Skip to main content

How to delete old Apple Watch backups

The Apple Watch periodically does a backup to your iPhone. While it’s not common, the Apple Watch also does a backup whenever you erase/reset your Apple Watch. Follow along to learn how to delete old Apple Watch backups.

How to delete old Apple Watch backups

  1. On your iPhone go to Settings > General > iPhone Storage.
  2. Scroll down until you find Watch and tap on it.
  3. Here you’ll see a list of backups your iPhone is currently saving of your Apple Watch. You may see more than one Apple Watch model if you’ve ever upgraded your Apple Watch.
  4. To delete a backup, simply swipe from right to left over the name of the Apple Watch and tap the red Delete button. You can optionally tap the Remove All Backups button at the bottom if you want to delete all of your Apple Watch backups.

Rinse and repeat if needed. If you’ve owned an Apple Watch ever since the original model, you may have a fair share of Apple Watch backups here, possibly several hundred megabytes worth of backups.

For more help getting the most out of your Apple devices, check out our how to guide as well as the following articles:

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

You’re reading 9to5Mac — experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Don’t know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

Manage push notifications

notification icon
We would like to show you notifications for the latest news and updates.
notification icon
You are subscribed to notifications
notification icon
We would like to show you notifications for the latest news and updates.
notification icon
You are subscribed to notifications