My Tips for Updating an Apple Watch with Cellular Data

Mikael

— 2 min read
My Tips for Updating an Apple Watch with Cellular Data
My Apple Watch Ultra with a Milanese Loop

Today, I was about to update my Apple Watch to a new major software version but stumbled upon two minor issues.

You can't update an Apple Watch using your iPhone's cellular data

I always use the internet on my devices by sharing cellular data from my iPhone. I don't have Wi-Fi at home, just my phone's hotspot.

I vaguely remembered this issue from last year but had already forgotten the solution by the time the new major release arrived. I also learned that connecting the Apple Watch's Wi-Fi directly to the iPhone hotspot doesn't help.

Solution:

  1. Share your iPhone's cellular data with your Mac using a USB cable. You'll know it's working when the Network tab in your Mac's System Settings shows iPhone USB as Connected.
  1. Share this connection to Wi-Fi adapter. In System Settings, navigate to General → Sharing. Turn on Internet Sharing and configure it to share your connection from iPhone USB to devices using Wi-Fi (as shown below).
  1. Connect your iPhone to the new Wi-Fi network being shared from your Mac. It sounds strange, but trust me, it works.

The update should now be possible, even without having a stationary Wi-Fi access point at your place.

Mobile carriers should catch up with their business models. Why sell two seperate subscriptions for the minor convenience of not having to share Wi-Fi from a phone?

Turn off Bluetooth to increase speed

Apparently, the Apple Watch defaults to prioritizing Bluetooth over Wi-Fi in conserve power. Downloading a software update through an iPhone over a Bluetooth connection is not a very efficient method of data transfer.

Solution:

On your Apple Watch, turn off Bluetooth and turn on Wi-Fi.

Once I heard this, I decided to give it a shot. It turned out to be true – the constant 3–4 hour download ETA dropped to just 20 minutes.

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