable to ping your iPhone. Since Wi-Fi and BlueTooth connections need to be up and running for your iPhone to ping on your Apple Watch, the first step is to ensure that both these connections are enabled. 

Here’s how to check on your iPhone: 

1. Firstly, open Settings from your device. 
   
2. Next, tap on Wi-Fi and make sure that the toggle next to Wi-Fi is turned on. 

3. Go back to Settings and select Bluetooth. 
   
4. Check the toggle for Bluetooth and ensure it’s turned on. 

5. Look for your Apple Watch under My Devices and see if it says Connected next to it. 

From your Apple Watch, follow these steps:

1. Press the Digital Crown and go to Settings.
   
2. Choose Wi-Fi and turn on the toggle next to Wi-Fi if it’s not on. 

3. Now, head back to Settings and choose Bluetooth. 
   
4. Ensure that the toggle for Bluetooth is switched on.

2. Disable Airplane Mode. 

If you’ve accidentally switched on the Airplane mode from your iPhone, you may need to disable it for your Apple Watch to ping. This is because enabling the Airplane mode disconnects all the wireless networks, such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, etc. 

Here’s what you need to do:

1. Launch the Settings app from your iPhone. 
   
2. Now, turn the toggle off for Airplane. You may also swipe up from the bottom of the screen to access the Control Center. From there, ensure the Airplane icon is not in blue. 

3. Restart Your iPhone and Apple Watch. 

Several common problems can be fixed by simply restarting your devices. Temporary glitches and bugs are bound to appear within your software, which can be eliminated by a simple reboot. So, it’s best to restart both your iPhone and Apple Watch to get rid of the Apple Watch not pinging on the iPhone issue. 

Here’s how to restart your iPhone:

1. Begin by pressing and holding the Side button, and release it once the slider appears.
   
2. Swipe the slider to the right to turn off your device. 

3. After a few seconds, restart it by pressing and holding the Side button. 

Once your iPhone restarts, check whether your Apple Watch is pinging on the iPhone or not.

4. Update to the Latest Software Version on iPhone and Apple Watch. 

Another reason the ping feature may not work properly is due to a minor software issue within your iPhone or Apple Watch. In such cases, your next step is to install any pending iOS or watchOS update. This will fix any bug within your system that was causing your iPhone not to ping. 

Simply follow these steps from your iPhone: 

1. Open Settings from your Apple device. 
   
2. After that, select General and go to Software Update. 

3. If the page loads up to a pending update, tap on Download and Install. 

To update the watchOS, perform the following steps:

1. Head to the Watch app on your iPhone. 
   
2. Afterward, choose General. 
   
3. Tap on Software Update. 

4. If there’s an update available, select Download and Install. 

With the latest software version on your devices, try to ping your iPhone and see if this method fixed your problem. 

5. Reset Network Settings. 

If the easier fixes mentioned above didn’t seem to resolve the issue, consider resetting network settings on your iPhone. This will change all the Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Cellular, etc., settings back to default. 

So, if the connectivity issue was behind your Apple Watch not pinging on iPhone, this might just solve the problem. 

Here’s how to do it:

1. From the Settings app, head to General. 
   
2. Scroll all the way down and tap on Transfer & Reset iPhone. 
   
3. Afterward, choose Reset. 
   
4. Finally, tap on Reset Network Settings and follow the on-screen instructions to proceed. 

Your iPhone will turn off and restart in the process. Once the reset is complete, ping your iPhone from the Apple Watch and check if it works. Otherwise, move to the next method. 

6. Unpair and Repair Connected Devices. 

Even if resetting the network settings on your iPhone didn’t seem to get the iPhone to ping, there may be a bigger software problem. If there’s no connection between the devices, unpairing the Apple Watch from your iPhone may be one of your last resorts. 

This will result in your Apple Watch losing all of its data and will be reset to default. After a while, re-pair both the devices, and you should be good to go. 

To unpair your Apple Watch, follow these steps:

1. Launch the Watch app on the iPhone. 
   
2. Tap on All Watches from the top-left corner of the screen. 
   
3. Under the My Devices section, look for your Apple Watch and select the information icon next to it.

4. Lastly, tap on Unpair Apple Watch. 

After you’re done, re-pair your Apple Watch and check whether your issue is solved or not.

7. Contact Apple Support. 

If you’re still not successful in getting the iPhone to ping, you may want to seek help from Apple Support. Visit your nearby Apple Store and see if the problem is with the hardware.

This sums up our guide on how to fix Apple Watch not pinging on iPhone. If you have further concerns, don’t hesitate to use the comments section below. We’ll be more than happy to help. 

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