Apple Watch Not Turning On? Here’s How to Fix It Fast

Wondering why your Apple Watch doesn’t turn on? We have a list of possible reasons and their solutions, including some step-by-step instructions to help you troubleshoot your problematic accessory. Fortunately, most of the fixes are relatively simple. If none of these work, however, it might be time to take it to a professional for help.

If you love wearable tech like this, here’s the 7 best smart glasses of 2026. Now, let’s get into the four most common reasons your Apple Watch won’t turn on.

Why Apple Watch Won’t Turn On

1. Battery Issues

No brainer, right? It’s worth noting that battery issues could be due to an internal issue with your Apple Watch, a faulty charger, or even your electrical outlet. We’ll cover all the ways to find out which is the culprit a little later on.

2. Power Reserve Mode

Your watch has a low-power mode that conserves battery life by limiting features and functionality. Certain models are more extreme than others in the extent to which they hamstring usability. There are ways to disable this power reserve mode, and we’ll help you do just that.

3. Settings aren’t right

If your settings are off, you’d be surprised how much that can affect performance, even to the point where your iWatch won’t turn on. There are some settings, like VoiceOver and Screen Curtain, that, when enabled, might make the watch appear not to be on when, really, the visual cues are just no longer appearing.

4. Hardware problems

If there’s physical damage to your watch or a faulty component, fixing it becomes much more difficult. Still, if you find yourself saying, “Huh. My Apple Watch won’t turn on,” right after dropping it in your bathtub…well, that might be the problem right there.

What To Do if Your Apple Watch Won’t Turn On

Alright, enough chit-chat. You know the more common whys, it’s time to get into the hows. Here are some ways to help you regain functionality with your Apple Watch.

Troubleshoot your Battery and Charger

If your Apple Watch is charging, you should see a green lightning bolt symbol on the screen. Your particular display may affect the location and size of this symbol. Of course, if your Apple Watch won’t turn on, you may not see it at all.

If your watch needs to be charged you’ll see a red lightning bolt on the screen. Sometimes, to make the watch face illuminate, you’ll need to press the button on the side of the watch.

If you can successfully get your watch to charge, the lightning bolt will change to yellow or green, indicating that it’s charging. If the screen is totally blank, it could be completely out of juice. Charge it for at least 30 minutes and see if the display shows up.

Check Charging Cable

One possibility is that your Apple Watch won’t turn on because it’s not charging properly due to a cable issue. Try inspecting your charging cable for signs of wear and tear or other such damage. Use the charging cable that came with your watch, so you know it’s compatible, and make sure the cable is plugged in all the way to its power source. Be sure all the plastic wrap from the charger has been removed, and then try repositioning your watch on the charger so that all the magnets are correctly aligned.

If your watch doesn’t appear to be getting power, check that your outlet or power source is on and that the magnetic charger and the watch itself are clean and free of debris.

Test Other Chargers

Even if your charger looks ok, the battery might still be the cause your Apple Watch won’t work. A simple test is to replace your charger entirely. Don’t just adjust the cable or reposition the watch. Use a different charging cable and, if possible, a different USB power adapter as well. If your watch powers up with the new setup, you’ve found the issue.

Try Charging on Your Computer

Similarly, you can try charging your watch via the USB port on your computer to test for charging issues. 

Update iOS Version

IIf your watch still won’t turn on after troubleshooting hardware problems, you may want to update the iOS version on your paired iPhone to see if that fixes the issue. Here’s how: 

1. Go to Settings.
2. Select General.
3. Select Software Update.
4. You’ll see your current iOS version displayed at the top of the screen. If a newer version is available, it will appear below with an option to download and install.
5. If an update is ready, follow the on-screen prompts to install it manually. Keep your device connected to Wi-Fi and plugged into power to avoid interruptions during the process.

Reboot your Apple Watch

It’s the golden rule of technology: when in doubt, reboot. Here are the steps to restart your Apple Watch:

1. Press and hold the side button until the sliders appear. Then tap the power icon, dragging the Power Off slider to the right to turn off your watch.
2. Turn it back on again by holding down the side button until the Apple logo appears on the screen.

Note: You can’t restart your Apple Watch while it’s charging. Remove it from the charger first. If the issue continues after restarting, try rebooting the paired iPhone as well. Since the two devices work together, restarting both can often resolve syncing or connectivity problems.

Force Restart your Apple Watch

If your watch won’t turn off or the problem persists, you can force restart your watch.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Press and hold the Digital Crown and the side button at the same time.
2. Keep holding both buttons for at least 10 seconds.
3. Release them when the Apple logo appears on the screen.
   
   

In most cases, the watch will reboot within 10 seconds. Occasionally, it can take up to a minute to regain power.

Note: Use a force restart only when the watch is unresponsive. It’s a safe process, but it’s designed for situations where a normal reboot isn’t possible.

Be Sure You’re Not in Power Reserve Mode

If your watch runs watchOS 8 or earlier, the Power Reserve feature may be enabled to help preserve battery life. When your device is in this mode, many features go dormant, and your Apple Watch and iPhone won’t communicate with each other either.

When your battery gets too low, your watch will automatically enter Power Reserve mode, and you may see a red lightning bolt icon indicating a low charge. At 10 percent battery, it may also prompt you to turn Power Reserve on, which you can enable in the Control Center by tapping the battery percentage and dragging the Power Reserve slider. However, since Power Reserve limits functionality, turning it off may fix the issue if your Apple Watch won’t turn on.

Here’s how to disable Power Reserve Mode:

1. Press and hold the side button until the Apple logo appears on the screen.
2. At this point, your watch should restart, and Power Reserve will be turned off.
3. Don’t forget you might have to charge your watch and restore full functionality.

Note: On Apple WatchOS 9, Power Reserve has been replaced with Low Power Mode. This feature still reduces functionality to preserve battery life, but it isn’t as restrictive as Power Reserve. For more details, you can visit Apple’s Low Power Mode support page.

Turn off VoiceOver and Screen Curtain

VoiceOver is an accessibility function for the visually impaired, enabling users to operate their Apple Watch with voice commands instead of relying on the display. Screen Curtain works alongside VoiceOver and turns the display completely black for added privacy, even while the watch remains active.

If you enable these features by mistake, it can look like your Apple Watch isn’t turning on. In reality, the device is working — the screen just isn’t visible.

Before disabling Screen Curtain, ensure VoiceOver is enabled. Screen Curtain only works when VoiceOver is active.

To turn off Screen Curtain using your iPhone:

1. On your iPhone, open the app for your Apple Watch
2. Go to My Watch.
3. Tap Accessibility.
4. Tap VoiceOver.
5. Tap Screen Curtain to switch it off — but only if it’s already enabled. The toggle works both ways, so tapping it when it’s off will turn it on.
6. If you don’t want either feature active, you can also disable VoiceOver from the same menu.

Erase All Settings and Content (Factory Reset)

You may need to erase and re-pair your Apple Watch with your iPhone. This is a fairly troublesome step, but if you’ve tried everything else to get your watch to turn on, it may be worth it. This is a last resort solution, as the process will completely factory reset your watch and erase all data stored on it.

Unpair and erase your watch via your iPhone:

1. Keep your Apple Watch and iPhone close together.
2. Open the Apple Watch app on your iPhone.
3. Go to the My Watch tab and tap All Watches at the top of the screen.
4. Tap the “i” (info) button next to the watch you want to unpair.
5. Select Unpair “Your Apple Watch Name.”
6. If prompted, enter your Apple ID password to disable Activation Lock. Once confirmed, tap Unpair to complete the process.

If you don’t have access to your iPhone, you can erase your Apple Watch directly from the device itself. Here’s how:

1. On your Apple Watch, go to Settings.
2. Tap General.
3. Tap Reset.
4. Tap Erase all Content and Settings. You may be prompted to type in your password. Be aware this resets your watch to factory settings.

Re-pair your Apple Watch

Once you’ve erased the device, you’ll need to re-pair your Apple Watch with your iPhone.

1. Make sure your iPhone is updated to the latest version of iOS.
2. Turn on Bluetooth, then confirm that your phone is connected to Wi-Fi or a cellular network.
3. Put on your Apple Watch and turn it on by holding the side button until the Apple logo appears.
4. Hold your iPhone close to the watch and wait for the “Use your iPhone to set up this Apple Watch” message to appear.
5. Tap Continue. Alternatively, open the Apple Watch app, tap All Watches, then select Add Watch.
6. Hold your watch face under your iPhone’s viewfinder and wait for the confirmation message that pairing is complete. You can also choose to pair manually.

Once paired, you can either set the watch up as new or restore it from a backup. Keep in mind that this process only helps if the reset resolves the issue preventing your Apple Watch from turning on.

Check Your Watch for Physical Damage

This one is fairly straightforward. Do you see visible damage to the screen? Did the watch get submerged in water? Is the charging cable or pad damaged?

If there’s a physical fault or hardware issue, your repair options are limited. In most cases, you’ll need professional servicing or a replacement part.

That brings us to the final step: consider whether your Apple Watch still won’t turn on.

Take Your Watch to be Serviced at The Apple Store

If you’ve tried all these possible fixes and your Apple Watch still isn’t working, it’s time to involve a professional. You can contact Apple Support online, visit an Apple Store. It’s also worth checking user forums to see if others have experienced the same issue and found a practical fix.

At this stage, professional diagnostics are the most reliable way to confirm whether you’re dealing with a hardware failure. There are still plenty of places you can look for answers before taking the drastic step of buying a new Apple Watch.

Need more tips? Here’s how to connect AirPods to your Apple Watch. And if you run into pairing issues and find yourself wondering why won’t my AirPods connect, you can follow some simple troubleshooting steps to get them working again.

Other Possible Problems with Apple Watches

Some other issues you may have with your watch are listed below, along with some possible fixes. 

Apple Watch Screen Black but Vibrates

See if you can get the Apple logo to appear by force-restarting the watch (hold down the side button and the digital crown at the same time). You can also use the Watch app on your iPhone to switch to a different watch face and adjust settings, such as brightness. If you still have no luck, it may be a hardware issue. 

Apple Watch Charged but Not Turning On

Try force restarting your watch. You can also try cleaning the charger and leave the watch charging for a long while, just in case it was fully drained and needs extra time to recharge. If you still can’t get it to turn on, you may need to have it serviced. 

Apple Watch Won’t Force Restart

First, make sure your watch isn’t on the charger. A force restart won’t work while the device is charging. Next, confirm you’re holding both buttons down for at least 10 seconds, as releasing them too early will prevent the restart from triggering. Also, check for any obvious signs of hardware damage that could affect the buttons or the screen. If the force restart still fails, your next best option is a full reset. And if that doesn’t resolve the issue, professional servicing is likely required.

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Dewald Swart

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