Apple Watch uses several icons on the screen to denote different options and details that should be essential to you. Since most of these icons are tiny in size because of the smaller display and don’t come with any labels, for the most part, getting to know them might be an uphill task for new owners of an Apple Watch.
If you’re wondering what the “i” icon is all about and where it’s located on your Apple Watch, the following post should help you understand all of it.
Where is the “i” icon on the Apple watch?
The info or i icon is visible on an Apple Watch when it’s put into pairing mode by bringing it closer to your iPhone or when scanning the watch with the latter. The icon is displayed inside a circle with a lowercase “i” at the bottom right corner when on the pairing screen.
In addition to being visible on the Apple Watch display, you may also see the “i” icon inside the Watch app on your iPhone. This icon will appear when you select your Apple Watch inside the Watch app after which an “i” icon should appear on the right-hand side of the selected Watch model. From here, you can access additional features to use with your watch like “Find My Apple Watch” or disconnect your watch from the iPhone.
Related: How To Get ‘Left Behind’ Alerts When You Forget Your Apple iPhone, Watch, or Other Devices
What does the “i” icon mean?
The “i” icon is a tool to identify your Apple Watch so that you can pair it with your iPhone manually when the automatic method of pairing isn’t working for you. This icon will only show up if you haven’t paired your Watch to an iPhone and tapping it will reveal a 6-digit unique code that lets you manually connect your iPhone and Watch.
If you cannot see the i icon at the bottom right corner of the Watch’s screen, then there’s nothing to worry about. The lack of an “i” icon probably means that the Apple Watch is still paired to your iPhone and if you’re using both these devices, there’s nothing to worry about.
How to use the “i” icon on Apple Watch
The “i” icon is primarily used to pair or unpair your Apple Watch with an iPhone. You can use this icon to do either of them by following the steps below.
Method #1: To unpair your Watch from iPhone
Since the i icon is mostly used to control whether or not your Apple Watch is connected to your iPhone, one way to use it is to unpair the two devices from each other. Unpairing is a necessary step to perform on your Apple Watch if you intend to sell it or give it away to someone. Your Apple Watch will remain connected to your iPhone even after a factory reset as long as it’s not unpaired manually.
To unpair your Apple Watch from an iPhone, open the Settings app on your Apple Watch by pressing the digital crown.
When the Settings screen opens, select General.
On the next screen, tap on Reset.
Now, select Erase All Content and Settings to perform a factory reset.
On your iPhone, open the Watch app and select the My Watch tab.
On the next screen, select the watch you want to unpair.
When this watch’s screen loads up, tap on the i icon adjacent to the selected device.
Now, tap on Unpair Apple Watch to disconnect the watch from your iPhone.
Method #2: To re-pair your Watch to an iPhone
The “i” icon is also useful when you wish to pair your Apple Watch with an iPhone. When you’re setting up your Apple Watch for the very first time or you performed a factory reset, you’ll be taken to the Setup screen. Here, follow the on-screen instructions until you land on the Start Pairing screen. Here, tap on Start Pairing.
On your iPhone, open the Watch app and open the scanner screen. Inside the scanner screen, tap on Pair Manually.
This is where the “i” icon becomes significant. On the Apple Watch, tap on the i icon that appears at the bottom right corner of the screen.
You’ll see a 6-digit unique identification code appear on your Watch’s screen. Enter this code on your iPhone to pair it with your Watch.
Your iPhone and Apple Watch will now be connected.
That’s all you need to know about the “i” icon on an Apple Watch.
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When you are trying to pair or unpair your Apple Watch and iPhone, you may be required to tap the info (i) icon.
As you can see in the image above, this icon shows a lower case i in a circle. There are two info icons involved when pairing an Apple Watch. In this article, I explain what they are for and how you can find them. The (i) icon is an info button; when you tap it, more options or help will be revealed.
Where is the ‘i’ on your iPhone and Apple Watch
There are two (i) icons; one appears on your watch, and the other one is on your iPhone. I explain below:
The first (i) icon you should tap is in the Apple Watch app on your iPhone. You are required to use this icon when you want to unpair your Apple Watch from your iPhone. Here is how that works:
- Open the Watch app on your iPhone.
- Tap the My Watch tab at the bottom and then tap All Watches.
- You will see your paired watches, and you will also see the info (i) icon located next to each paired watch. When you tap this, you will see two options: Find My Apple Watch and Unpair Apple Watch.
The second (i) icon appears on your watch when you pair your Apple Watch with your iPhone manually. You may see this a few times during the pairing process, as I explain below:
- Put your Apple Watch and iPhone close together.
- This icon appears on your Apple Watch when you first start the pairing process. It is located in the bottom-right corner of your watch, as you can see in the screenshot below.
- Tap the (i) icon and select your language (e.g., English), then region (e.g., United States).
- Your watch will say Open the Apple Watch app on your iPhone and tap Start Pairing. Note that you will see another (i) icon appear at the top of your screen. That info icon is there to help you find the Apple Watch app on your iPhone. When you tap it, a screen will appear and explain how you can find the Watch app on your iPhone.
- Tap the Start Pairing button.
- You will see a cloud-like animation on your watch. If you open the Watch app on your iPhone, it will say, start pairing. You have two options:
- The first option is to Position Apple Watch in the frame. This will automatically pair the two devices.
- Or you can tap Pair Manually. When you tap Pair Manually, the iPhone will say, Tap the “i” icon on your Apple Watch to view its name, then tap the corresponding name in the list below. Now tap the (i) icon on your watch. Again this is located at the bottom-right corner of your screen. Tap it to get your watch’s name. Then tap the correct name on your iPhone. After that, a six digit code will appear on your watch that you need to enter on your iPhone. Once you enter it, the pairing process will start.
If you can’t find the ‘i’ icon on your watch
If you can’t see this (i) icon on your Apple Watch, check the following:
- Ensure that your Apple Watch and iPhone are close to each other.
- On your iPhone, ensure that Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are enabled.
- Ensure that Airplane Mode is off on your iPhone.
- Restart your Apple Watch.
- Restart your iPhone.
- Restart your Wi-Fi router and try again. To restart your router unplug it from its power source and then plug it back in.
- If you get a message saying Pairing Failed, just try again.
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Dr. Serhat Kurt worked as a Senior Technology Director. He holds a doctoral degree (or doctorate) from the University of Illinois at Urbana / Champaign and a master’s degree from Purdue University. Here is his LinkedIn profile.