Forgot your Apple Watch passcode? Don’t panic. You can get back into your Apple Watch safely by resetting it to its factory settings. The good news is you won’t lose all your custom watch faces and downloaded apps in the process, as long as you’ve set up iCloud backup.
iCloud automatically saves a copy of your watch data like settings, health information, and more. So after the reset, you can restore from that backup to get your Apple Watch working like before. Then you can set a new passcode you actually remember this time!
The factory reset gives you a fresh start if you can’t access your watch any more thanks to a forgotten code. By pairing the reset with an iCloud restore, you get that clean slate but retain all your data and customizations in the cloud backup.
What to do if you forget your Apple Watch unlock code
Enable Apple Watch Backup to iCloud
Before proceeding, ensure your Apple ID has iCloud activated correctly to back up your Apple Watch watch faces and apps. Here’s how:
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
- Tap on your Apple ID at the top of the screen.
- In your account settings, confirm that the “iCloud Drive” option is enabled at the top of the screen.
- Scroll down and ensure the “Watch” option is also enabled.
By ensuring that both “iCloud Drive” and “Watch” options are activated, you can back up your Apple Watch watch faces and apps seamlessly.
On Apple Watch
To reset your Apple Watch, follow these steps:
- Remove your watch from your wrist and place it on the charger. Ensure it remains connected throughout the process.
- Press and hold the side button until the shutdown screen appears.
- Once on the shutdown screen, press and hold the Digital Crown until a menu appears to erase all content and settings.
- Select “Erase All Content and Settings” from the options presented.
- Confirm the action by tapping “Reset” when prompted.
Your Apple Watch will now begin the process of erasing all content and settings. This may take some time to complete. Once finished, your Apple Watch will restart and be restored to its factory settings.
on iPhone
To erase your Apple Watch content and settings using your iPhone, follow these steps:
- Open the Watch app on your iPhone.
- Tap on “General” from the list of options.
- Scroll all the way down to the bottom of the screen.
- Tap on “Reset,” located at the bottom.
- On the next screen, select “Erase Apple Watch Content and Settings”.
- Confirm the action by following any on-screen prompts.
Your Apple Watch will now begin the process of erasing all content and settings. This may take some time to complete. Once finished, your Apple Watch will restart and be restored to its factory settings.
Restore from iCloud Backup
After your smartwatch completes the full system reset process to factory defaults, follow these steps to pair it again with your iPhone and restore your iCloud backup:
- Open the Watch app on your iPhone.
- Follow the steps to pair your Apple Watch with your iPhone. If you need assistance, you can refer to a tutorial or guide.
- During the setup process, when prompted, select the option to “Restore Backup”.
- Follow the on-screen instructions to sign in with your Apple ID credentials.
- Choose the iCloud backup you want to restore from the list.
- Follow any additional on-screen prompts to complete the setup and restoration process.
Once completed, your Apple Watch will be restored to the way it was before, with all your previous settings, data, and apps intact.
