Apple Limits iPhone–Apple Watch Wi‑Fi History Sync in EU With iOS 26.2

The beta change responds to the EU’s interoperability rules by stopping past network lists from transferring to newly paired watches.

Overview

Newly paired Apple Watches in the EU will no longer receive an iPhone’s historical Wi‑Fi networks, requiring manual connection to those previously used networks on the watch.
Going forward, only Wi‑Fi networks joined when the iPhone and Apple Watch are together will sync automatically to the watch.
Apple says the Wi‑Fi sharing design keeps network names and passwords private in a device‑to‑device transfer that the company does not see or store.
The change is tied to the Digital Markets Act’s requirement to offer equivalent interoperability to third‑party accessories, which Apple says it cannot meet for historical lists it does not possess.
The adjustment is EU‑only, with existing behavior unchanged elsewhere, and it is included in iOS 26.2 and watchOS 26.2 now in beta and expected to roll out next month.