2025-11-07 07:01:26
Apple will reportedly disable automatic Wi-Fi network syncing between iPhone and Apple Watch in the European Union as part of its upcoming iOS 26.2 update.
According to French outlet Numerama, Apple will be removing the feature – which allows iPhone to automatically share Wi-Fi network details with a paired Apple Watch – due to the bloc’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) interoperability requirements.
Under iOS 26.2, that feature will supposedly disappear for EU users, and instead, they’ll have to manually enter Wi-Fi passwords on their Apple Watch whenever their iPhone isn’t nearby.
The supposed change appears to be Apple’s way of sidestepping the DMA’s requirement to open iPhone wireless hardware access to third-party accessories by the end of 2025.
Rather than risk exposing user data to external devices, Apple is choosing to restrict functionality altogether.
The company has repeatedly argued that such mandates could endanger user privacy and security.
In a statement to European outlets, Apple reiterated that interoperability could let “data-hungry companies” – such as Meta – gain access to personal information like notification content and Wi-Fi histories.
Earlier this year, Apple appealed the Commission’s decision at the EU’s General Court in Luxembourg, calling the interoperability clause “unworkable”.
For most users, the practical impact will be minimal, as the Apple Watch will still connect to known networks when the paired iPhone is nearby, and once a password is manually entered, it will be saved for future use.
Still, the removal signals Apple’s growing resistance to EU digital rules, and highlights the tension between Europe’s open-access ambitions and Apple’s tightly controlled ecosystem.
iOS 26.2 is expected to roll out across eligable iPhones at some point next month.
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