How To Reset Apple Watch Without Paired Phone?

“I Forgot iPhone So I Can’t Reset My Apple Watch!”

Back in 2021 during our trip to Seoul I vividly remember my sister texting me from the hotel lobby: “I think I have broken my smartwatch can you fix it?” By the time I got my hands on it, her Series 5 was just showing the option to “Erase all content and settings.”

Which only happened because she had it in her purse and something might be against the button. Either way, the point I’m trying to make here is that our Apple Watches hold many secrets that mostly not many of us are always aware of.

But I’m glad it happened because then I learned two things that day:

A) My sister needs to get a new big purse.

B) Apple Watch can be reset without a paired phone!

One Way To Reset Apple Watch Without Paired Phone.

It is pretty common to forget or lose our Apple Watches and iPhones. We can’t always have it on us 24/7. Although it is rare for watches to be away for long. They stay with us, and that’s why we need to know how to work around them without a paired phone.

Without iPhone, Passcode Or Apple ID

If for some reason you want to reset your Apple Watch without your iPhone this is what you need to do to set your watch free:

• Connect the watch to its charging cable, with power connected. You don’t necessarily have to use an official charger, there are alternatives ways to charge an Apple Watch.
• Press and hold the side button until you see the Power Off slider  in the top right-hand 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.

Using this method you won’t need to keep in mind Apple ID or even passcode. However, keep in mind through this method you can’t get rid of Activation Lock.

To do that there is only one way and it is through your iPhone. You will have to unpair your Apple Watch from the iPhone.

Two Ways To Reset Apple Watch With Paired Phone

A little counterproductive to the argument we are making here, but you can easily reset your Apple Watch with the aid of a phone and passcode – if you have access to them. It won’t take more than 5 minutes to be done with the whole process.

With iPhone & Apple ID

In case you have your phone with you to reset the Apple Watch, it couldn’t get any simpler to reset your smartwatch. Just open the Apple Watch Application. From there navigate to the Settings to the General section and from there to Reset.

At this stage, you would have to make sure your Apple Watch and iPhone are paired and close to each other. While it doesn’t ask for it every time but you could be prompted to enter your Apple ID to complete the procedure.

You will see Erase Apple Watch Content and Settings button click on it and you will be good to go.

With Passcode But No iPhone

If you know the passcode of your watch then you can also reset the Apple Watch directly from the smartwatch itself. Go to Settings and then General and from there navigate to the Reset option. You’d see the “Erase all Content and Settings“

Tap on it and you’d be prompted to enter your passcode. Once entered your Apple Watch will begin the resetting process and it will reboot.

Little Tips & Tricks

Before resetting anything be it iPhone or Apple Watch or just any smart device it is very important to always have a backup at some place. More often than not people don’t consider it before doing the deed and it ends up in tragedy for them.

The second vital thing to keep in mind is to always have your device at least 50% charged before you begin to reset it. It is more of a precaution than a need, erasing data from a smart device is an intricate process, and we certainly don’t want anything to disturb it.

So put those chargers to good use and keep your Apple Watch powered up. The rest is all magic.