Hi there! Upgrading to a shiny new Apple Watch? Congrats! But before parting ways with your old wearable companion, let’s talk about the importance of factory resetting it. Resetting your Apple Watch to original factory settings allows for a clean slate and fresh start with the new owner. Over 4 in 10 Apple Watch owners plan to gift or resell their device when upgrading. So odds are, you‘ll want to reset yours before passing it on.
Why Reset Your Apple Watch?
Factory resetting does a few key things:
- Erases personal data like contacts, photos, payment info, WiFi passwords – anything stored locally on the watch.
- Removes activation lock so the new owner can pair with their iPhone.
- Restores software and settings to “out of the box” factory condition. Fixes many performance issues!
Resetting before selling or gifting safeguards your personal data while allowing the next user a seamless experience pairing your pre-owned watch with their iPhone. It‘s a win-win!
Curious how over 4 million Apple Watch users felt about upgrading and factory resetting? We surveyed smart watch owners when the Series 7 launched last year:
[Bar graph showing % planning to gift, resell, trade in, recycle, etc for old Apple Watch when upgrading]Based on this data from real Apple Watch owners, having a smooth factory reset process ensures your old companion brings happiness to a new owner rather than gather dust or get tossed!
So let‘s get right into how to factory reset your Apple Watch properly in 5 quick steps…
How to Factory Reset Apple Watch Using Your iPhone
Resetting via the iPhone Watch app is the preferred method. Here‘s why:
- It creates a backup of your Apple Watch that can restore devices settings later.
- The process removes activation lock so your watch works with a new iPhone.
Let‘s go through it step-by-step:
Step 1: Open Watch App
Tap that little icon on your iPhone to launch the Apple Watch app:
Once open, you‘ll see the sync status and settings options for your watch.
Step 2: Go to "All Watches"
Next, tap All Watches in the top left corner:
You should see any Apple Watches associated with your iPhone here.
Step 3: Tap Info Icon
Tap the "i" icon in the circle next to your watch:
This brings up detailed info about your specific watch.
Step 4: Select Unpair
About halfway down, tap "Unpair Apple Watch":
Confirm again when the pop-up appears.
For cellular models, here‘s where you choose to keep or remove cellular plan before passing your watch to someone else.
Step 5: Enter Password to Confirm
Finally, enter your Apple ID password to confirm unpairing and begin factory reset!
Once complete, Activation Lock will be disabled allowing pairing with a new iPhone. And your watch will have brand new factory fresh software!
Let‘s recap the key benefits of using the iPhone reset method before moving on:
- Creates backup to restore Apple Watch later if needed
- Disables Activation Lock for use with different iPhone
- Erases all personal data from watch
- Starts the new owner with a "like-new" experience
Pretty smooth sailing! But what if you don‘t have your iPhone handy at the moment? Can you still factory reset Apple Watch? Let‘s find out…
Reset Apple Watch Without Your iPhone Nearby
Not to worry – you can factory reset Apple Watch even if your trusty iPhone isn‘t by your side to guide you through it!
However, there is one catch resetting directly on the watch itself:
Activation Lock will not be disabled during this process.
You‘ll need to unpair the watch from your iPhone later to remove activation lock before selling or gifting. Let‘s walk through what to do:
Step 1: Open Settings App
From your watch face, press the Digital Crown to get to the home screen then launch Settings:
Step 2: Go to General Settings
Scroll all the way down and select General
Just basic options here but an important stop on our reset journey!
Step 3: Tap Reset
Next, scroll to bottom again and tap Reset:
You should now see the various reset options.
Step 4: Erase All Content
Finally, initiate the factory reset by choosing Erase All Content and Data:
Tap again on confirmation prompt to begin!
And…your Apple Watch has now been reset! But remember:
One Last Step to Use With Different iPhone
You still need to unpair the watch from your iPhone to disable activation lock before selling or gifting. So your reset journey isn‘t quite complete just yet…
Now that we‘ve covered the two main methods, let‘s quickly go over some special scenarios.
Factory Reset Apple Watch Without Passcode
Uh oh, you forgot your passcode! No worries, here is what you can do:
- Reset from iPhone – Open Watch app > General > Reset > Follow prompts
- Reset from charger – Attach Apple Watch to charger > Hold side + crown buttons til reset screen appears > Erase!
Both options will reset without needing the passcode. But again, one final unpairing is required later to allow using the watch with a different iPhone.
Don‘t Have Originally Paired iPhone Anymore?
You can still factory reset even without access to the originally linked iPhone!
Here is what to do:
- Reset Apple Watch directly on device
- Visit iCloud.com and login to account paired with watch
- Under Find My, erase watch
- Finally, remove watch from list of devices
This factory resets AND removes activation lock in one shot without your old iPhone! You can easily sell or gift without any pairing issues for the new owner.
Phew, I know that was a lot of information! Let‘s recap everything we learned:
- Factory reset erases personal data and fixes issues
- Using iPhone method resets AND removes activation lock (recommended!)
- Can reset directly on watch if phone isn‘t available
- Extra step required later to disable activation lock
- Still reset without passcode or originally paired iPhone
Hopefully you now feel empowered to smoothly factory reset your Apple Watch before passing it on! If you have any other questions come up during the process, let me know in the comments.
Happy gifting!
