There are four different ways to reset an Apple Watch, and picking the wrong one either fails to fix your problem or wipes data you did not mean to lose. This guide covers all of them, in order of how drastic they are, plus the one step almost everyone forgets before selling a watch.

Quick answer: which reset do you need?

  • Watch frozen or unresponsive? Force restart. Nothing is erased.
  • Odd behaviour, settings playing up? Reset settings only. Your data stays.
  • Selling, giving away or starting fresh? Unpair from your iPhone. This backs up, erases and removes Activation Lock in one step.
  • Forgotten passcode, or no access to the paired iPhone? Factory reset on the watch itself.

If you are getting rid of the watch, unpairing from the iPhone is the correct method – not a factory reset on the watch. The reason why is explained below, and getting it wrong leaves the watch unusable for the next owner.

1. Force restart (soft reset) – fixes a frozen watch

This is the equivalent of pulling the plug. It erases nothing at all and is always the first thing to try when the watch has locked up, is stuck on the Apple logo, or will not respond to taps.

Hold the side button and the Digital Crown together for at least 10 seconds, then let go when the Apple logo appears. Hold longer than feels right – a lot of people release after five seconds and conclude it has not worked.

Only use this if the watch is genuinely unresponsive. If it is working normally, switch it off and on instead by holding the side button and dragging the Power Off slider.

2. Reset settings only – keeps your data

Less well known and often the right middle ground. It returns settings to default without erasing apps, health data or watch faces.

On the watch: Settings, then General, then Reset, then Reset Settings. Useful when something is behaving oddly – notifications not arriving, brightness or haptics misbehaving – but you do not want to start over.

3. Factory reset from the watch itself

This erases everything on the watch. Use it when you cannot get to the paired iPhone, or when you have forgotten your passcode.

  1. Open Settings on the watch
  2. Tap General, then Reset
  3. Tap Erase All Content and Settings
  4. Enter your passcode if prompted
  5. On a cellular model, choose whether to keep or remove your mobile plan – keep it if you are re-pairing to the same iPhone
  6. Confirm and wait for the watch to restart

Important: this does not remove Activation Lock. The watch will still be tied to your Apple Account, so anyone else pairing it will be locked out. See the section below.

4. Unpair from your iPhone – the method to use before selling

This is the one most people should use. Unpairing takes a fresh backup, erases the watch and removes Activation Lock, all in a single process.

  1. Keep the watch and iPhone close together
  2. Open the Watch app on your iPhone
  3. Tap All Watches at the top
  4. Tap the info button next to your watch
  5. Tap Unpair Apple Watch
  6. On cellular models, choose to keep or remove the plan
  7. Enter your Apple Account password to turn off Activation Lock
  8. Wait for the process to finish before disconnecting

That password prompt is the critical step. It is what actually releases the watch, and it is why unpairing is the correct route rather than an on-watch factory reset.

We have a dedicated guide to unpairing an Apple Watch, covering every scenario including when you no longer have the paired iPhone and when the watch screen is broken.

Activation Lock: the step everyone forgets

Activation Lock ties the watch to your Apple Account so a stolen device cannot be reused. It is a genuinely good security feature and a genuine problem if you skip removing it.

If you factory reset the watch from the watch itself and then sell it, the buyer cannot pair it. It will ask for your Apple Account credentials, and no repair shop, no Apple Store and no amount of resetting can bypass that. The only fix is for you to remove it remotely.

To remove it after the fact, sign in to iCloud on a computer, open Find My, select the watch, choose Remove This Device, and confirm. If you bought a second-hand watch that is Activation Locked, the only legitimate route is to go back to the seller.

Before selling, it is also worth checking the watch is not still listed in your Apple Account device list.

How to reset an Apple Watch without the paired iPhone

Common when the iPhone has been sold, lost or replaced. Use the on-watch factory reset in section 3 above – it works without the phone.

The catch is Activation Lock again. Erasing the watch without the iPhone does not release it from your Apple Account, so you must sign in to iCloud separately through Find My on any computer and remove the device there. Do both, or the watch will be erased but still locked.

How to reset an Apple Watch with a forgotten passcode

If you cannot remember the passcode and the watch is locked, you have two routes.

With the paired iPhone: unpair using the Watch app as described above. It erases and restores the passcode-free state, then you can set it up again from a backup.

Without the iPhone: put the watch on its charger, hold the side button until Power Off appears, then firmly press and hold the Digital Crown until the Erase All Content and Settings option appears. Confirm it.

Ten failed passcode attempts will disable the watch entirely, so it is better to reset deliberately than to keep guessing.

Will a reset erase my health and fitness data?

Not permanently, provided the watch was paired to an iPhone. Health and activity data syncs to the Health app on your iPhone, so it lives there independently of the watch.

When you unpair, the iPhone takes a fresh backup automatically, and pairing a new or reset watch lets you restore from it. Your rings, workouts and history come back.

The exception is a watch that was never properly paired or synced, or one where the paired iPhone has already been wiped. In that situation the data may only exist on the watch, and a factory reset removes it for good – so sync before you erase.

What a reset will not fix

Worth being straight about, because a lot of people reset repeatedly hoping a hardware fault will disappear. A reset only addresses software. It will not help with:

  • A cracked or lifting screen. Swelling underneath usually means the battery, not the glass – see Apple Watch screen repair.
  • Battery draining in hours, or the watch dying overnight. That is a worn cell, not a software glitch – see Apple Watch battery replacement.
  • The watch not charging or not sitting properly on the puck – see Apple Watch charging repair.
  • Water inside the display, or the screen lifting at one edge. A lifting screen is very often a swollen battery pushing it out, and that needs looking at rather than resetting.
  • A watch that will not power on at all even on the charger after 30 minutes.

A useful rule: if a force restart fixes it temporarily and the problem returns, it is usually hardware. If a full erase and setup does not change anything, it is definitely hardware.

Common problems while resetting

Stuck on the Apple logo or spinning wheel. A full erase can take 15 to 30 minutes on older models. Leave it on the charger and do not interrupt it. If it is still there after an hour, force restart and try again.

The watch will not unpair. Keep it close to the iPhone, make sure both have Bluetooth and Wi-Fi on, and try restarting both first.

Erase option greyed out. Usually the watch is not charged enough. Put it on the charger for half an hour and try again.

Watch will not pair after reset. Almost always Activation Lock. Check Find My and remove the device from your Apple Account.

Which Apple Watch do you have?

The reset steps above are the same across every model, though older watches take noticeably longer to erase. If you need a repair rather than a reset, find your model below:

See our full Apple Watch repair service for what we cover, or Apple repair for iPhone, iPad and Mac.

Frequently asked questions

How do I force restart an Apple Watch?

Hold the side button and the Digital Crown together for at least 10 seconds, then release when the Apple logo appears. This erases nothing and is the correct first step for a frozen or unresponsive watch. Only use it when the watch will not respond normally.

How do I factory reset an Apple Watch?

On the watch, go to Settings, then General, then Reset, then Erase All Content and Settings. Enter your passcode if asked and confirm. Note that this does not remove Activation Lock – if you are selling the watch, unpair it from your iPhone instead.

How do I reset an Apple Watch without the iPhone?

Use the on-watch reset: Settings, General, Reset, Erase All Content and Settings. That works without the phone, but it will not remove Activation Lock. You must also sign in to iCloud on a computer, open Find My, select the watch and choose Remove This Device.

Does resetting an Apple Watch delete my health data?

Not permanently, as long as it was paired to an iPhone. Health and activity data syncs to the Health app on the phone and stays there. Unpairing takes a fresh backup automatically, so you can restore it to a new or reset watch.

How do I reset an Apple Watch if I forgot the passcode?

With the paired iPhone, unpair using the Watch app. Without it, put the watch on its charger, hold the side button until Power Off appears, then press and hold the Digital Crown until Erase All Content and Settings appears. Avoid repeated guesses – ten failed attempts disables the watch.

Why won’t my Apple Watch pair after I reset it?

Almost always Activation Lock. A factory reset from the watch does not release it from your Apple Account. Sign in to iCloud on a computer, open Find My, select the watch and choose Remove This Device. If you bought it second-hand, only the original owner can do this.

How long does an Apple Watch reset take?

A force restart is a few seconds. A full erase typically takes 15 to 30 minutes, longer on older models. Keep the watch on its charger and do not interrupt it. If it is still on the Apple logo after an hour, force restart and try again.

Will resetting fix my Apple Watch battery problem?

No. A reset only addresses software. If your watch drains in hours or dies overnight, the cell has degraded and needs replacing. A swollen battery can also push the screen up at one edge, which needs attention rather than another reset.

Still not working after a reset?

If you have erased the watch and the problem is still there, it is a hardware fault and no amount of resetting will change it. We repair screens, batteries and charging faults across every Apple Watch generation, with a 12-month guarantee on parts and labour.

Contact us with your model and what it is doing, and we will give you a fixed price before any work starts. We work from our Essex workshop and take devices from across the UK by tracked, insured post.

Setting up a watch from scratch, or pairing one after a factory reset? See our full guide on how to connect an Apple Watch to iPhone, covering both the standard camera pairing method and manual pairing if the camera will not scan.

We also cover iPhone repairs, iPad repair, MacBook repairs and UK-wide tech repairs.

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