Now that watchOS 2.0 is approaching, it is a perfect time to explain how to back up your Apple Watch. Because just like your iPhone or iPad, Apple Watch also has system settings, applications and other data that you can save on your iPhone and that you can restore later. The backup copies of the Apple Watch are made automatically in iTunes or in iCloud along with the copies of the iPhone, but if you want to make one manually you can also do it and we explain how to create it and how to restore it.
What's included in the backup
The backup that is saved on your device includes the following Apple Watch data:
- System settings such as language, time zone, known networks, sounds, vibration, brightness, etc.
- Setting up your watch faces
- Mail, Stock, Calendar and Weather Settings
- Data of each application installed on the Apple Watch
What is NOT included in the backup
But there are data, some of them surely important to many, that are not included in the copy:
- Activity app calibration
- Health and Fitness data, achievements, etc (although being on the iPhone you recover them later)
- Playlists synced on Apple Watch
- Credit cards stored on Apple Watch
- Apple Watch Security Code
How to create the backup
To manually force the backup, what we are really going to do is unlink the Apple Watch from our iPhone. This will result in a backup of everything indicated above, which can be restored on that same Apple Watch or on a different one. But also your Apple Watch once it loses the link with your iPhone will reset, losing all data and staying like fresh out of the box.
Once we are aware of what this procedure entails, we proceed to the explanation of its steps. With our iPhone and our Apple Watch close and connected, we access the Watch application. Once inside we enter the first menu, Apple Watch, and there we will see the option «Unlink Apple Watch». You will be asked for confirmation and if you are on watchOS 2.0 you must also enter your iCloud key. Now you just have to wait for the process to finish, which lasts a few seconds.
How to restore backup on Apple Watch
We already have our Apple Watch unlinked and reset, with the backup made and stored on our iPhone. If we now want to restore that copy to that Apple Watch (or a new one), all we have to do is link the Apple Watch from the Watch application. We click on «Start link», with the camera we capture the screen of our Apple Watch and when asked we select "Restore backup" and we choose the copy that we have made before. A couple of minutes later we will have our Apple Watch ready to use.
Backup utility
What is the use of knowing how to make this backup? Basically I can think of two situations where it can be useful:
- We have failures in the Apple Watch, with closures, crashes, restarts, etc. and we want to restore it but not reconfigure everything.
- We are going to get rid of this Apple Watch but I want to save a backup to restore it to another Apple Watch later.
You may come up with other situations in which it may be useful, if so we would appreciate your sharing them in the comments.
