How To Ping Your Apple Watch From iPhone & Vice Versa

A feeling I know a little too well is the wave of panic that washes over me when I realise I can’t find my iPhone or even my Apple Watch. But in that frenzy, I often forget that there’s an easy solution for finding my Apple devices. 

So, before you start turning your surroundings upside down, here are three ways you can ping your Apple Watch from your iPhone and vice versa.

Ping your Apple Watch from your iPhone

Method 1: Find My on iPhone

1. Open the Find My app on your iPhone and go to the Devices tab.
2. Select your Apple Watch.
3. If the watch is a little far away from you, tap on Directions and get to where the watch’s location is.
4. Tap on Play Sound, and the Apple Watch will start playing a sound from wherever it is.
5. Once found, tap on Dismiss on your Apple Watch to stop the sound. 

Method 2: iCloud 

If you are trying to find an Apple Watch that is not linked to your iPhone and on a different Apple ID,

1. Open iCloud on the web and sign in with the Apple ID it is associated with.
2. Click the menu icon right next to your photo in the top right corner and tap Find My.
3. From the list of All Devices, find the Apple Watch you want to ping.
4. Tap Play Sound, and it will play the sound on your Apple Watch, making it easy to locate. 

Method 3: Ask Siri

1. Press and hold the Lock button to activate Siri on your iPhone. 
2. Alternatively, say, “Hey, Siri, Find my Apple Watch”. This will ping your Apple Watch and play a sound on the watch.
3. It will also give you the option to open Find My on your iPhone if the watch is a little farther away from you and you need directions to get to your phone. 

Method 4: Use the iPhone’s Control Center

If you often misplace your watch, no judgment, by the way, you might want to consider adding an icon to your phone’s Control Center to make it easier without opening the Find My app every time. 

This feature is available on iPhones running iOS 17 and above.

1. On your iPhone home screen, swipe down from the upper right corner to access Control Center.
2. Tap the plus icon + on the top left corner, and tap the Add a Control option at the bottom.
3. Scroll and tap the Ping My Watch control under the Watch section.
4. Use this icon to ping your Apple Watch directly from your iPhone’s Control Center. 

Method 5: Using the Watch App

1. On your iPhone, open the Watch app.
2. Tap on All Watches and tap the ‘i’ icon next to the watch you want to find.
3. Tap Find My Apple Watch, and this will open the Find My app. You can tap the Play Sound option as before. 

Ping your iPhone from your Apple Watch

It is a cardinal rule of my life that I can’t go a week without losing my phone. But having my Apple Watch on hand has made it easier to find the same.

Method 1: Control Center on Apple Watch

1. On your Apple Watch, press the side button to access Control Center. If you’re running watchOS 9 or below, swipe up from the bottom of the watch face to access the Control Center.
2. Press the phone icon. This will play a loud sound on your iPhone, and it will be easy to follow the sound and find the phone.
3. If you’re still not able to find your iPhone because it’s stuck between the couch or something, you can press and hold the phone icon on the Control Centre. This will flicker the flashlight on your iPhone along with the sound to make it easily detectable if the phone is stuck somewhere out of sight.  

Method 2: Ask Siri

1. Press and hold the Digital Crown to activate Siri. 
2. Alternatively, say, “Hey, Siri, Find my iPhone”. This will ping your iPhone just like the previous two methods without opening Find My.
3. It will also give you the option to open Find My on your Apple Watch if the iPhone is a little farther away from you and you need directions to get to your phone. 

Method 3: Use the Find Devices app

1. Open the Find Devices app on your Apple Watch.
2. Tap on the iPhone that you want to find.
3. Scroll and tap on Play Sound to play the alert on your iPhone. 

Troubleshooting ping not working on your Apple Watch or iPhone

If your devices are not playing the alerts when the Play Sound is selected on the Find My app, consider these troubleshooting tips.

1. Make sure both of your device’s software is updated. 
2. Restart both your devices- the Apple Watch as well as the iPhone.
3. Make sure you’re using the same iCloud account and are signed in with the same Apple ID.
4. Make sure Find My is enabled in your iPhone settings and that Find My is enabled on the Watch app on your iPhone.

Wrap Up

The USP of Apple products is how well they work together. This is clearly shown by how easy it is to ping one device from the other in case it gets lost somewhere. The coolest feature is that the iPhone flash flickers when I press and hold the phone icon on my Apple Watch.

I can’t tell you how many times my phone was well within reach but stuck somewhere under the blanket or something, wherein I couldn’t locate it for the life of me. This feature has truly been a game-changer for me!

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