No matter if you’re having issues or ready to sell or give away your current watch, follow along for how to factory reset Apple Watch. We’ll look at how to do this both with and without iPhone even if you’ve forgotten your Apple Watch passcode. Show
Before doing a factory reset with your Apple Watch, make sure to back it up if you want to restore your data on the same or a new watch. If you backup your iPhone with iCloud or a Mac, an Apple Watch backup is automatically created. Keep in mind that iPhone backups on Mac need to be encrypted for all data to be saved for Apple Watch. With the first option below, Apple Watch will also make a fresh backup when you unpair it from iPhone. One more important piece, only unpairing Apple Watch from iPhone will remove the Activation Lock (if enabled) so someone else can use the wearable after it’s reset. How to factory reset Apple WatchReset Apple Watch with iPhone (recommended)The ideal way to factory reset Apple Watch is by unpairing it from iPhone. This will create a backup, erase your watch, and remove Activation Lock and the connection to your iPhone.
Here’s how these steps look: Factory reset directly on Apple WatchIf you don’t have your iPhone on hand, you can erase Apple Watch directly on the wearable but it won’t remove Activation Lock. Remember it won’t be able to do a fresh backup and you’ll also want to head to the Watch app on your iPhone and unpair it with the process above when you can to remove the Apple Watch Activation Lock.
Can’t remember your Apple Watch passcode?If you can’t remember your Apple Watch passcode but have your iPhone:
You can also reset your Apple Watch directly if you can’t remember your passcode. Follow these steps:
Apple notes you’ll need to remove Apple Watch from Activation Lock separately by unpairing it from your iPhone. Thanks for reading our guide on how to reset Apple Watch! Read more 9to5Mac tutorials:
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More. Check out 9to5Mac on YouTube for more Apple news: Is it OK to reset Apple Watch?You should force restart your Apple Watch as a last resort and only if it's not responding. Don't force restart your Apple Watch if you're updating watchOS. After you see the Apple logo and progress wheel, leave your watch alone and on its charger until the update finishes.
What happens to my phone if I reset my Apple Watch?If it isn't already obvious, resetting your Apple Watch back to factory settings will erase everything on it, including music, data, settings, messages, and everything else, and install a fresh version of watchOS. After erasing all content and settings, you will have to pair your Apple Watch again with your iPhone.
Does resetting Apple Watch unpair it from phone?Alternately, you can go to Settings → General → Reset to erase and unpair your Apple Watch if you know your passcode, but the option above is faster.
What happens if you accidentally reset your Apple Watch?You'll need to open the Apple Watch app on your iPhone, unpair the watch, then pair it again. It will walk you through the set up steps and you can choose to restore it from your most recent backup.
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