As an Apple user, I’ve been frustrated trying to figure out if AirPods can be paired with an Apple Watch without an iPhone. After hours of research, I’m here to share what I’ve learned and the various solutions I’ve discovered. In this blog post, I’ll explain how to pair AirPods with your Apple Watch without an iPhone, as well as explain how the process works.
Key Takeaways:
- AirPods can be paired with an Apple Watch without an iPhone.
- To pair AirPods with your Apple Watch, open the Bluetooth settings on your Apple Watch, put your AirPods in the case, open the lid and press the button, then press on your AirPods on the Bluetooth settings on your Apple Watch.
- You can adjust the volume of your AirPods with your Apple Watch by double tapping them to activate Siri, or by spinning the crown on the Apple Watch.
- You can listen to music, podcasts, and audiobooks with just your Apple Watch and AirPods.
- Spotify can now be used with the Apple Watch, allowing users to download music and listen to it offline through their AirPods.
- If your AirPods are having trouble connecting to your Apple Watch, consider checking the charge, restarting the Apple Watch, disabling Airplane mode and Power Reserve, and unpairing and repairing your AirPods.
Table of Contents
Can AirPods pair with Apple watch without iPhone?
Yes, it is possible to pair the Apple Watch with Airpods without using an iPhone. It will be necessary to use an iPhone for the initial setup, but after that you will be able to use just the AirPods and Apple Watch even when offline.
This can be useful for things such as when you want to be able to go on a run without having to bring your iPhone.
How to use AirPods with Apple Watch without an iPhone
While there are limitations with the Apple Watch that you need to take into account, using your AirPods without an iPhone is not all that difficult.
You simply have to pair your AirPods with your Apple Watch the regular way.
To do this, do the following:
Go to settings -> Bluetooth on your Apple Watch
Put your AirPods in the case
Open the lid
Press the button
Press on your AirPods on the Bluetooth settings on your Apple Watch
Now that your AirPods are paired, you can easily connect them with your Apple Watch in the future by just clicking on them from the Bluetooth settings on your Apple Watch.
In order for your AirPods and AirPods Pro to work with your Apple Watch this way, you have to make sure that they have already been paired with an iOS device (such as an iPhone or an iPad).
If you have not done this yet, you can do this by having the AirPods in close proximity with your iPhone or iPad. Look under your Bluetooth settings, and check out the instructions listed on your iOS device.
Once you’ve done this, your AirPods will be automatically paired with your Apple Watch, with no additional steps needed to be taken.
The unfortunate news for people looking to use AirPods with an Apple Watch but who do not own an iPhone is that it will not be that simple. In order to set up your Apple Watch, you have to at least use an iPhone for the process.
Even once you have finished setting it up, using it without an iPhone as a companion device will cause you to not get much mileage out of the watch. Very little, in fact.
As such, even if you could use your AirPods with an Apple Watch without ever owning an iPhone, there is honestly not much of a point to doing that.
Still, being able to use just your Apple Watch and AirPods on their own is nice, at least.
Read more: How to adjust the volume of AirPods on a laptop?
Can I adjust my AirPods volume using my Apple Watch?
There are three ways you can control the volume of your AirPods on an Apple Watch. The first is to use your phone, which will allow you to adjust the volume with a slider.
Of course, since we are discussing an iPhone-less solution, that is not too helpful. The next option would be to double tap your AirPods to activate Siri, at which point you can adjust volume using voice commands.
However, specifically controlling the volume using your Apple Watch is a rather simple affair, as you can spin the crown on the Apple Watch to raise or lower the volume on your AirPods.
Read more: Can AirPods work with Microsoft teams?
Can you listen to music with just Apple Watch and AirPods?
So long as you are connected to Wi-Fi or are using mobile data, your Apple Watch can stream music from multiple sources through to your AirPods.
Of course, you can listen to more than just music; Apple Watches also allow you to listen to podcasts and audiobooks.
Apple Music subscribers can listen to music through their Apple Watch, and can use Siri to shuffle their music from this library.
In order to listen to stuff without your iPhone however, you have to first sync it by connecting your iPhone to your Apple Watch. After this, select the music and other audio you want to listen to, and select the plus (+) button to sync it.
If you want to remove music or other audio from your Apple Watch, go through the same process and instead push the minus (-) button to remove it.
Can you listen to Spotify using AirPods and Apple Watch?
Listening to music is a favorite pastime for many, but by far one of the biggest venues these days is Spotify. Apple Watch did not originally offer Spotify support for their users, but thankfully, Spotify and Apple collaborated to bring support to Apple Watch users in December 2021.
Apple Watch users can download music from Spotify to their Apple Watch, much like they can with other music. This download feature allows you to listen to Spotify music offline through your AirPods.
This is a great feature for people who like to listen to music, podcasts, etc. on the go without using up their mobile data.
Why won’t my AirPods connect to my Apple Watch?
Wireless devices will inevitability have some problems from time to time with connecting, and AirPods are no different.
A common issue with AirPods connecting is that they simply have no charge left, preventing them from being usable for obvious reasons.
If you are not able to make your AirPods work, check your charging case to see its status. If the light is amber, that means it has some charge.
However, if the light is blank, that means that either it or the charging case is out of charge. Another issue may be interference or damage that your AirPods sustained.
If your AirPods are having trouble connecting to other devices through Bluetooth, be sure to contact Apple about possible replacements or repairs.
However, a common issue with compatibility between AirPods and an Apple Watch is that there may be a software glitch going on. If this is the cause, you should restart your Apple Watch, which has a chance of fixing the issue.
To do this, press and hold the side button until the Power Off option appears on the Apple Watch’s screen. Swipe it from left to right to turn it off. Wait approximately 15 seconds, and then hold the same button to power it back on.
One thing that people often forget is that certain settings on Apple Watch interfere with Bluetooth connectivity.
For example, both Airplane mode and Power Reserve disable Bluetooth connectivity, meaning that they both have to be disabled for your AirPods to work with the watch. It may also need to be updated, so if that is the case, take care of that.
If all these fixes fail to solve the issue, consider unpairing the AirPods from the Apple Watch, accomplished by going into the Settings app and navigating to the Bluetooth section.
Select the i button next to the AirPods, and then click Forget Device, which will also unpair your AirPods from the iCloud.
After you do this, redo the pairing process you went through to get your AirPods set up in the first place. If even this is not able to work, this may mean that it’s a software issue with the Apple Watch.
As a last resort, you may consider erasing all of the Apple Watch’s content and settings to eliminate that possibility, but only do it if all else has failed. If even this fails, you should contact Apple to get the problem troubleshooted and, if necessary, repaired.
Pros of Using AirPods with an Apple Watch Without an iPhone
- Can go on a run without having to bring your iPhone.
- Can adjust the volume of your AirPods with your Apple Watch using voice commands or spinning the crown.
- Can listen to music, podcasts, and audiobooks with just your Apple Watch and AirPods.
- Spotify can now be used with the Apple Watch, allowing users to download music and listen to it offline.
Cons of Using AirPods with an Apple Watch Without an iPhone
- Initial setup requires an iPhone.
- Using the Apple Watch without an iPhone limits the features you can use.
- AirPods may have trouble connecting to your Apple Watch.
- AirPods may need to be replaced or repaired.
