Home

How to Load Music Directly onto Your Apple Watch to Play with Bluetooth Headphones

Apr 25, 2015 02:33 AM

Dec 20, 2018 04:29 PM

Smartwatch and headphones placed on a magazine.

As someone who loves to run around my neighborhood, the Apple Watch feature that excited me the most was the ability to go out and exercise while listening to music, all without having to lug my iPhone around.

After unboxing the Apple Watch, that's one of the first features I tried to set up. As it turns out, it's not very intuitive and can take some getting used to. Check out the guide below to learn how to save music directly on your Apple Watch.

Select Your Playlist on the iPhone

Upload (or as Apple calls it, "sync") music to the Apple Watch by going to the Apple Watch app on your iPhone, then scrolling down and selecting "Music."

Next, select a playlist (you can only choose one) to sync to your Apple Watch. Make sure that your Apple Watch is charging, or else the playlist won't sync. On this page, you can also add more storage for the music being placed on your Apple Watch, anywhere from 100 MB to 2 GB.

Music app interface showing options to select a playlist and adjust playback settings.

How to Load Music Directly onto Your Apple Watch to Play with Bluetooth Headphones

Change the Source on Your Apple Watch

Back on your Apple Watch, go to the Music app and use Force Touch (tap on the screen harder than usual) to bring up "Source," then select "Apple Watch."

Media control interface with source selection and playback status buttons.

Music source selection menu for Apple Watch and iPhone.

Connect Your Bluetooth Peripheral

Your Apple Watch will then ask you to pair with a Bluetooth device (headphones, speakers, car radio, etc.). Once you're connected, go back to the Music app.

Note: You might have to use Force Touch in the Music app again to put Apple Watch as the source, which happened to me.

"Instructions to pair a Bluetooth headset with an Apple Watch."

Bluetooth settings interface showing connected device "Sonata" and searching for health devices.

Playing Local Music on Your Apple Watch

Since you can only save playlists on your Apple Watch, scroll down to "Playlists" in the Music app. Playlists that are saved on the Watch will be underneath "On My Apple Watch"—select the playlist and play a song!

Apple Watch and iPhone playlists titled "Chill" and "Purchased"

Now playing: "Cause I'm A Man" by Tame Impala, track duration 6:16.

When playing music that's saved on your Apple Watch, you don't need your iPhone near you, or even on you. That means you can leave it at home when you want to work out or go for a run, as long as you have Bluetooth headphones.

Smartwatch and headphones on top of magazines.

Stay tuned as we'll be updating the site with guides on all the awesome features of the brand new Apple Watch. If you have any questions or issues you want answered, or want a walkthrough on something specific, be sure to let us know in the comments below.

Follow Apple Hacks on Facebook and Twitter, or Gadget Hacks over on Facebook, Google+, and Twitter for more Apple news, apps, and tips.

The next big software update for iPhone is coming sometime in April and will include a Food section in Apple News+, an easy-to-miss new Ambient Music app, Priority Notifications thanks to Apple Intelligence, and updates to apps like Mail, Photos, Podcasts, and Safari. See what else is coming to your iPhone with the iOS 18.4 update.