My Apple Watch suddenly powered off and now it won’t turn back on like it used to. I’ve tried holding the side button, pressing both buttons, and putting it on the charger, but I’m not sure if I’m missing a step or if there’s a specific way to restart it. Can someone walk me through the proper way to turn an Apple Watch on and any troubleshooting tips if it doesn’t respond?
Happened to me last month, thought my Watch was totally dead. Here is what I’d try step by step.
-
Check the charger
• Use the original Apple puck if you have it.
• Make sure the cable is firmly in the wall adapter and outlet.
• Try a different wall adapter and a different outlet.
• Clean the back of the Watch and the charger with a soft dry cloth. Dust can mess with charging. -
Force restart the Watch
This is different from turning it on.
• Hold the side button and Digital Crown together.
• Keep holding for at least 15 to 20 seconds.
• Do not let go when the Apple logo should show, even if nothing shows at first.
If the logo comes up, let go and let it boot. -
Leave it on the charger for a while
If the battery went totally flat, it sometimes needs time.
• Put it on the charger so the magnet snaps in place.
• Leave it for 30 to 60 minutes.
• After that, try the force restart again. -
Check for signs of life
• If you see a red charging icon or a cable icon, the battery is empty. Keep it charging longer.
• If the screen stays black but the Watch gets a bit warm on the back, it is at least trying to charge.
• If there is no warmth, no icon, nothing, charger or battery might be bad. -
Test with another charger
If you can borrow another Apple Watch charger, do that.
If the Watch wakes on a different charger, your original charger is likely the issue. -
Look for damage
• Any crack on the screen or back glass.
• Any swelling on the screen edges. That can mean a swollen battery.
If you see swelling, stop charging and take it in. Swollen batteries are not safe. -
If none of that works
At that point it is likely hardware.
• If you have an iPhone, open the Watch app. See if the Watch shows as connected at all. If it never connects, it is probably not powering on.
• Check Apple’s coverage page with your serial number, see if you still have warranty or AppleCare.
Then you are down to:
• Apple Store or Apple Authorized Service Provider.
• They run a diagnostic, tell you if it is battery, screen, or logic board.
For what it is worth, in my case it looked dead, no logo, no charge icon. After a long charge on a different adapter and one long force restart, it woke up and has been fine.
One thing I disagree with slightly from @sterrenkijker: if the Watch is totally dead, you don’t always feel warmth or see icons right away, so I wouldn’t use “no warmth = bad hardware” as a hard rule. I’ve seen them sit like a brick for a while, then suddenly wake.
A few extra things to try / check that weren’t really covered:
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Make sure it’s actually seated right on the charger
• The magnet should “snap” and the Watch should lie flat.
• If you’re using a stand, try taking the puck out and charging the Watch with the puck just flat on a table. Some stands misalign the coils a bit. -
Strip things down
• If you’re using a case or bumper on the Watch, take it off. Some thicker cases can interfere with charging contact.
• If you have any metal bands, especially cheap 3rd‑party ones, try swapping to the original Sport band or anything non‑metal and lay it flat. I’ve seen some bands pull the Watch just enough off the puck that it charges super poorly. -
Try a very specific restart sequence
Sounds silly, but this helped me once with a “dead” Watch:
• Put it on the charger and leave it there.
• While it is on the charger, hold the side button only for 30 seconds, let go.
• If nothing, then hold both buttons for a full 30 seconds while it’s still on the charger.
Sometimes doing this while power is actively connected kicks it into life when doing it off-charger doesn’t. -
Check your iPhone for clues
• Open the Watch app on your iPhone.
• If it shows your Watch as “Updating…” or stuck on some status, it might have died in the middle of a watchOS update.
• If that happened, it can sit black for a long time while it tries to recover after you get some charge in. Give it a solid 1–2 hours on a known good charger before declaring it dead. -
Look for moisture issues
• Was it in water recently, shower, sauna, or really sweaty workout right before it died?
• If yes, don’t keep forcing it on. Let it dry in a cool, dry place for a few hours, then try charging again.
Water + repeated force restarts can sometimes make things worse if there is active shorting. -
Battery health reality check
If it’s an older Watch (Series 3/4/5, etc.) and the battery was already bad (needing charge mid‑day, random shutoffs at 20–30%), there’s a decent chance it finally dropped low enough that:
• It technically charges, but only very slowly, and won’t show the screen until it hits a certain threshold.
• In that case, leave it on the original Apple charger for a long time, like 2–3 hours, untouched, then try the long 20–30 sec two‑button restart again. -
When it does come back
If you get it to light up:
• Go straight into Settings → Battery → Battery Health and check the percentage.
• If it’s under ~80% and this isn’t the first time it randomly died, that’s typically the point where a battery service starts to be worth it.
At this stage, if:
• You’ve tried a different charger and outlet,
• Left it for at least 1–2 hours,
• Tried the on‑charger button combos,
and it is still totally black with no hint of an icon ever, you’re most likely staring at either a dead battery or logic board.
Then it’s basically: backup status check on iPhone → Apple Store / authorized repair → battery or full swap.
Couple of extra angles you can try that weren’t really covered yet and might narrow down if this is “just” a deep discharge or a real hardware fault.
1. Confirm the Watch is not in a weird display state
Sometimes it actually is on, but the screen is not behaving normally.
- Put it on the charger for at least 15–20 minutes.
- Call your number from another phone while the Watch is “off.”
- If it was previously set to mirror your iPhone and you feel even a faint tap on your wrist or hear the Watch ping, then the system is alive and only the display/backlight is failing.
- In that case, no amount of side‑button holding will fix it. That is display or Taptic/connector hardware and needs service.
This is one point where I slightly disagree with the “just wait longer” approach: if it is responsive to calls or notifications but the screen always stays black, that is almost never a battery issue.
2. Rule out a stuck Digital Crown or button fault
A partially stuck side button or Digital Crown can keep the Watch in a boot loop that you never see because the screen stays black.
- Rotate the Digital Crown fully around several times while it is off the charger.
- Press the side button repeatedly, feeling for a proper click each time.
- Then put it back on the charger and leave it alone for 20–30 minutes without touching anything.
If a button was electrically “pressed” the whole time, it can block a normal boot. Freeing it and then leaving it alone sometimes lets it start cleanly.
3. Use your iPhone to see if it is half alive
Open the Watch app on your iPhone:
- If it says “All Apple Watch content has been erased” or asks to “Start Pairing” as if no Watch is connected, then the Watch is probably truly off or dead.
- If it still shows your Watch name and lets you change settings, try toggling some things:
- Change a watch face complication.
- Turn Airplane Mode on and off inside the Watch app (if available).
If those changes appear as “pending” forever, the Watch is not responding on the other side.
This is a subtle but helpful difference between “battery is super flat and charging” versus “logic board is gone.”
4. Consider the charger / cable quality in a more critical way
You already tried charging, but:
- If you use a USB hub, dock, or a low‑power wall brick, move to a direct, higher watt brick (iPhone or iPad brick). Some cheap third‑party pucks claim to charge but trickle so slowly that a deeply discharged Watch never reaches the threshold to boot.
- Check the back of the Watch and the charger for fine debris or metal dust. That can interfere with induction and also cause micro‑shorts.
If possible, test your Watch on a completely different, known‑good Apple charger for at least an hour. If it remains a total brick there too, the odds move away from “charger issue.”
5. Time thresholds that actually matter
A lot of people give up too early. On the other hand, endless waiting is pointless. Rough guide:
- Within 15–30 minutes on a solid charger, you usually see at least the red or green charging icon once, or feel a tap.
- If after 2 full hours on a confirmed good charger, across two different outlets, you have:
- No vibration
- No icons
- No signs in the iPhone Watch app that it has come online
then you are highly likely dealing with: - Dead / disconnected battery, or
- Logic board fault
At that point, continuing to fiddle with button combos does not magically fix hardware.
6. What to do before heading to repair
Before you walk into Apple or a repair shop:
- Open the Watch app on your iPhone and check:
- Is the Watch still listed under “All Watches”?
- If yes, it means the pairing records are still there, which is handy for restore.
- If you get it to power on even once:
- Immediately back up by placing the iPhone and Watch together on Wi‑Fi / power and waiting. Watch backups ride along with iPhone backups.
- Check Settings → Battery → Battery Health on the Watch. Under ~80% and random shutoffs strongly point to a dying battery.
7. When repair is the only real path
Once you have:
- Tried different charger & outlet
- Left it 1–2 hours minimum on a known‑good puck
- Verified no response in the iPhone Watch app
- Confirmed no notifications, no vibration, no chime
then you are past “home troubleshooting.” You are looking at:
- Battery replacement, or
- Full unit swap if the logic board is bad
That is where an official service center or an authorized independent shop earns its keep.
8. Brief note on what others said
What @sterrenkijker suggested about warmth is directionally helpful, but I would not rely on temperature as a diagnostic. Some units stay cold even while charging fine for quite a while, especially if the environment is cool. Actual behaviors like notifications, presence in the Watch app, and visible icons are much more reliable signals.
If you eventually get it to wake even once, treat that as your “last warning” to secure data and check battery health, because sudden, repeat black‑screen events tend to get closer together until the Watch stops booting for good.