Pairing a Wear OS smartwatch with a phone is a straightforward process, but if you reset your Android phone or get a new one, you're told to factory reset your smartwatch when pairing it again. If you've used your smartwatch for a while, you don't want to lose your saved customizations and settings. There's a nifty workaround to avoid factory resetting your smartwatch.

This trick works with any smartwatch for any Android phone, including our top budget devices. All you need is your smartwatch, a computer, and a USB cable (if you don't have one on hand, use Wi-Fi instead of a cable). After you've gathered your devices, you're ready to begin.

How to back up and restore your smartwatch

Some smartwatches can restore your customization settings from a backup. Not every smartwatch can do this, but any smartwatch with Wear OS 4 installed can restore data from a backup.

The exception to this rule is the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 and Galaxy Watch 4. These can restore data from a backup on Wear OS 3.

After you've backed up a smartwatch using the above method, use the regular pairing method with your new or reset phone. You're prompted to restore from the backup during the setup.

However, if you can't back up your smartwatch, follow the steps below to avoid factory resetting your Wear OS smartwatch.

How to pair your Wear OS smartwatch without a factory reset

This process has been tested on Wear OS 2 smartwatches and should also work on Wear OS 3 smartwatches. In this guide, we walk you through activating Developer Tools on your smartwatch. This doesn't involve rooting your smartwatch or phone.

How to activate ADB Debugging on your watch

The first step is to turn on ADB debugging on your Wear OS watch by activating Developer Tools on your watch. This lets you give the watch commands from your computer.

  1. On your watch, go to the Settings menu.
  2. Scroll down and tap System.
  3. Tap About.
  4. Tap the Build number until you see the message: "You are now a developer."

Next, activate ADB debugging:

  1. Go to your smartwatch's Settings.
  2. Tap Developer Options.
  3. Turn on ADB debugging.
  4. Turn on Debug over Wi-Fi.
  5. This triggers a prompt on your watch. Accept ADB debugging before continuing.

Install ADB Tools on your computer

The process requires a computer to run the ADB commands. You'll need to download ADB Tools, which is available for Mac, Windows, or Linux.

  1. Download ADB Tools for your Mac, Windows, or Linux computer.
  2. Unzip the contents and launch a terminal or command window from that folder. On Windows, hold Shift, right click, and select Open command window here. On Mac, perform a secondary click and select New Terminal at Folder.

Now you're ready to connect to your watch

How to issue ADB commands to your Wear OS smartwatch

Before connecting to your watch, turn off your phone or deactivate its Bluetooth connection to avoid interference. Then, continue with the below steps.

Connect using a wired connection

Connecting using a cable is best because it's easy and stable. However, you can also connect via Wi-Fi.

  1. Connect your watch to your computer via its charging cable.
  2. You may see a prompt asking you if you want to activate debugging. To make things easier, select Always allow debugging from this computer.
  3. In your terminal or command window, type the following command and press Enter:
    • On Windows, type adb devices
    • On macOS, type ./adb devices
  4. You'll see your watch's serial number in the list. If it doesn't appear, unplug and re-plug the cable and check the watch's screen for a prompt to allow debugging.

Connect wirelessly

To connect over Wi-Fi, connect your watch and computer to the same network. Then, write down your watch's IP address, which is listed under Settings > Developer options > Debug over Wi-Fi.

In your terminal or command window, type the below command and press Enter, where [IP Address] is the one listed in the Developer options menu, as shown above:

adb connect [IP Address]

On Mac, type this:

./adb connect [IP Address]

Check your watch and accept the prompt to continue the process.

Send the ADB commands

Now that you've successfully connected your watch to your computer, it's time to pair it with your new phone.

First, remove the Google Play Services data on your watch:

  • On Windows, type adb shell "pm clear com.google.android.gms && reboot" and press Enter.
  • On macOS, type ./adb shell "pm clear com.google.android.gms && reboot" and press Enter.

Your watch reboots when it receives the command. You'll need to reconnect it via cable or Wi-Fi using the previous steps when it's back on.

Using a cable:

  • On Windows, type adb devices
  • On macOS, type ./adb devices

Using Wi-Fi:

  • On Windows, type adb connect [IP Address]
  • On macOS, type ./adb connect [IP Address]

When you're connected to your watch, send this command to make your watch discoverable:

  • On Windows, type adb shell "am start -a android.bluetooth.adapter.action.REQUEST_DISCOVERABLE"
  • On macOS, type ./adb shell "am start -a android.bluetooth.adapter.action.REQUEST_DISCOVERABLE"

How to pair your WearOS smartwatch with your new phone

You're ready to pair your smartwatch with your new or reset phone. Turn on your phone's Bluetooth connection and open the Wear OS app. You'll see your watch and can pair it with the phone like you did the first time. This copies your Google account to the timepiece and links it to your phone without erasing your customizations or apps.

Troubleshooting

You'll receive notifications on your watch as usual. However, you may have to re-link your Google account to various apps because you erased the Google Play Services data.

When this is done, you may still experience issues with Google apps, including Google Pay and Google Fit. To solve this, erase the local app data by navigating to Settings > Apps & notifications > App info > System apps, selecting the app, and then tapping App Info > Clear data. This doesn't interfere with saved data or customization settings on your smartwatch.

Pair your watch with a new phone in a few minutes

This trick saves you the hassle of resetting your smartwatch manually and is quick to do. However, more smartwatches now offer the ability to restore data from a backup, including many of the best smartwatches.