If you walk with your Apple Watch and see little or no change in Pacer’s step count, the data isn’t making it from the watch into Pacer.  Pacer doesn’t read step data directly from your watch — it pulls step totals from Apple Health, which aggregates information from your phone, watch and other apps.  When something in that chain breaks (an app isn’t installed, permissions are off, Apple Watch isn’t set as the top data source, etc.), Pacer will default to your phone’s sensor and under‑count your steps.

The guide below explains how to re‑establish the connection so Pacer can read your Apple Watch steps correctly.

🔄 How the sync works

• Apple Watch → Apple Health → Pacer: Your watch records steps and writes them into the Health app.  Pacer then reads that combined data from Apple Health and displays it in Pacer’s Activity screen. 
• Merging sources: Apple Health merges data from multiple sources (phone sensor, watch, manually added entries).  If your watch is not the top source in Apple Health, phone steps can override watch steps.

✅ Before you start

1. Update everything: Make sure your iPhone, Apple Watch and Pacer app are running the latest software. 
2. Check that Health is enabled on Apple Watch: On your watch, open Settings → Privacy → Motion & Fitness and turn on Fitness Tracking and Heart Rate. 
3. Keep your watch paired to your iPhone: Bluetooth and Wi‑Fi must be turned on for syncing to occur.

🛠 Fix Apple Watch step syncing

Follow these steps in order.  After each major step, open Pacer and check if your steps update.

Ensure your watch is recording steps into Apple Health

Apple Watch writes data into Health automatically, but you can verify it:

1. On your iPhone, open Health. 
2. Tap Browse → Activity → Steps. 
3. Scroll to Data Sources & Access.  You should see Apple Watch listed; if not, ensure your watch is paired and has Fitness Tracking enabled. 
4. Tap Edit and drag Apple Watch to the top of the list.  Apple Health uses the source at the top of the list as the primary source. 
5. Tap Done to save.

Install and activate the Pacer Apple Watch app (optional but recommended)

Using the watch app can improve reliability when you record workouts:

1. Open the Watch app on your iPhone. 
2. Search for “Pacer.” 
3. Tap Show App on Apple Watch and toggle the switch on.

Connect Pacer to Apple Health and select Apple Watch as your data source

1. Open Pacer on your iPhone. 
2. Tap your profile icon (top‑left) to open the Profile menu. 
3. Tap Steps Data Source. 
4. Select Apple Watch / Health and tap Connect. 
5. Turn on Use Apple Health as Primary Data Source. 
6. Tap Turn On All → Allow and leave Pacer open until the sync finishes.

This sets Apple Health (and therefore your watch) as the source Pacer will read.

Grant Pacer full read and write permissions in Apple Health

Pacer needs permission to both read and write data in order to show your steps correctly :

1. Open Health → tap your profile icon (top‑right). 
2. Tap Apps → select Pacer. 
3. Turn on all the categories Pacer requests — at minimum Steps, Active Energy, Walking + Running Distance, Workouts and Flights Climbed.

If these permissions are off, Pacer cannot read your Apple Watch data.

💡 Tips and common mistakes

• Don’t close the Pacer app during the initial sync — it needs to remain open while data moves between Apple Health and Pacer. 
• Avoid manual data edits in Health; they may confuse Pacer.  Let your watch and phone write data automatically. 
• Expect minor differences in numbers: Apple Health merges data from multiple sources and may increase or decrease your step total.  This behavior is controlled by Apple and cannot be changed. 
• Not using Apple Watch? If you don’t want to use your watch’s data, set Phone Sensor as the data source in Pacer (Steps Data Source → Phone).

✅ Final check

If you still experience issues after following all the steps above, contact Pacer support via Pacer → Profile → Settings → Help & Support and mention that your Apple Watch steps aren’t syncing.