Rooted Androids Can Now Pair With Apple Watch

A developer has published open-source software that pairs an Apple Watch with Android and Linux devices, bypassing the iPhone requirement that has locked the wearable inside Apple’s ecosystem since 2015. The project, called Apple Watch Companion, is available on GitHub and currently requires a rooted Android phone to function.

The tool reverse-engineers Apple’s native Bluetooth communication protocol and its IDS service — the proprietary system Cupertino uses to connect and encrypt traffic between its hardware. By rebuilding those layers from scratch, the software discovers, activates, reconnects, and syncs the watch without any Apple handset involved.

Basic management features are already working. A companion app on the phone lets users check battery levels, swap native watch faces, adjust notification routing, toggle Wi-Fi settings, and access some Apple Health data. The developer also adapted the rebuilt protocols to sync the watch with Windows and Linux computers.

This is not a consumer-ready product. Testing was limited to a OnePlus 13 running Magisk paired with an Apple Watch Ultra 2 on watchOS 26.2, according to the repository. There is no guarantee other models will connect. Phone calls, text messages, and deeper system settings remain unimplemented. Several Apple Health functions carry hard restrictions that the current code cannot override.

Apple has kept the watch tightly bound to the iPhone for over a decade. Third-party apps from manufacturers like Xiaomi, Huawei, and Vivo previously allowed limited interaction between their phones and an Apple Watch, but every one of them still demanded an iPhone for the initial setup. Apple Watch Companion eliminates that step entirely, though it trades convenience for technical complexity — users must compile the tool themselves following instructions posted in the GitHub repository.

Android delivers the most complete experience among the supported platforms, handling pairing through either a PIN or the phone’s camera. The macOS version exists but remains, by the developer’s own description, primitive compared to the mobile build.