* This article is from our Tip of the Day newsletter. Sign Up. *
You probably already know that you can control your iPhone’s music from the Apple Watch. And if you have the Apple Watch Series 3 with Cellular, you know you can stream music directly on your watch without your iPhone. But if you have an Apple Watch without cellular data and want to leave your phone at home, how will you listen to music without your iPhone? And if you have the Apple Watch Series 3 with Cellular, how can you listen to music without data or Wi-Fi? The best way to listen to music while running or doing another iPhone-free activity is to put it on your Apple Watch, of course. We’ll go over how to make a playlist on your iPhone, how to sync music to your Apple Watch, and how to pair Bluetooth headphones with your Apple Watch so you can listen without data. Here’s everything you need to know about how to add music to your Apple Watch.
Related: 15 Apple Watch Tips That’ll Make You A Pro
If you use Apple Music, make sure the songs you want on your Apple Watch are downloaded to your iPhone before attempting to sync music. Since watchOS 4.1, you can now have more than one playlist on your Apple Watch at a time, as long as you have a Series 1 or later.
Jump To:
- How to Make a Playlist on iPhone
- How to Sync a Music Playlist with Apple Watch
- How to Pair Bluetooth Headphones with Apple Watch
- How to Listen to Your Playlist on Apple Watch
How to Make a Playlist on iPhone:
-
On your iPhone, open the Music app.
-
Tap My Music. Then tap Playlists at the top.
-
Select New Playlist.
-
Add all the songs you want on your Apple Watch to the playlist.
-
You can always add more songs later as well.
-
Tap Done.
If you want to edit or add songs to a playlist you’ve already created,
-
On your iPhone, open the Music app.
-
Tap My Music. Then tap Playlists at the top.
-
Find the playlist you want to edit and open it.
-
Tap Edit.
-
Select the green circle to add songs; select the red circle to remove a song.
-
You can also rearrange the playlist by placing your finger on the three horizontal lines and dragging the songs into a different order.
-
Tap Done.
How to Sync Music to Apple Watch:
-
Place your Apple Watch on the charger.
-
On your iPhone, make sure Bluetooth is turned on. You can swipe up for Control Center and see this at a glance.
-
Open the Watch app on iPhone.
-
Choose Music.
-
Tap Synced Playlist.
-
Find and select the Playlist you want to sync onto your Apple Watch.
-
If your Apple Watch is not charging, it will remain as Sync Pending until your watch is within range and charging. Then it will automatically begin to sync.
-
Once the Sync is complete, your playlist is officially available to play from Apple Watch without your iPhone.
How to Pair Bluetooth Headphones with Apple Watch:
The next step is to pair your Bluetooth headphones with your Apple Watch. Since there’s no headphone jack on Apple Watch, you will have to use Bluetooth headphones or earbuds. To do this:
-
Turn on your headphones and put them in pairing mode, usually represented by a blue blinking light.
-
On your Apple Watch, open Settings.
-
Tap Bluetooth.
-
Select your headphones under Devices.
How to Listen to Your Playlist on Apple Watch:
Once your playlist has synced to your Apple Watch and your headphones are paired with your watch, you can listen to the playlist on your Apple Watch without your iPhone. To listen:
-
On your Apple Watch, open the Music app.
-
At the top it will say, Choose a music source to play from. Tap the watch icon. If you don’t see this, you can access it by hard pressing the screen, selecting source, and choosing Apple Watch.
-
Select Playlists.
-
At the top you’ll see, On My Apple Watch. Select the playlist, press play and your music will begin!
If for some reason you haven’t already paired Bluetooth headphones with the Apple Watch, it will prompt you to do so before playing the music.
