Give your Apple smartwatch the off-on treatment or a soft reset by following these steps.
If your Apple Watch is experiencing a problem, turning it off and on again or forcing it to restart is one of the simplest and most effective fixes.
In our experience, restarting the Apple Watch will solve most issues. If you suspect your Apple Watch needs a reboot, your first step should always be to either give it a simple off-and-on or force-restart in an attempt to unfreeze it.
In this guide, we’ll explain how to do both on devices running watchOS 11.
Just be aware that this isn’t the same as giving your Apple Watch a hard reset, which should be the next step in your troubleshooting adventure.
How to turn the Apple Watch off
Turning off and restarting the Apple Watch changed with watchOS 10, and the method remains the same with the latest software, watchOS 11. Before you begin, ensure your Apple Watch isn’t on charge and is updated to the newest software version.
Follow these steps to turn the Apple Watch off:
1. Hold the side button on the watch until the sliders appear – usually a couple of seconds.
2. Tap the power icon in the top-right corner.
3. Drag the ‘Power Off’ slider from left to right – the Apple Watch will turn off.
Note: To turn the Apple Watch back on, press and hold the side button until the Apple logo appears.
Force restart the Apple Watch (soft reset)
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Forcing a restart of your Apple Watch or Apple Watch Ultra isn’t advised in every scenario, such as when you’re updating your Apple Watch to the latest software.
However, it is a handy skill in your troubleshooting arsenal for when the device is failing to respond.
We would advise forcing your Apple Watch to restart if it’s frozen when turned on, or won’t respond when you try and turn it on.
To force restart (soft reset) the Apple Watch:
- Hold the side button and Digital Crown for around 10 seconds, only releasing when the Apple logo appears (as shown above)
