How I Got Developer Mode to Appear on watchOS (When It Was Missing)

TL;DR: If you don’t see the Developer Mode option in Privacy & Security on your Apple Watch, try connecting your iPhone to your Mac with a cable and opening Xcode.

I was working on a simple app for my Apple Watch and needed to enable Developer Mode to build and run it on my device. However, despite repeatedly checking Settings > Privacy & Security, the Developer Mode option was nowhere to be found. After experimenting with a few solutions, I finally discovered a fix:

1. Connect the iPhone to a Mac with a physical USB cable.
2. Open Xcode and go to Manage Run Destinations.
3. The watchOS device should appear, follow the prompts on the watch to trust the computer.
4. Now, go to Privacy & Security on your Apple Watch—Developer Mode should appear. Enable it, then restart your watch!