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Forgot Apple Watch Passcode? 2 Ways to Reset [2023]

Did you forget your Apple Watch password or did you enter a wrong passcode multiple times and disabled it? It doesn't matter; you can reset the watch and set it up again.

We have many passwords, and it is normal to forget some along the way as we use various devices. For instance, it is customary to forget the passcode of your Apple Watch.

Similarly, you can enter the wrong password several times and disable it. That shouldn’t worry you because you can reset your Apple Watch passcode using a simple guide shown below.


Reset Apple watch

Step 1: Make sure your watch is on its charger, and don't remove it until the reset process is complete. Your Apple Watch will not shut down when the process is midway.

Step 2: Now press and hold the side button next to the Digital Crown until you see the words “Power Off” on the watch's screen.

Step 3: Once you see the word “Power Off” on the screen, press and hold the Digital Crown button next to the side button. Don’t release the button until you see “Erase all content and settings” on the screen.

Step 4: Tap the “Reset” option on the screen and tap it to confirm your request.

Step 5: Wait for the reset process to finish. Be patient because it could take longer.

Step 6: Once the process finishes, your Apple Watch is now clean, and you can set it afresh with a new passcode. Remember to restore from a backup when asked to do so and recover your data.

Please note that Erasing all content and settings in step 3 above doesn’t remove the Activation Lock. You should first unpair the watch from your iPhone before erasing it if you want to remove the Activation Lock.


Reset Apple Watch with a paired iPhone

 You can also reset your Apple Watch straight from your iPhone if the two are paired by following the simple procedure shown below.

Step 1: Place your Apple Watch and the paired iPhone close to each other, and don’t move them apart until the reset process is complete.

Reset Apple Watch with a paired iPhone

Step 2: Go to the Apple Watch app on your iPhone and select the “My Watch” tab.

Step 3: Once the tab opens, select “General”, “Reset” and go to “Erase Apple Watch Content and Settings.”

Erase Apple Watch setting

Step 4: Tap “Erase Apple Watch Content and Settings” and tap on it to confirm the procedure.

Erase Apple Watch Content and Settings

Step 5: Enter your App ID password if prompted to do so.

Step 6: You can choose to keep or remove your cellular plan when resting your Apple Watch if it has GPS + Cellular features.

Note the following for Apple Watch (GPS + cellular network) models.

  • Please keep the package if you want to pair Apple Watch and iPhone again,
  • If you don’t want to pair Apple Watch and iPhone again, remove the plan.
  • You may need to contact your carrier to cancel your cellular network plan if you don't plan to pair it with another watch or iPhone in the future.

 Step 7: Now wait for the rest process to complete. You can set up your Apple watch again and accept a restore from a backup when asked to do so.


Recover Apple watch data

When the Apple Watch and iPhone are close, it will automatically back up the data and store the data in iCloud. After resetting, you can select the backup option through the phone.

Here is a quick guide on recovering Apple watch data from your iPhone.

Step 1: Go to your iPhone (the one paired with the Apple watch) and launch the App Watch app.

App Watch app

Step2: Doing so will take you to the “My Watch” section. Go to the top-left corner of the phone's screen and tap the “All Watches” option.

All Watches option

Step 3: Choose the Apple Watch that you want to restore data and tap the “i” icon next to it, as shown below.

Choose the Apple Watch

Step 4: On the menu page that appears, browse to the “Unpair Apple Watch” option and tap it.

Unpair Apple Watch

Step 5: Enter your Apple ID password if prompted to do so and tap the “Unpair” option to start the process. Be patient because the process could take a few minutes to complete.

and tap the Unpair

Step 6: Once the process is complete, you will see a notification on the Apple Watch app asking you to pair the Apple Watch that you are just unpaired. Tap the “Start Pairing) option to start the process.

Tap the Start Pairing

Step 7: Now, don’t set the Apple Watch as a new one. On the contrary, you should select the previous backup that has the data that you want to recover.

Step 8: Once you select the data that you want to recover, tap the “Continue” option and relax for the data recovery process to finish so that you can have your old data in the Apple Watch.

tap the Continue option data recovery process to finish


Keep the password

Everyone has many passwords to remember, and you can easily forget some passwords to your devices and websites that require login.

It is recommended that you use 1passwords or Last password tools to manage your passwords. You don’t have to remember all your passwords or keep resetting your passwords frequently to recover them.