Apple watches are useful tools that allow you to check your notifications and more without taking your iPhone out of your pocket. Naturally, you may want to set up a passcode to prevent others from accessing it without permission. Still, some people forget and lose access to the watch.
In this situation, you will have to perform a factory reset on your Apple Watch. Doing so will delete all data on it and make it like a new device again. Keep reading to learn.
Oh no! You Forgot your Apple Watch password. Now what?
Your Apple Watch will be disabled if you enter the wrong password too many times. Once that happens, you won’t be able to log in unless you do a factory reset. Fortunately, you can do it with or without a paired iPhone.
Without your iPhone
On the side of the Apple Watch is a button that you normally use to turn off the watch or signal an emergency. You will use it to start the reboot process.
Apple recommends users connect the charger to the Apple Watch and keep it there throughout the process. Since factory reset can consume a lot of power, you don’t want the watch to suddenly run out of battery. It may cause data corruption.
- Keep your Apple Watch charged.
- Press and hold the side button until the “Power off” option appears.
- Do the same with the Digital Crown or the Home Button.
- When “Erase all content and settings” appears, stop holding the Digital Crown.
- Select the option to reset and do it a second time.
- Wait for the factory reset process to complete.
- Connect your Apple Watch to your iPhone again.
- Configure and restore settings when prompted.
After a factory reset, the contents and settings of your Apple Watch are deleted. The activation lock will remain, but you can remove it by unpairing the watch first.
Before the data is deleted, the Apple Watch will back up restorable data on your iPhone. For those who are not pairing their Apple Watches with iPhones, data will be backed up to iCloud.
Here is a list of all the data each backup contains.
- Home Screen App Layouts
- Application data
- Watch face settings
- Dock Configuration
- General settings such as brightness and haptics.
- Health and fitness data
- Notification settings
- Any music playlists and albums you’ve synced to Apple Watch
- Time zone of choice
- Any Siri voice response settings
The following is not included in the backup.
- Credit or debit cards you used in Apple Pay on the watch
- Message history
- List of previously paired Bluetooth devices
- The original Apple Watch passcode
This also applies if you are using an iPhone to perform a factory reset.
With your iPhone
For people who have their paired iPhone nearby, these instructions will help you perform a factory reset. It’s much more convenient than manually pressing the buttons on your Apple Watch; the results are identical.
It would be best to keep your Apple Watch charged during each step until the data is deleted.
- Place the Apple Watch and iPhone near each other.
- Launch the Watch app on your iPhone.
- Select “General.”
- Choose the “Reset” option.
- Tap “Erase Apple Watch Content and Settings.”
- Tap the option to reset again.
- Enter your Apple ID password if necessary.
- Wait for the data to be deleted.
- Set up your Apple Watch again and restore it from backup data.
Some people who own Apple Watches with GPS + Cellular must choose between keeping or removing the cellular plan. This additional procedure occurs between steps 7 and 8.
Stick to the plan if you want to keep your Apple Watch and iPhone paired. You should remove it if you do not plan to pair the two devices.
If you’ll never pair a different watch or iPhone, it’s best to contact your carrier and cancel the cellular plan. That way, you will no longer be charged more.
The Watch app allows users to enter the passcode again if they have already disabled it. Of course, this only helps if you remember it later.
It’s essential to remember that you can enable “Clear Data” on your Apple Watch. After 10 failed attempts to enter the correct passcode, the data is erased and you will have to restore the settings as you would after performing the steps above.
Can I reset? My Apple Watch password without resetting?
Unfortunately, there’s no real way to gain access to an Apple Watch if you forget your password and don’t want to perform a factory reset. The reasoning behind this strict protection is that you can initiate Apple Pay transactions on the Apple Watch. If someone steals your Apple Watch and can reset your password, you can easily use your credit or debit cards.
That’s why any debit or credit cards you previously used for Apple Pay are not restored on the Apple Watch. It is to prevent theft and keep your money safe.
Pairing your Apple Watch with an iPhone
In case you’re not sure how to pair an Apple Watch with your iPhone, check out the instructions below. After a factory reset, you should treat it as a new device until the old data is restored to the watch.
- Make sure your Apple Watch has some battery left.
- Bring your iPhone closer to your Apple Watch.
- Tap “Continue” when the pairing screen appears.
- Select “Set up by myself.”
- Position your iPhone so the viewer can detect the Apple Watch.
- Tap “Set Up Apple Watch.”
- Follow the remaining instructions on the screen.
You can now set a new password and use your Apple Watch as before. Make sure you don’t forget this password or you will have to repeat the process.
Frequently asked questions
What should I do if my Apple Watch won’t force restart?
You should not panic when this happens. Try loading it first and see if anything changes. Or, if the battery is too hot, unplug the charger and let it sit for a longer period while the heat dissipates.
You may need to perform a factory reset if force restarts don’t help.
Let me in
Anyone can forget a passcode, especially in a time when we have to remember so many. If Apple didn’t force users to perform a factory reset when they forget their Watch passcode, your sensitive information could be at risk. It only takes a few minutes to learn how the process works.
