You can sync your favorite music to your Apple Watch and stream it directly from your wrist to your AirPods or another pair of wireless earphones. These downloaded tracks can fill your ears while jogging, exercising, or in other situations when your iPhone isn’t nearby.

This tutorial shows you how to add downloaded songs to your Apple Watch from your iPhone or using the Apple Watch Music app.

How to Download Music to Your Apple Watch From Your iPhone

Follow these steps to add songs to your Apple Watch from your iPhone:

  1. Open the Watch app on your iPhone, scroll down in the My Watch section and tap Music.
  2. The easiest approach is to enable Recent Music, which will automatically add songs you have listened to recently.
  3. If you want to pick and choose particular tracks to add, tap Add Music. Then tap Playlist, Artists, Albums, or one of the options here to see your desired music. Tap the plus (+) icon in the top right to add all the songs on that screen to your Apple Watch.
  4. Connect your Apple Watch to its charger for music to download successfully. While that happens, make sure you keep both iPhone nearby.

You can’t pick individual songs to add to your Apple Watch. You can only add specific playlists or albums. If needed, open the iPhone Music app to create an Apple Music playlist with just the songs you wish to add to your Apple Watch.

If you’re stuck on the Waiting screen for a long time, make sure your iPhone and Apple Watch are connected to a stable Wi-Fi network. Then open the Music app on your Apple Watch to see if the songs are downloaded or not. If they are, and you still see the Waiting sign at the top of the iOS Watch app, simply remove your Apple Watch from the charger and this Waiting sign will change to Updated Just Now.

How to Download Songs to Your Apple Watch From Apple Music

Now you know how to download songs from your iPhone to your Apple Watch. But you can also download songs directly on your watch if you have an Apple Music subscription. Here’s how:

  1. Open the watchOS Music app and tap Library, Listen Now, or Search to find the song you want to download.
  2. Tap the three dots next to the song and choose Add to Library. Now, you can stream this playlist or album directly through your Apple Watch when it’s connected to the internet.
  3. To listen offline, tap the three dots once again and choose Download. If you don’t see the Download option, wait until you see the Added to Library alert on your watch screen.
Download Songs from Apple Music to Apple Watch

This technique doesn’t work if you only have an Apple Music Voice Plan, rather than a standard subscription.

How to Play Downloaded Music on Your Apple Watch

Once songs are downloaded to your Apple Watch from your iPhone or Apple Music, follow these steps to play them:

  1. Go to Settings > Bluetooth on your Apple Watch, and connect a set of wireless earphones. If you don’t connect them, you’ll be asked to do so in step four below. You can’t play songs on the watch’s tiny speakers.
  2. Now open the Music app.
  3. Tap Library > Downloaded > Songs.
  4. Tap a song name to play it.
Play Downloaded songs on Apple Watch

You won’t see a cloud icon next to the song that’s downloaded locally.

How to Remove Songs From Your Apple Watch

If you wish to remove a playlist or album from your Apple Watch, to free up some storage, open the Watch app on your iPhone. Then go to Music > Edit and tap the red minus (–) button next to a song, then tap Delete. This will delete that download from your Apple Watch, but the songs will still stay in the Music app on your iPhone.

To remove Apple Music playlists and albums from your watch, tap the three dots icon, and choose Remove.

Listen to Music Offline on Your Apple Watch

Now you know how to add music locally to your Apple Watch to enjoy it without the internet and without your iPhone. Listening to downloaded songs instead of streaming saves your Apple Watch battery and ensures a seamless experience without needing to keep your iPhone nearby.