When you set up a passcode on your Apple Watch, you’ll ideally pick one that you can easily remember. However, mishaps happen to the best of us. Maybe you needed to change up your usual passcode for security reasons and plumb forgot the new one. Perhaps you’re booting it up for the first time in a while and didn’t remember setting one up to begin with. In my case, I wore my Apple Watch to bed and vaguely remember taking it off in the middle of the night. When I tried to unlock it this morning, I was instead greeted by a message saying I had entered in one too many wrong passcodes. Show Regardless of the reason, getting locked out of your Apple Watch is no fun. Thankfully, this is an easy problem to fix. You may end up seeing this screen if you enter too many wrong passcodes. Photo by Victoria Song / The Verge Resetting the Apple WatchUnfortunately, if you’re in this situation, you’re going to have to reset your Apple Watch. That does mean that you’re going to lose all the data on your smartwatch. The good news is that Apple will automatically create a backup while you go through this process, so you’re not really going to lose anything. To reset your Apple Watch from the watch itself:
If you’d rather do this from your iPhone, that’s also a possibility. To reset your Apple Watch via your iPhone:
Editing passcode settings
What the Change Passcode screen looks like Image: Apple You don’t have to wait until an emergency to reevaluate your passcode settings. Perhaps you want to turn off your passcode. (Just a reminder, doing so will disable certain features like using Apple Pay.) Maybe you want to preemptively change your passcode. Or, having had to reset your Apple Watch once, perhaps you’d like to avoid having to do that again. Whatever the reason, here’s how to tweak your passcode settings. Changing your passcodeOn your wrist:
On the iPhone:
Turning your passcode offOn your wrist:
On the iPhone:
Other settingsThe Passcode menu in your iPhone’s Watch app Screenshot: Victoria Song / The Verge While these are the basic passcode settings, there are a few others you can toggle on or off. They can all be accessed from the same Passcode menu on either your wrist or iPhone’s Watch app using the steps detailed above. Mixing and matching these settings is a good way to customize your experience — especially if you’re the forgetful type or are worried about someone accessing your data if you lose your Apple Watch. For example, the Unlock with iPhonesetting is excellent if you find inputting numbers on a tiny screen difficult. When enabled and wearing the Apple Watch, this will automatically unlock your watch whenever you unlock your iPhone. Perhaps you’d rather not input seven digits to use your Apple Watch. Enabling Simple Passcodewill let you use a four-digit passcode instead. Keep in mind that the longer the code, the more secure it is. However, this is a handy option to simplify the process — especially when used with the following settings to bolster security. If you’re using a passcode, consider enabling the Wrist Detection setting. This will detect when you don’t have the watch strapped to your wrist and will therefore require a passcode to unlock. This is a good option for keeping your data safe in the event you lose your device. Likewise, you can opt to enable the Erase Datasetting. This will erase all data after 10 failed passcode attempts. How do I reset my Apple Watch without paired phone?How to erase your Apple Watch if you don't have your iPhone. On your Apple Watch, tap Settings > General > Reset > Erase All Content and Settings.. Type your password if prompted.. For GPS + Cellular models, choose to keep or remove your cellular plan. ... . Tap Erase All to confirm.. How do you unpair an Apple Watch without the password without a phone?How To Unpair Apple Watch without iPhone. Put your Apple Watch on its charger.. Press and hold the side button as if you were going to power it down.. Do a firm press on the POWER OFF slider and let go.. Tap Erase all content and settings.. How do I remove previous owner Apple ID from Apple Watch?Enter your Apple ID password. If you forgot your Apple ID password, you can reset it. Tap again to confirm.. On a computer, go to iCloud.com.. Sign in with your Apple ID, and open Settings.. Under My Devices, click your Apple Watch.. Click X next to your device.. Click Remove to confirm.. |