Best Way to Factory Reset Apple Watch
If your Apple Watch is about to run out, there’s one more thing you need to do before you sell or trade it: wipe it completely to remove all your personal data.
Technically there are two ways to do this. You can use the Watch app on your iPhone, or you can reset it directly from the Apple Watch itself (under Settings > General > Reset ). However, if you reset it from the watch, Activation Lock will not be removed, meaning the watch will still be linked to your Apple ID and your iPhone. (This connection is fine when your Apple Watch is misbehaving, but that’s really all it’s good for.)
For this reason, we recommend that you reset your watch from the iPhone app; this will disable Activation Lock and Find My Watch, and remove your Apple Watch from the Find My app.
To do this, open the Watch app on your iPhone. In the “My Watch” section, click the ” All Watches ” button in the top left corner. Find the watch you want to reset and tap the info icon ” i ” next to the watch’s name.
Tap the ” Turn off Apple Watch ” button and select ” Turn off Apple Watch (name) ” from the pop-up window. If you have an Apple Watch cellular plan, you can remove it or keep it if you’re upgrading to a new watch.
You will then need to enter your Apple ID password to remove Activation Lock – the Apple Watch will now begin the reset process. It will first make a full backup of your Apple Watch and then start deleting your data.
After a short time, the Apple Watch will be restored to factory settings, which means it can now be safely sold or traded.