Do you have an Apple Watch? Have you been inconvenienced by the fact that you need to use your iPhone to install watchOS updates onto your Apple Watch? Apple changed this with the introduction of watchOS 6 in the fall of 2019. You can now directly update software on the Apple Watch. You can use Apple’s support article to learn how to update your Apple Watch using your iPhone or directly.

The process is pretty straightforward. Make sure your watch is connected to a wifi network. Put your Apple Watch on its charger and make sure the battery is charged to at least 50%. Locate and open the Settings app. Tap on General, then tap on Software Update. If an update is available, you will be able to tap the Install button. After that, follow the onscreen prompts.

The first time I tried this I was upgrading from watchOS 6.1.3 to 6.2. I started the installation and when I subsequently returned to check on it, I was notified that an error occurred. I resolved this glitch by restarting my watch and then trying again. It worked successfully the second time. It’s very nice to not have to tie up my iPhone during this Apple Watch upgrade process.

Alternatively, you might be notified by your watch that an update is available. This notification gives you the option to instruct your watch to install the pending update overnight. If you later wish to cancel this scheduled installation, you follow a similar procedure. Locate and open the Settings app. Tap on General, then tap on Software Update. If an update is scheduled, you will see an option to cancel the installation.