Lock or unlock Apple Watch
Unlock Apple Watch
You can unlock Apple Watch manually, by entering the passcode, or set it to unlock automatically when you unlock your iPhone.
Enter the passcode: Wake Apple Watch, then enter the watch passcode.
Unlock Apple Watch when you unlock your iPhone: Go to the Apple Watch app on your iPhone, tap My Watch, tap Passcode, then turn on Unlock with iPhone.
Your iPhone must be within normal Bluetooth range (about 33 feet or 10 meters) of your Apple Watch to unlock it. If Bluetooth is off on Apple Watch, enter the passcode on your watch to unlock it.
Tip: Your Apple Watch passcode can be different from your iPhone passcode—in fact, it’s better to use different passcodes.
Change your passcode
You can change the passcode you created when you first set up your Apple Watch by following these steps:
Go to the Settings app
on your Apple Watch.Tap Passcode, then tap Change Passcode and follow the onscreen prompts.
You can also go to the Apple Watch app on your iPhone, tap My Watch, tap Passcode, then tap Change Passcode and follow the onscreen prompts.
Tip: To use a passcode longer than four digits, go to the Settings app on your Apple Watch, tap Passcode, then turn off Simple Passcode.
Turn off the passcode
Go to the Settings app
on your Apple Watch.Tap Passcode, then tap Turn Passcode Off.
You can also go to the Apple Watch app on your iPhone, tap My Watch, tap Passcode, then tap Turn Passcode Off.
Note: If you disable your passcode, some features won’t be available. For example, you can’t use Apple Pay or unlock your Mac with your Apple Watch.
If you can’t use a simple passcode or turn off your passcode
The Simple Passcode and Turn Passcode Off buttons may be unavailable if your synced iPhone is being managed by an organization, such as a company or school. Check with your organization’s administration.
Lock automatically
By default, your Apple Watch locks automatically when you’re not wearing it. To change the wrist detection setting, do the following.
Go to the Settings app
on your Apple Watch.Tap Passcode, then turn Wrist Detection on or off.
Turning off wrist detection affects these Apple Watch features:
When you use Apple Pay on your Apple Watch, you’ll be prompted to enter your passcode when you double-click the side button to authorize the payment.
Some Activity measurements are unavailable.
Heart rate tracking and notifications are turned off.
Apple Watch will no longer automatically lock and unlock.
Apple Watch wonʼt automatically make an emergency call even after it has detected a hard impact fall.
Lock manually
Note: To manually lock your Apple Watch, you must turn off wrist detection. (Go to the Settings app on your Apple Watch, tap Passcode, then turn off Wrist Detection.)
Press the side button to open Control Center.
Tap
.
You must enter your passcode the next time you try to use your Apple Watch.
If you forget your passcode
If you forget your passcode, you must erase your Apple Watch. You can do so in these ways:
Unpair your Apple Watch from your iPhone to erase your watch settings and passcode, then pair again.
Reset your Apple Watch and pair it again with your iPhone.
For more information, see If you forget your Apple Watch passcode.
Erase Apple Watch after 10 unlock attempts
To protect your information if your watch is lost or stolen, you can set Apple Watch to erase its data after 10 consecutive attempts to unlock it using the wrong passcode.
Go to the Settings app
on your Apple Watch.Tap Passcode, then turn on Erase Data.