Can You Use An Apple Watch With An Android Phone?
If you have an Apple Watch but no iPhone, that watch will most likely be useless to you. But what if you have an Android smartphone? Even though the Apple Watch has its own operating system (watchOS), it still needs to pair with an iPhone to do almost everything the smartwatch is designed for. You must add apps, edit your watch settings, and set up your Apple Watch from the Watch app on an iPhone. Only after this initial setup is complete could you try to force an Apple Watch to work with an Android smartphone.
That said, an Android phone and an Apple Watch can only work together if the Apple Watch is cellular. This means that it can make and receive phone calls without a paired iPhone in proximity. After you've set up your Apple Watch on an iPhone, you'll have to move the SIM on your iPhone to the Android phone and use the Apple Watch to make and receive phone calls.
It's a bit of a complicated process, and honestly, it's not worth it. The watch will be extremely limited, and you'll still be forced to update and sync it with an iPhone occasionally. If you still want to proceed with it, we've outlined the instructions below.
How to use an Apple Watch with an Android Phone
The Apple Watch series has cellular variants; you'll need one of these models for this hack to work. Once you have that, you need an iPhone to pair the watch, and you should also get an ejector pin for removing SIM cards. Finally, of course, you'll have to keep the Android phone nearby. After you have all of these, follow the instructions below:
- Ensure your SIM card is in the iPhone, then pair the iPhone with the Apple Watch. This requires a multi-step process, but it's necessary for getting the watch to work.
- Do a test call on both devices to make sure that your SIM is activated and everything is set.
- Switch off the iPhone and the Apple Watch. Take out the SIM card from the iPhone and insert it into your Android phone.
- Turn on the Android phone, wait for it to connect to your cellular network, then turn on the Apple Watch.
While your Android phone and Apple Watch aren't connected via Bluetooth, they now share the same SIM profile. You should be able to place and receive phone calls from your Apple Watch using your Android phone's SIM. From here you'll be able to do basic things on your Apple Watch, like telling the time and accessing apps that don't need your iPhone to function. In fact, if you'd set it up earlier, there's even a way to stream music on an Apple Watch without an iPhone.
Why isn't this hack worth it?
Even though you can technically place and receive calls with your Apple Watch thanks to its LTE functionality, there are a couple of reasons why it's hardly worth it. First of all, the Apple Watch is designed to mirror an iPhone, and the watch has severely limited functionality without it. You might even get more out of an Apple Watch with the Family Setup. Regardless, you need an iPhone for any of this to work. If you have an iPhone, then why should you force your watch to work with an Android? You might as well just use all three as they're intended and get the best results.
Furthermore, constantly using LTE on your Apple Watch is bad for its battery, and it will drain way faster than it should. Some users have noticed up to 50% more battery use on cellular, depending on how much signal searching the watch has to do. There are many other smartwatch brands that cater to the Android ecosystem. If you feel like an Android phone is more your style, you should key into them. These other smartwatches come in multiple designs and price points, giving you better versatility than an Apple Watch.