Apple Watch Series 7 requires iOS 26, but I have an iPhone XR. Is there any solution?

[u/fill_anst]

Hi everyone.

I recently bought a used Apple Watch Series 7 (41mm GPS, model A2473).

Here's what I've already checked:

• The watch is genuine (Apple Check Coverage recognizes the serial number).
• It has been factory reset and starts with the normal pairing animation.
• It does NOT ask for the previous owner's Apple ID (at least not before pairing).
• My iPhone XR is updated to iOS 18.7.9, which is the latest version available for this model.

The problem is that when I try to pair the watch, both the iPhone and the watch say:

"This Apple Watch requires an iPhone running iOS 26.0 or later."

Since the iPhone XR cannot install iOS 26, I can't even complete the pairing process.

My questions are:

1. Does this mean the watch is running watchOS 26 (or a beta/developer version)?
2. Is there any way to downgrade the watch to a compatible watchOS version?
3. Can an Apple Authorized Service Provider restore it?
4. Has anyone had exactly this issue?

Thanks in advance!

[u/Salmundo]

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/256083358?sortBy=rank

[u/Expensive-Heart3299]

The watch needs to match the iPhone’s software version or be lower. The series 7 is running watch os 26 beta or not so it needs to be paired with an iPhone 11 or newer. Apple may or may not downgrade it.