Unpair and erase your Apple Watch - Apple Support (2024)

FAQs

Unpair and erase your Apple Watch - Apple Support? ›

On your Apple Watch, tap Settings > General > Reset > Erase All Content and Settings. Type your password if prompted. For GPS + Cellular models, choose to keep or remove your cellular plan. If you want to pair your Apple Watch and iPhone again, keep your plan.

Unpair your Apple Watch from your iPhone.

This erases the contents and removes Activation Lock (which prevents someone else from activating it).

Should I unpair my old Apple Watch before pairing a new one? If you're upgrading to a newer Apple Watch, you'll need to unpair your old one from your iPhone, unless you decide to keep using both watches.

Will I lose my data if I reset my Apple Watch? That depends. Your data will be completely wiped from the Apple Watch itself. However, if you have a backup of the iPhone it was connected to, that will include most of the data that was stored on the Apple Watch as well.

If your Apple Watch needs a hardware repair, it will be shipped to an Apple Repair Center. Before it's sent, you'll need to unpair it from your iPhone. When you unpair, your iPhone will try to create a backup of your Apple Watch. You can use the backup to restore your Apple Watch when it returns from service.

On your Apple Watch, tap Settings > General > Reset > Erase All Content and Settings. Type your password if prompted. For GPS + Cellular models, choose to keep or remove your cellular plan. If you want to pair your Apple Watch and iPhone again, keep your plan.

Make sure that the previous owner removed Activation Lock from the watch and that the watch has been erased. They must unpair the watch and remove Activation Lock by entering their Apple ID password, so you can use the watch. If you see the passcode lock screen or the Home screen, the device needs to be erased.

Activation Lock is an anti-theft feature that cannot be bypassed. Only the previous owner can remove the lock by using their Apple ID & password. Apple will not help you find the previous owner. If the previous owner cannot or will not remove the lock, then the watch is useless to you or anyone else.

How do you erase Apple Watch without passcode? ›

Put your watch on its charger and keep it there until you complete these steps. Press and hold the side button until you see the power button in the upper-right corner of the display. Press and hold the Digital Crown until you see Erase all content and settings. Tap Reset, then tap Reset again to confirm.

Unpair your Apple Watch from your iPhone.

This erases the contents and removes Activation Lock (which prevents someone else from activating it).

Force Apple Watch to restart

Do this only if you're unable to restart your Apple Watch. To force restart, hold down the side button and the Digital Crown at the same time for at least ten seconds, until the Apple logo appears.

When you unpair your Apple Watch from your iPhone, the watch is backed up completely to your iPhone to make sure that the latest data is saved. You can use the backed-up Apple Watch data on your iPhone if you ever need to restore your Apple Watch, or when you set up a new Apple Watch.

When you unpair or erase your Apple Watch, your personal data is erased, including the cards that you use for Apple Pay and Apple Cash.

Unpair your Apple Watch from your iPhone.

This erases the contents and removes Activation Lock (which prevents someone else from activating it). Do this if you plan to sell or give away your Apple Watch.

Resetting an Apple Watch is the process of removing all data and settings from the device to help with the response of the device, but there is the option of restarting the Apple Watch by shutting it down for a period of time.