If you’re wondering whether or not you can downgrade from watchOS 26 to watchOS 11 on Apple Watch, you cannot do that.
Apple Does Allow Downgrading Apple Watch Firmware – Going from watchOS 26 to watchOS 11 is Not Possible
It’s easy to downgrade iPhone and iPad firmware. Just download the firmware on your Mac, plug in that USB-C cable into both devices, and use Finder to restore.
On Apple Watch, you do not get that luxury at all. The cable you do get with your Apple Watch is meant for charging purposes only, nothing beyond that.
There’s no port on the Apple Watch that allows you to connect your device to your Mac in order to restore the firmware. And since you cannot do that, this means you cannot downgrade from watchOS 26 to watchOS 11 if you ever wanted to.
Once you have downloaded and installed watchOS 26 on your Apple Watch, you’re on it for good. You can always move forward by installing new updates and betas as they arrive, but never in the opposite direction.
Given how great the watchOS 26 update is, I’m not sure why anyone would want to go back to watchOS 11. The Liquid Glass UI is very nice to look at and use. It feels fresh compared to what we’ve been seeing since day one of Apple Watch, and I’m glad this change saw the light of day.
I know getting used to something so new can take time. Rather than going into panic mode, just give it a while, you will eventually get used to it.
If you are currently on watchOS 11 and want to stick around for longer, you can always disable automatic updates by going to Watch > General > Software Update. At the top you will see Automatic Updates, open it and then disable it.
I will only recommend doing this if you really, really have to. Do keep in mind that new watchOS updates include security features as well. If you value privacy and your data, then installing watchOS updates is the way to go.
