Outdated Drivers Are Slowing You Down
One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchPC Slower Than It Used to Be?
A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11To turn off an Apple Watch, disconnect it from its charger, hold the side button until the power controls appear, tap the Power button, then drag Power Off to the right. To turn it on again, hold the side button until the Apple logo appears.
If the watch is frozen, hold the side button and Digital Crown together for at least 10 seconds, releasing them when the Apple logo appears. Use that force-restart method only when the normal controls do not work.
Which button should you press?
The side button is below the Digital Crown on the side of the watch. The Digital Crown is the round, rotating button above it. The side button controls the power menu; the two buttons together are used for a force restart. Button locations are consistent across Apple Watch models, although screens and labels can vary by watchOS version. See Apple’s button and gesture guide.
How to turn off an Apple Watch
- Take the Apple Watch off its charger. Apple says the watch cannot be turned off while it is charging.
- Press and hold the side button until the power controls appear.
- Tap the Power icon in the upper-right corner.
- Drag the Power Off slider to the right.
Tap the Power icon specifically. The power screen also contains emergency-related controls, so do not drag an unrelated slider. Apple’s current shutdown instructions are available in its Apple Watch user guide.
Free tools Windows power users keep installed
One-click scans. No signup required.
#1 Best Overall
![Apple Watch Series 11 [GPS 46mm] Smartwatch with Jet Black Aluminum Case with Black Sport Band - M/L. Sleep Score, Fitness Tracker, Health Monitoring, Always-On Display, Water Resistant](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/416RQ0rtsUL._SL160_.jpg)
- A FULL-FEATURED HEALTH TRACKER—Apple Watch Series 11 gives you invaluable insights about your body, right from your wrist. Take an ECG anytime* and get alerts for a high and low heart rate or an irregular rhythm*—so you can stay closer to your heart. You can also view your overnight health tracking metrics with the Vitals app* and be notified of possible sleep apnea.*
- KNOW YOUR SLEEP SCORE—With advanced sleep tracking, Series 11 gives you a daily sleep score. It’s an easy way to help measure and understand the quality of your sleep, so you can make it more restorative.
- GET HYPERTENSION NOTIFICATIONS—Did you know that Series 11 can spot signs of chronic high blood pressure? By analyzing how your blood vessels respond to beats of the heart, it can notify you of possible hypertension.*
- SAFETY FEATURES—A smartwatch that puts your safety first. Series 11 can detect a hard fall or severe car crash, automatically help connect you with emergency services, and notify your emergency contacts.* Check In can automatically notify a loved one when you’ve arrived at your destination.
- A POWERFUL FITNESS TRACKER—With advanced metrics and motivating features like Pacer, Heart Rate Zones, training load, and Workout Buddy powered by Apple Intelligence from your nearby iPhone*—Series 11 is made to help everyone stay active, from runners and hikers to strength-training enthusiasts.
A dark screen is not necessarily a powered-off watch. If the display has simply gone to sleep, the watch remains on and can continue receiving notifications and performing background functions according to its settings.
How to turn the Apple Watch back on
Press and hold the side button until the Apple logo appears, then release it and wait for the watch face to load. Startup can take a short while, so avoid repeatedly pressing the buttons immediately after the logo appears.
How to restart an Apple Watch normally
A normal restart is a controlled shutdown followed by turning the watch on again:
Rank #2
![Apple Watch Series 11 [GPS 42mm] Smartwatch with Rose Gold Aluminum Case with Light Blush Sport Band - S/M. Sleep Score, Fitness Tracker, Health Monitoring, Always-On Display, Water Resistant](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/31caPPnRysL._SL160_.jpg)
- A FULL-FEATURED HEALTH TRACKER—Apple Watch Series 11 gives you invaluable insights about your body, right from your wrist. Take an ECG anytime* and get alerts for a high and low heart rate or an irregular rhythm*—so you can stay closer to your heart. You can also view your overnight health tracking metrics with the Vitals app* and be notified of possible sleep apnea.*
- KNOW YOUR SLEEP SCORE—With advanced sleep tracking, Series 11 gives you a daily sleep score. It’s an easy way to help measure and understand the quality of your sleep, so you can make it more restorative.
- GET HYPERTENSION NOTIFICATIONS—Did you know that Series 11 can spot signs of chronic high blood pressure? By analyzing how your blood vessels respond to beats of the heart, it can notify you of possible hypertension.*
- SAFETY FEATURES—A smartwatch that puts your safety first. Series 11 can detect a hard fall or severe car crash, automatically help connect you with emergency services, and notify your emergency contacts.* Check In can automatically notify a loved one when you’ve arrived at your destination.
- A POWERFUL FITNESS TRACKER—With advanced metrics and motivating features like Pacer, Heart Rate Zones, training load, and Workout Buddy powered by Apple Intelligence from your nearby iPhone*—Series 11 is made to help everyone stay active, from runners and hikers to strength-training enthusiasts.
- Disconnect the watch from its charger.
- Hold the side button.
- Tap the Power icon.
- Drag Power Off to the right.
- After the screen goes dark, hold the side button until the Apple logo appears.
Use a normal restart when the watch still responds but an app is slow, notifications are delayed, syncing is temporarily unreliable, or the software is behaving unusually. It is preferable to a force restart because the operating system can shut down normally.
What’s actually slowing this PC down?
Pick the symptom - the matching free tool is one click away.
If the problem involves notifications, pairing, or communication with the watch, Apple also recommends trying a restart of the paired iPhone. Restarting the iPhone is not required every time you restart the watch.
How to force-restart a frozen Apple Watch
Use a force restart only when the watch is unresponsive, the display is frozen, the power controls do not appear, or a normal shutdown is impossible.
Rank #3
![Apple Watch SE 3 [GPS 40mm] Smartwatch with Starlight Aluminum Case with Starlight Sport Band - S/M. Fitness and Sleep Trackers, Heart Rate Monitor, Always-On Display, Water Resistant](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/31YiTby0pOL._SL160_.jpg)
- GET SMARTER HEALTH INSIGHTS—Apple Watch SE 3 is an advanced health tracker that helps you better understand your body. The smartwatch sends alerts for an irregular heart rhythm, or an unusually high or low heart rate.* You can view your overnight health tracking metrics with the Vitals app,* track your sleep score, and get sleep apnea notifications.*
- A GREAT FITNESS TRACKER—SE 3 can track your workouts in a healthy number of ways—from running and strength training to simply achieving your 10K steps a day. With real-time metrics and Workout Buddy powered by Apple Intelligence from your nearby iPhone,* you’ll hit your goals like never before.
- KEEP HELP CLOSE AT HAND—SE 3 is a smartwatch that can detect a hard fall or severe car crash and automatically help connect you to emergency services and notify your emergency contacts.* Check In can automatically notify a loved one when you’ve arrived at your destination.
- WOMEN’S HEALTH INSIGHTS—SE 3 has advanced sensors that track your wrist temperature while you sleep. With this smartwatch, you can log your periods and symptoms, get period predictions, and get notified of cycle deviations.*
- GREAT BATTERY LIFE AND FASTER CHARGING—Enjoy a smartwatch with all-day, 18-hour battery life* from sunup to sundown. Then charge up to twice as fast as SE 2* and get up to 8 hours of battery in just 15 minutes.*
- Press and hold the side button and Digital Crown at the same time.
- Continue holding both buttons for at least 10 seconds, or until the Apple logo appears.
- Release both buttons when the logo appears, then wait for the watch to restart.
A force restart interrupts the watch’s operation abruptly. It is a recovery procedure, not the preferred everyday way to restart the watch, and it cannot fix every battery, charging, hardware, or persistent software problem. Apple’s full procedure is in its restart guidance.
If the Apple Watch will not turn on
A blank display does not prove that the watch is dead. The battery may be fully depleted, or the watch may not be charging correctly.
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors- Place the watch on its Apple Magnetic Charging Cable or USB-C Magnetic Fast Charging Cable.
- Confirm that the cable is firmly connected to the power adapter and outlet.
- Reposition the watch so the charger magnets align correctly.
- Check that the back of the watch and charger are clean.
- If possible, try another compatible charging cable and USB power adapter.
- Leave the watch charging. Apple says a fully depleted watch may need up to 30 minutes before a charging indicator appears.
A red lightning-bolt icon means the watch does not currently have enough battery power to turn on. Charge it before treating the problem as a software freeze. Apple’s charging troubleshooting steps are listed in If your Apple Watch won’t turn on or won’t charge.
Rank #4
![Apple Watch SE 3 [GPS 40mm] Smartwatch with Midnight Aluminum Case with Midnight Sport Band - S/M. Fitness and Sleep Trackers, Heart Rate Monitor, Always-On Display, Water Resistant](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/31Gq8SToFJL._SL160_.jpg)
- GET SMARTER HEALTH INSIGHTS—Apple Watch SE 3 is an advanced health tracker that helps you better understand your body. The smartwatch sends alerts for an irregular heart rhythm, or an unusually high or low heart rate.* You can view your overnight health tracking metrics with the Vitals app,* track your sleep score, and get sleep apnea notifications.*
- A GREAT FITNESS TRACKER—SE 3 can track your workouts in a healthy number of ways—from running and strength training to simply achieving your 10K steps a day. With real-time metrics and Workout Buddy powered by Apple Intelligence from your nearby iPhone,* you’ll hit your goals like never before.
- KEEP HELP CLOSE AT HAND—SE 3 is a smartwatch that can detect a hard fall or severe car crash and automatically help connect you to emergency services and notify your emergency contacts.* Check In can automatically notify a loved one when you’ve arrived at your destination.
- WOMEN’S HEALTH INSIGHTS—SE 3 has advanced sensors that track your wrist temperature while you sleep. With this smartwatch, you can log your periods and symptoms, get period predictions, and get notified of cycle deviations.*
- GREAT BATTERY LIFE AND FASTER CHARGING—Enjoy a smartwatch with all-day, 18-hour battery life* from sunup to sundown. Then charge up to twice as fast as SE 2* and get up to 8 hours of battery in just 15 minutes.*
Once it has had time to charge, try holding the side button to start it. If it remains unresponsive, you can try holding the side button and Digital Crown together for at least 10 seconds.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.If the Apple Watch is stuck on the Apple logo
First, perform the force-restart procedure once: hold the side button and Digital Crown until the screen turns black and the Apple logo reappears. Release the buttons and wait several moments for startup to finish.
If the watch remains stuck on the logo, Apple’s next recovery options include unpairing it from the iPhone and pairing it again, checking for software updates, and seeking service if the problem continues. During unpairing, Apple says the iPhone creates a backup. If the watch has cellular service, you may be offered the option to retain the mobile data plan.
Recommended Free Tools
Best Value
![Apple Watch Series 11 [GPS 42mm] Smartwatch with Jet Black Aluminum Case with Black Sport Band - S/M. Sleep Score, Fitness Tracker, Health Monitoring, Always-On Display, Water Resistant](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41s72HIk5TL._SL160_.jpg)
- A FULL-FEATURED HEALTH TRACKER—Apple Watch Series 11 gives you invaluable insights about your body, right from your wrist. Take an ECG anytime* and get alerts for a high and low heart rate or an irregular rhythm*—so you can stay closer to your heart. You can also view your overnight health tracking metrics with the Vitals app* and be notified of possible sleep apnea.*
- KNOW YOUR SLEEP SCORE—With advanced sleep tracking, Series 11 gives you a daily sleep score. It’s an easy way to help measure and understand the quality of your sleep, so you can make it more restorative.
- GET HYPERTENSION NOTIFICATIONS—Did you know that Series 11 can spot signs of chronic high blood pressure? By analyzing how your blood vessels respond to beats of the heart, it can notify you of possible hypertension.*
- SAFETY FEATURES—A smartwatch that puts your safety first. Series 11 can detect a hard fall or severe car crash, automatically help connect you with emergency services, and notify your emergency contacts.* Check In can automatically notify a loved one when you’ve arrived at your destination.
- A POWERFUL FITNESS TRACKER—With advanced metrics and motivating features like Pacer, Heart Rate Zones, training load, and Workout Buddy powered by Apple Intelligence from your nearby iPhone*—Series 11 is made to help everyone stay active, from runners and hikers to strength-training enthusiasts.
Unpairing is a later recovery step, not a routine restart. It is separate from turning off, restarting, or force-restarting the watch.
Choose the right fix
| What you see | Best next step |
|---|---|
| The watch responds normally | Perform a normal shutdown and restart. |
| The watch is frozen or touch does not work | Force-restart it by holding the side button and Digital Crown for at least 10 seconds. |
| The watch is connected to its charger | Disconnect it before trying to turn it off. |
| A red lightning bolt appears | Charge the watch; it lacks enough power to start. |
| The screen is blank after the battery ran down | Check the charger and leave it connected for up to 30 minutes. |
| The Apple logo remains on screen | Force-restart once, wait, then use Apple’s stuck-logo recovery steps if it persists. |
| The problem keeps returning | Check for updates, consider unpairing and pairing again, or contact Apple Support. |
Does this work on Apple Watch Ultra and Apple Watch SE?
Apple’s standard power and force-restart procedures apply to Apple Watch models covered by its current guidance, including the Apple Watch SE and Apple Watch Ultra. The appearance of the power screen and the behavior of nearby controls may differ on older watchOS versions, including watchOS 9 and earlier. The physical-button sequences are the most reliable part of the instructions.
Will restarting erase data?
No. Turning the watch off, restarting it normally, and force-restarting it are not erase or reset procedures. They do not by themselves unpair the watch, erase all content and settings, remove a cellular plan, or restore it from a backup.
If holding the buttons or dragging the slider is difficult, ask someone you trust to assist or contact Apple Support. There is no need for a third-party shutdown utility.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
