iPhone XS Max (iOS 18.7) and Apple Watch 7 (11.6.1) incompatible!

I have this problem too.. when I installed the iOS 18.6 update, the clock icon disappeared from the battery status widget.. back then the watch had the version of watchOS that came in the box.. (I think it was before 11.6) I wanted to update it because iOS 18.6 offered it.. after starting the update, nothing happened… then it displayed an error. After several attempts, I decided to reconnect the pairing, I disconnected the watch from my phone. I wanted to pair it again but I couldn't use it because it starts pairing but asks for an update. When I start it, the status bar doesn't start either and it says that the update was unsuccessful😞 I'm sorry because I wanted to do the pairing again a few days ago.. then at least it showed the time but since then I can't use my watch.. because I can only get to the language and region selection. It asks me to continue from my iPhone.. but I encounter the problems described above😔

me too:

Since updating my iPhone to iOS 18.6, I have been unable to use my Apple Watch. Prior to that update, the watch worked flawlessly and had successfully gone through multiple updates since I started using it in June 2024.

After installing iOS 18.6:

• The Apple Watch icon disappeared from the battery widget,

• My iPhone prompted me to update the Watch, but the update failed,

• After several failed attempts, I unpaired the Watch,

• Now, during the re-pairing process, the Watch requests a software update, which never starts and eventually fails with “Update Failed”.

Since then, my Watch has been completely unusable. It only gets to the language and region selection screen. The iPhone tries to update the Watch during pairing, but the update process fails every time.

This issue still persists even after updating my iPhone to the latest iOS 26. The problem clearly wasn’t resolved in the latest release either.

It’s important to note that I am not the only one affected – several users are reporting the same issue, so this appears to be a broader software bug.

Please escalate this case and provide a solution as soon as possible. A working Apple Watch has become bricked following an official iOS update, which is unacceptable.

Thank you for your assistance.

józsef105 wrote:

me too:

Since updating my iPhone to iOS 18.6, I have been unable to use my Apple Watch. Prior to that update, the watch worked flawlessly and had successfully gone through multiple updates since I started using it in June 2024.

[snip]

Please escalate this case and provide a solution as soon as possible. A working Apple Watch has become bricked following an official iOS update, which is unacceptable.

Thank you for your assistance.

Everyone here is simply another user like you (Apple customers) sharing our knowledge. We can’t escalate the problem, only you have the rights for that.

I suggest you contact Apple Support directly as this is now a problem with the new software released yesterday. Start with (link) https://getsupport.apple.com

geoMac Barcelona wrote:

Apple SHOULD REALLY issue a patch because I cannot install watchOS26 on a compatible Watch7:

The misleading information has been reported many many times. The watch is compatible with OS26 only if the phone can run iOS26 or higher which your phone cannot. That trumps any information in the sales info.

The best approach for this problem is a bug report direct to Apple’s product teams using the official feedback tool. Product Feedback - Apple