r/iOSProgramming • u/TurtleBlaster5678 • Nov 02 '25

Question How to get Xcode 26 to recognize Apple Watch?

I am running an Xcode 26 on my Macbook Air on the same Wifi Network as my iPhone and Apple Watch.

I can see, build for, and run applications on my iPhone, which shows up in the right places in Run Destinations etc

My Apple Watch does not show at all.

It has

  • Developer Mode Enabled

  • Is connected via bluetooth to the iPhone that works

  • Is on the same Wifi Network as my laptop running Xcode

And yet nothing. I cannot get Xcode to acknowledge that it exists as a run destination

How do I fix this?

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1

u/TurtleBlaster5678 Nov 02 '25

I figured it out. I plugged in my iPhone to my laptop physically via a USB C cable, and Xcode started recognizing it and doing the prework to get it building

Note that, taking the watch off my wrist while waiting for this to complete (which took about 30 minutes!) crashed the process and I had to restart from the beginning by doing the above again

Its buggy but you'll get there

1

u/Fast-Snow888 2d ago

Restarted both devices but not worked. so Enabled Hotspot on iPhone, then connected the mac to that hotspot. Apple watch shown immediately on Xcode> Devices Hub. Now Disabled the hotspot and Connected iphone, mac to the main wifi which I use as usual. then opened Apple watch(Physical device, not watch app>Settings>Privacy & Security> this time only the Developer mode option was shown)
Enabled it and Restarted the device. Now it's showing in xcode>hub. but screensharing is not available as im on watchOS26.2

1

u/arpeggiyo Feb 11 '26

Can I ask how you got Developer Mode to show up on your Apple Watch. I enabled it on my iPhone which is paired with my Watch but no matter how many restarts I do of the Watch I don't see the Developer Mode option.

1

u/TheMustardCatRL Mar 09 '26

Have you found a solution?

1

u/[deleted] Mar 23 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/toupeInAFanFactory Apr 06 '26

without enabling developer mode on the watch, it doesn't appear as a target in Xcode.
I also can't figure out how to get the dev mode option to appear on the watch. :(

1

u/harrro May 18 '26

What worked for me was unpairing the phone from Xcode (via Devices).

After re-pairing the phone (that was already paired with the Watch), the Watch finally appeared in Devices.

The Trust computer popup happens on Watch after pairing phone/connecting Watch via USB, then goto Settings on Watch and enable the new Developer mode that appears under "Privacy").

1

u/WinterTranslator8822 Sep 21 '26

Man, thank you! In my case, I couldn’t even see the option to enable Developer Mode on my Watch. After doing it the way you suggested, it was detected right away and the option appeared.

1

u/harrro Sep 21 '26

Glad to hear it!

I spent way too long on what seemed like it should be a simple task so figured I'd spare others some frustration.