How to Reset Apple Watch Series 3 (A Newbie’s Guide)

There are two ways to reset your Apple watch series 3. You can either do a hard reset or factory reset.

Hard-resetting requires holding your digital crown for a few seconds, until the Apple logo appears. On the other hand, factory-resetting means going to the settings app, then restoring your factory settings. You can hard-reboot to clear any minor software glitches, while factory-resetting completely wipes your device in case you want to bring back your default settings.

Recently, a friend asked me how to hard reset his watch. It was an Apple watch series 3 and was glitching out. I showed him what to do, along with how to factory reset in case he didn’t have any luck. I’ve touched on how I did this, along with some additional information.

How to Reset Apple Watch Series 3?

As mentioned, there are 2 different ways to reset Apple watch series 3, depending on what your definition of ‘resetting’ means.

I’ve run through both of them below.

Method 1: Force-Restarting (Hard Reset)

First up, we have to talk about hard restarting your device. If you’re dealing with any minor error or glitch, this can help. You can clear the apps and processes that are running to sort out the issue.

At the end of the day, you are looking at a more comprehensive version of a regular reboot.

Here’s what you do:

• Press and hold the Side button and Crown button at the same time
• Keep holding them until you see the Apple logo screen appear
• Wait for your Apple watch to restart (add your password once it reboots)

Method 2: Factory Resetting

A factory reset is the second method to reset Apple watch series 3. Back up your files before proceeding, as all your data will be cleared.

With that out of the way, here’s what you do:

• Open Settings
• Go to General
• Choose Reset
• Tap Erase all Content and Settings/tap Erase Apple Watch
• Enter your passcode

How Do I Factory Reset My Apple Watch 3 With Buttons?

This is a question that many users ask. In case you’ve forgotten your password and can’t get into your device, all you do is:

• Put your watch to charge
• Press and hold the Side button until you see the Power off slider
• Keep holding the crown button until you see the Erase All Content & Settings option
• Select Reset
• Tap Reset again to confirm
• Restore from a backup when the option pops up

How Do I Unpair My Apple Watch Series 3?

Regardless of the Apple watch series that you own, you can follow the below steps:

• Get the iPhone you’ve paired to
• Open the Apple watch app
• Find your Apple watch from the list
• Click on the info button next to it
• Tap Forget/Erase on the iPhone screen

Related Reading

Check out other related guides

Final Thoughts

As mentioned, there are 2 ways to reset the Apple watch series 3. You can either hard reset or factory reset it.

When you hard reset (force restart), hold down the Side button for a few seconds until the Apple logo appears. It’s like doing a regular reboot but more comprehensive. However, when it comes to factory-resetting, go to the Settings app, and click erase to restore your factory defaults.

I have looked at how to reset Apple watch series 3, as well as unpair Apple watch from your paired iPhone.

Hopefully, you found this how to reset Apple watch series 3 guide useful.