If your Apple Watch is experiencing issues, one of the easiest fixes is to turn it off and on again.
In our experience, restarting the smartwatch will solve most of your issues.
In fact, if you do find your Apple Watch has stopped responding, your first step should always be to either give it either a simple restart or a force restart in an attempt to unfreeze it.
In this guide, we'll be walking you through how to perform a simple
And, note, this isn't the same as resetting or unpairing the Apple Watch, which should be the next step in your troubleshooting adventure.
How to turn off the Apple Watch
Wareable
Turning off and restarting the Apple Watch is simple. Follow these steps:
1. Hold the side button on the watch until the 'Power Off' slider appears.
2. Drag the 'Power Off' slider from left to right - the Apple Watch will then turn off.
3. To turn the Apple Watch back on, press and hold the side button until the Apple logo appears.
Note: You must take your Apple Watch off the charger to perform these steps, otherwise it won't restart.
Force restart the Apple Watch
Forcing a restart of your Apple Watch 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 to have in your troubleshooting arsenal for when the device is failing to respond.
To force restart the Apple Watch:
- Hold the side button and Digital Crown for around 10 seconds, only releasing when the Apple logo appears
More Apple Watch guides
How we test
Conor moved to Wareable Media Group in 2017, initially covering all the latest developments in smartwatches, fitness trackers, and VR. He made a name for himself writing about trying out translation earbuds on a first date and cycling with a wearable airbag, as well as covering the industry’s latest releases.
Following a stint as Reviews Editor at Pocket-lint, Conor returned to Wareable Media Group in 2022 as Editor-at-Large. Conor has become a wearables expert, and helps people get more from their wearable tech, via Wareable's considerable how-to-based guides.
He has also contributed to British GQ, Wired, Metro, The Independent, and The Mirror.