As the Apple Watch has become more powerful, the wearable device has come to store a large amount of essential data—everything from app information to fitness data. We’ll show you how to back up your Apple Watch to protect all that information, so you can retrieve it if you ever replace your watch.

Your Apple Watch Automatically Backs Up to Your iPhone

Apps on Apple Watch

Unlike other Apple devices, the backup process for an Apple Watch is a bit different. Instead of saving the information directly to iCloud, data is backed up to your paired iPhone. This process automatically occurs when your paired iPhone and Apple Watch are near each other. So there’s no need to do anything to back up the device.

If you ever unpair your Apple Watch from your iPhone, the backup will also be automatically saved to your iPhone. For more information on that process, check out how to pair and unpair an Apple Watch.

Back Up Your iPhone for Extra Security

So, your Apple Watch automatically backs up to your iPhone. But what if you lose your iPhone? To really protect your Apple Watch data, you should back up your iPhone as well. That way, the information from your Apple Watch will be saved to your computer or iCloud.

To make sure your iPhone, and Apple Watch data, has been safely stored in iCloud, go to Settings and select your name at the top of the page. Next, choose iCloud > iCloud Backup. Make sure iCloud Backup is toggled on. On the same page, you’ll see the last successful iCloud backup date and time. To immediately have your iPhone and Apple Watch back up data be sent to iCloud, choose Back Up Now.

Backing Up a Family Member’s Apple Watch

If you set up your Apple Watch using Family Setup, the backup process is still automatic, but a bit different. The backup will be saved directly to the iCloud account of the family member who set up the device. That will occur whenever the Apple Watch is charging and connected Wi-Fi network.

If for any reason you’d like to turn off that backup, open the Settings app on the Apple Watch, then go to [Your Account] > iCloud > iCloud Backups. Toggle off the iCloud Backups option.

What an Apple Watch Backup Does and Doesn’t Include

Apple Watch showing apps in List View.

Just to note, there is specific information an Apple Watch back up includes and doesn’t include.

Here’s what your watch backup will contain:

  • Data and settings from Apple and third-party watch apps
  • Your Home Screen app layout
  • Your clock face settings, watch faces, customizations like complications, and order
  • Dock settings, like the order and available apps
  • Systems settings, like the screen brightness, sound, and haptic settings
  • Health and fitness data, like history, awards, and calibration data. For this information to be saved, use iCloud or an encrypted backup on your computer
  • Notification settings
  • All albums, playlists, and mixes synced to your Apple Watch
  • Music settings
  • Siri voice feedback settings
  • The synced photo album for your Apple Watch. You can see what album that is by opening the Watch app on your iPhone. Select the My Watch tab and then choose Photos > Sync Album
  • Your current time zone

For Messages, if your iPhone uses iCloud and Messages in iCloud, the information will be stored on iCloud for access.

The backup doesn’t include Bluetooth pairings with other devices, credit and debit cards in Apple Pay on the Apple Watch, passcodes for the Apple Watch, and Messages.

Keeping Your Apple Watch Data Safe

For anyone with an Apple Watch, it’s nice to know that backing up your important information stored on the device happens automatically. There’s nothing you need to do. So if the worst ever happens, and you need to restore the watch, your data will be safely stored on your iPhone already.