How to Force Restart a Frozen Apple Watch

The Apple Watch is a great companion for your iPhone—but all great things have bad days, and the Apple Watch is no exception. Software bugs can make the watch slow to respond, and when they do, a quick restart is usually a good solution. However, sometimes the Apple Watch stops responding entirely; when that happens, you can still force it to restart.

When should I force restart my Apple Watch?

The Apple Watch tends to take a long time to complete a software update (here are some tips to speed up the process). You might worry that your Apple Watch is actually frozen during software updates, but it’s probably just slow-going, so avoid forcing it to restart when it’s updating.

If your watch is getting stuck repeatedly, you should contact Apple support for a solution. Apple says the force restart should be used only as a last resort, so if it’s happening frequently, it’s best to get an expert opinion.

However, if your Apple Watch appears to be stuck and you’re not updating its software, go ahead and force it to restart.

How to force an Apple Watch to restart

To restart your Apple Watch the regular (non-forceful) way, just press and hold the side button till you see the Power Off slider on screen. Move the Power icon to the right to switch off your Apple Watch. Then press and hold the side button until you see the Apple logo on screen.

This will work for most people. But if your Apple Watch is still not responding, here’s how you can force it to restart:

1. Press and hold the Digital Crown and the side button for 10 seconds.
2. Wait for the Apple logo to appear on your Apple Watch’s screen.
3. Release the two buttons once the Apple logo appears.

Your Apple Watch will take some time to complete the restart; but once it does, you’ll be back to the lock screen.