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Update The Photos On Your Apple Watch With A Few Easy Steps

By Author Turner Tomlinson

Posted on Last updated:

Apple Watch has an amazing feature where you can view all the photos (or at least some) that you took on your iPhone right from your watch. But in order to use the feature, you first have to sync your photos with your Apple Watch. Let’s take a look at how that’s done.

To sync featured photos with your Apple Watch, go to Watch App > My Watch > Photos > Synced Album > Photo Syncing and tap ‘Photos.’ Next, select the number of photos you want stored on your watch (25-500). Keep in mind that the more photos you choose, the more storage space they’ll occupy.

Now that you’ve got an idea of how to update the photos on ur Apple Watch, let’s go through the process in detail. We’ll also look at some troubleshooting solutions that can help if things don’t seem to be working as they should.

Syncing Photos to Your Apple Watch

Apple watch Photos

Here’s how to sync photos to your Apple Watch:

  1. On your iPhone, open the Watch App.
  2. Go to the My Watch tab and select Photos.
  3. Tap Synced Album in the Photo Syncing section.
  4. Select the album you want to sync and then tap Photos.
  5. Next, in the Photo Storage section, select Photos Limit.
  6. Choose the maximum number of photos (25-500) you want to be stored on your watch.

A smaller number will reserve more storage for other files, such as music. You can also set your Apple Watch to automatically sync featured photos from your phone’s photo library. This is how:

  1. On your iPhone, open the Watch App.
  2. Go to the My Watch tab and select Photos.
  3. Toggle on Sync Memories and Sync Featured Photos.

Toggle it off if you want to stop photo-syncing on your watch in the future.

Creating a Custom Photo Folder for Your Apple Watch

Apple also allows you to create a custom folder to sync with your watch. These could be your most recent or favorite photos that you want to appear on your watch.

Here’s how to do it:

  1. On your iPhone, open the Watch App.
  2. Scroll down to the bottom of the screen and select Albums.
  3. Tap the plus (+) sign at the left of the screen and select New Album in the window that pops up.
  4. First, give your folder a name and then scroll through your photos, selecting those you wish to add to your album.
  5. Tap Done to complete the process.

What to Do if Your Photos Aren’t Updating on Your Apple Watch

At times, you may encounter problems updating photos on your Apple Watch. Here are a few potential solutions if that happens.

Ensure Your Apple Watch Is Compatible

Unfortunately, not all Apple Watch models are compatible with the portrait watch face feature. The models that support the feature include the Apple Watch SE (on Amazon), Apple Watch Series 4-7, and later models. Also, your iPhone needs to be running on iOS 10.1 or later.

Hard Reset Your Apple Watch

A forced restart (hard reset) is a common troubleshooting guide for most Apple Watch-related problems. Give it a shot and see whether it works.

To hard reset your Apple Watch, press and hold the Side button and Digital Crown until your Apple Watch turns off. Then, the Apple logo should appear on the screen.

Update the Software

If your photos aren’t updating, it’s possible that your watchOS version has bugs that are creating the problem. Update your apple watch to eliminate this possibility.

Here’s how to update your watchOS:

  1. On your Apple Watch, go to settings > General > Software Update.
  2. Download and install any available update.

Alternatively:

  1. On your iPhone, go to Apple Watch App > My Watch > General and then tap Software Update.
  2. Download and install any available update.

Factory Reset Your Apple Watch

Apple Watch

If nothing works, factory reset your Apple Watch as a last resort. Your watchOS will automatically back up your data during the process to save you from losing important files.

Here’s how to factory reset your Apple Watch from the watch itself:

  1. On your Apple Watch, go to Settings > General and tap Reset.
  2. Select Erase All Content and Settings and then confirm your selection.

Alternatively:

  1. On your iPhone, go to Apple Watch App > General and tap Reset.
  2. Select Erase All Content and Settings and then confirm your selection.

Once done, open the Watch App and follow the on-screen instructions provided to re-pair your watch with your iPhone.