Pandora on Apple Watch: Play Online and Offline without Your Phone

Part 1. Can Apple Watch Play Pandora?

Yes, Apple Watch can play Pandora music. You can install the Pandora app on your Apple Watch either through your iPhone or you can download and install it directly on your Apple Watch. However, to do this, there are some requirements for the Apple device you are using:

If you have an Apple Watch Series 1 or 2, you can use it to control Pandora music playing on your iPhone. However, in Part 5, we'll show you a workaround that lets you play Pandora music on your watch without needing your iPhone.

Part 2. How to Add Pandora to Apple Watch

To get Pandora on Apple Watch, you can either install the Pandora app on your iPhone and then sync it to your Apple Watch, or download it directly to your watch from the App Store. Before you begin, make sure you have a stable internet connection for this process.

Option 1. Install Pandora App from Your iPhone

Ensure that you have installed the Pandora app on your iPhone and your iPhone is paired with your watch.

1. Open the Watch app on your phone.
2. Scroll down to Available Apps and find Pandora
3. Tap Install next to Pandora.
4. Once it's installed, find Pandora under Installed on Apple Watch and tap it.
5. Enable Show App on Apple Watch to make the Pandora app appear on your watch.

Option 2. Install Pandora App on Your Apple Watch

1. Access the Home screen by pressing the Digital Crown, then open the App Store.



2. Use the Scribble or Dictation feature to search for the Pandora app.
3. Choose the Pandora app and tap the Get button to install it. You might need to enter your Apple ID password to complete the installation.

Part 3. How to Stream Pandora on Apple Watch Online

After you get the Apple Watch Pandora app, you can stream music online in two ways: use your iPhone as a remote control to save the watch battery, or play Pandora directly on your watch over Wi-Fi or cellular networks without using your iPhone.

3.1 With iPhone (Remote Mode)

We know that this method isn't ideal because it requires you to carry your phone. But if you want to save battery or cellular data on your Apple Watch, this is a necessary method.

To do this, you'll need to pair your Apple Watch with your iPhone and then follow the steps below. After that, you'll be able to use your Apple Watch as a handy remote control and play Pandora music on your Apple Watch.

1. Open the Pandora app on your Apple Watch.
2. Swipe left to right to go to the Home screen.
3. Scroll down and select Play from....
4. When Prompted, choose Phone as the playback device.
5. Then, the audio will play through the speaker on your phone but you can use the watch to pause, skip, or adjust volume without touching your phone.

3.2 Without iPhone (Wi-Fi Mode/Cellular)

If you want to play Pandora music on your Apple Watch, you'll first need to connect Bluetooth headphones, as the watch doesn't have a built-in speaker for music playback. Second, only Apple Watch Series 3 or later supports independent music playback. Here's how to connect your Apple Watch to Wi-Fi or cellular and start streaming Pandora music:

For Wi-Fi:

1. Open the Settings app on your Apple Watch.
2. Scroll down and tap Wi-Fi.
3. Make sure Wi-Fi is enabled and the watch is connected to a stable network.

For Cellular Networks:

1. Open the Watch app on your iPhone.
2. Tap My Watch > Cellular.
3. Follow the on-screen instructions to add your watch to a cellular plan.
4. Go to Apple Watch and scroll down to open Control Center.
5. Tap the Cellular button to turn it on.

Once your watch is connected to a valid network, open the Pandora app on your watch, put on your connected Bluetooth headphones and start playing music.

Part 4. How to Download Pandora Music to Apple Watch

To download music from Pandora, only Pandora Plus and Pandora Premium can do this. If you are a free user of Pandora, don't worry. We'll provide you with a guide in Part 5.

For Pandora Plus users, Pandora automatically downloads your top three stations and Thumbprint Radio as long as there's space on your Apple Watch.

For Pandora Premium users, you can download as many stations, albums, songs, or playlists as you want. Limited only by the storage capacity of your Apple Watch.

It's important to note that downloading Pandora music to your Apple Watch requires you to first download the music to your iPhone and then sync it to your watch. Let's see how it works in the following steps:

1. Open the Pandora app on your iPhone.
2. Download the radio stations, albums, songs, or playlists onto your phone.
3. Connect your iPhone and Apple Watch via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.
4. Go to the Watch app on your iPhone, then select General > Background App Refresh, which enable background app refresh for Pandora.
5. You can place your Apple Watch on its charger. The Pandora downloads will automatically sync from your iPhone to your watch.
6. Once the download has synced, go to the Pandora app on your Apple Watch.
7. Navigate to the Downloads section, connect the watch to a Bluetooth headset,and select the song you want to play without an internet connection.

Part 5. How to Play Pandora on Apple Watch Offline (Free User Guide)

Only Pandora Premium members can download all the music on Pandora. If you want to unlock Pandora downloads without paying for Pandora Premium membership, here's a trick that works for all Pandora users, including free account users.

Compatible with Windows and Mac computers, ViWizard Pandora Music Downloader is a tool designed for Pandora users to download songs, albums, playlists, radio stations, or your entire collection with no ads or skips. It also allows you to convert songs on Pandora to MP3, FLAC, WAV, AIFF, M4A and M4B formats with the high audio quality so you can transfer them to any device, such as an Apple Watch.

Once downloaded, you can sync your music to your Apple Watch via iPhone or iTunes and enjoy ad-free, unlimited offline playback without a Pandora subscription.

ViWizard Pandora Music Downloader

Download Pandora music in MP3, FLAC, WAV, etc. with high quality and full ID3 tags so you can play Pandora on Apple Watch offline without carrying your iPhone.

Available on:

Free Download

Free Download

Secure Download

Bonus: Besides Pandora, ViWizard also allows you to download music from 8 more music platforms, such as Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, Amazon Music, SoundCloud, and more.

How to Download Pandora Music for Apple Watch Using ViWizard

Step 1 Set Output Format for Apple Watch

Download, install, and launch ViWizard Pandroa music downloader on your Windows or Mac computer. Click on the menu icon > Preferences > Conversion tab. Here, select audio formats compatible with Apple Watch, such as MP3, AIFF, and WAV. If you want to download with Pandora's highest sound quality, you can adjust the bitrate, sampling rate, codec, and audio channel according to your preferences. Click OK to save the changes.

Step 2 Open the Built-in Pandora Web Player in ViWizard

Click on the Pandora icon in the main interface of ViWizard. This will open the built-in Pandora web player in the ViWizard software. You can log in to your Pandora account to access your music collection. ViWizard only uses your login to load your content and does not store any personal information.

Step 3 Select Pandora Music to Download

Search or browse the songs, albums, playlists, radio stations, artists, or collections you want. Click the plus button in the bottom right corner, and ViWizard will pop up a window where you can select, delete, or add more songs for download. After selecting all the required songs, click Add to List to add them to the download list.

Step 4 Download Pandora Songs

Click the Convert button to start downloading the selected track. After completion, click on the folder icon to view the downloaded Pandora music files on your computer.

Step 5Transfer Pandora Downloads to Your Apple Watch via iTunes

1. Connect your iPhone to your computer using a USB cable.
2. Open iTunes on your computer, click on File in the menu bar, and select Add File to Library to import the downloaded Pandora Music files.



3. In the upper left corner, click the iPhone icon. Then, select the Music tab in the left panel.
4. Check the Sync Music option. Finally, click the Sync or Done button.
5. Pair your iPhone with your Apple Watch using Bluetooth.
6. Launch Apple Watch app on your iPhone and select My Watch > Music > Add Music to sync the Pandora music files in Apple Watch-supported formats.

Now, you can enjoy offline Pandora music on your Apple Watch without your phone at hand. Also, you are able to access Pandora music on your Apple TV, Alexa and many other devices, even in your car.

Part 6. How to Fix Pandora Not Working on Apple Watch

We know that there may be some issues when using Pandora on Apple Watch, and other users may also encounter this situation, so don't worry. In this section, we will share some practical solutions to address issues such as the Pandora app not being able to open, unable to play music, or unable to play downloaded songs on the Apple Watch.

Issue 1. Pandora Not Opening on Apple Watch

If you follow the steps correctly and download Pandora to your Apple Watch, but the application cannot be opened or keeps crashing, here are some fixes:

• Restart the Apple Watch. Press and hold the side button, slide the power, and then press and hold the side button again to start the watch.
• Reinstall the Pandora app. Go to the Watch app on your iPhone. Find the Pandora app and toggle off Show App on Apple Watch.After completely removing the Pandora application from your watch, please follow the steps we provided in the previous section to try reinstalling it onto your Apple watch.

Issue 2. Pandora Keeps Auto-Launching "Now Playing"

Many users have found that the Now Playing app automatically appears on the dial when audio is playing elsewhere (e.g., on an iPhone), which can be distracting. To disable this and avoid this issue, try these:

• Go to your Apple Watch, navigate to Settings > General > Auto-Launch and disable Auto-Launch Audio Apps.
• Alternatively, you can go to Settings > General > Return to Clock > Now Playing, then choose Custom > Always.

Issue 3. Pandora Not Playing on Apple Watch

If Pandora runs on your watch but won't play any music, do the following:

• Ensure that a Bluetooth headset is connected to the Apple Watch.
• Ensure that the watch has a network connection to access Pandora music.
• Try restarting or relaunching the Pandora app. If the problem persists, try reinstalling or downloading Pandora music on your iPhone and syncing it to your watch for offline playback.

Issue 4. Pandora Not Playing Downloads

If you've synced your downloads from your iPhone to your watch and they appear to be on your watch but won't play, try the following:

• Restart the watch.
• Make sure the watch is on the charger during the download process, unless the Pandora download is not syncing properly.
• Go to your iPhone and go to Watch Apps > General > Background App Refresh and make sure Pandora is enabled.
• Make sure the watch has enough space. You can check the space capacity by going to the Watch app on your iPhone and navigating to General > About > Available.
• If the problem still doesn't seem to be resolved, try using the ViWizard Pandora Music Downloader to transfer converted Pandora music to your Apple Watch and then listen to it without using the Pandora app.

Part 7. FAQs about Pandora on Apple Watch

Conclusion

In this guide, we've shown you how to play Pandora on Apple Watch both online and offline, with or without a subscription. We also shared practical fixes for common issues like Pandora not working on Apple Watch.

Since only Apple Watch Series 3 or later with WatchOS 6 can play Pandora music on the watch without an iPhone, and only Pandora Plus and Premium can have offline mode, ViWizard Pandora Music Downloader is a life-saver to bypass these restrictions. Now, use ViWizard to fully control your Pandora music and play it anytime, anywhere on your Apple Watch, without the need for an iPhone.