Although the possibilities are few, the Apple Watch can fail at the software level causing the hated screen ‘freezing’. But just as it happens on the iPhone, you can perform a forced restart to be able to eliminate possible software failures that may occur on a daily basis.
Cases in which to force the Apple Watch to restart
The software of the Apple Watch is not perfect and it can suffer some problems that, although they are not common, can be quite annoying. One of these problems is that the watch freezes completely while opening an application or when starting a workout. This fact can occur especially when you are with an Apple Watch that has a somewhat old processor and that is not fully optimized for some applications. When they freeze, apps don’t close when you press the side button, leaving a watch almost useless.
When doing a software update, some functions of the watch may also become unusable. Most commonly, the heart rate sensor does not display a value even though the strap is tight and fully operational. It can also be that the clock is slowed down due to a process that has been running in the background, and that consumes processor resources and also the battery. But as we have said on several occasions, it is a rather strange fact that the Apple watch ends up hanging.
By forcing the restart of the Apple Watch you will be able to stop the process that has been completely hung. In this way, when it is started, all the processes will be stopped so that they can start again from scratch and eliminate the fault that may exist. It should be remembered that with this rebooting process the only thing that is achieved is solving problems at the software level and not at the hardware level. If after resetting the Apple Watch the error you still have persists, you must go to Apple’s technical service to request a diagnosis to receive the corresponding repair.
How to force restart
The first thing that is attempted when the watch hangs is to turn it off by following these steps:
- Press and hold the side button until the power slider appears.
- Drag the slider to turn off Apple Watch.
If the restart window does not come out it must be forced. Keep in mind that if you are restoring the Apple Watch operating system you never have to force a restart. This would cause the watch to not update or format properly. So as a general rule, keep in mind that when the characteristic Apple logo with the progress wheel appears on the watch
To force the Apple Watch to restart, simply press and hold the side button and the digital Crown for 10 seconds and then release. You will know that you have reached 10 seconds when the Apple icon appears on a black background that will indicate that it has started to restart. In a few seconds you will see how it starts normally and in principle it will work properly.
It is important that the watch is not connected to the charging base, as it can never be restarted if it is connected to electric power while charging.
As you can see, this is a tremendously simple process that can get you out of trouble while you are using your smart watch. Although as we say, you should not do it in theory too often.
