Apple watches have successfully managed to take over the smartwatch industry in the last couple of years with unparalleled innovation. Now, if you are an Apple Watch owner and want to unpair it in the absence of your phone, there are some steps you could follow to get this job done. But before we get to that, let’s first talk about unpairing and the reasons you might want to unpair your Apple Watch.
Some of the reasons you might want to unpair your Apple Watch are as follows:
- There is a problem with your Apple Watch, and you are trying to reset it.
- You are considering selling your Apple Watch, and you want to unpair it in advance.
- Your Apple Watch has unfortunately been stolen from you, and you want to remove it from your Apple ID.
What Does Unpairing Do?
If you unpair your Apple Watch, it will essentially reset it to its factory settings. As a result, all your apps, settings, and data will be erased. That should sound risky enough for you not to try it unless if you are fully aware and certain of its consequences. To stay on the safe side, always make sure to back up your Apple Watch before unpairing it.
How to unpair Apple Watch without iPhone
Now, let’s get to what you have been waiting for; unpairing your Apple Watch in the absence of your iPhone. Keep in mind that there would be no automatic backups since your iPhone is not at hand, and unlike the method with the phone available, this method will not eliminate your Activation Lock. So, you will have to get rid of it manually if you want to.
There are two methods to unpair your Apple Watch without your iPhone: 1) Using the Apple Watch itself and 2) Using iCloud.
How to Unpair Your Apple Watch without the iPhone Using the Apple Watch
In order to unpair your Apple Watch, follow the steps below:
- Head over to Settings > General > Reset on your Apple Watch.
- There, tap on “Erase All Content and Settings”.
- You might be asked to enter your device’s password.
- If you have the models with GPS + Cellular, choose one of the options “Keep your plan” or “Remove your plan”.
- Finally, tap on “Erase all” to finish the process.
If you follow these steps correctly, all the data (including media), apps, and settings on your Apple Watch will be erased. It is worth mentioning that you will be required to enter an Apple ID with its password to be able to pair the watch to an iPhone. As we had mentioned before, this method will not remove the Activation Lock. Consequently, you will need to use the next method down below to get rid of that.
How to Unpair Your Apple Watch without the iPhone Using iCloud
This method is especially useful for the times when you have sold your Apple Watch, it has been stolen, or you want to get rid of the Activation Lock. Since you are going to use the Find My feature, you should either choose a device that is signed in with the same Apple ID as the one in your Apple Watch, or rely on the desktop version of iCloud’s website. It should be mentioned that you will also need to sign in to the desired Apple ID on the desktop version. The steps below will guide you through the process:
1) If you are using the Find My iPhone app,
- Tap on the Devices tab, which is located at the bottom bar.
- Find the Apple Watch you want to unpair and select “Erase This Device”.
- Tap on “Continue” and “Erase”.
- Then, you will be asked to enter your Apple ID password.
- Tap on “Erase” again.
You are also given the option to remove this device, in which case your Apple Watch’s Activation Lock will be removed, and Find My will no longer track the Apple Watch.
2) If you intend to use the web-based version,
- Head over to iCloud.com/find.
- Log in using your Apple ID and password.
- Select All Devices and choose the Apple Watch you want to unpair.
- Afterwards, click on “Erase Apple Watch”
- You will be prompted to click on “Erase” again.
- Finally, you can click on “Remove from Account” and click on “Remove”.
What Should You Do if You Are Unable to Unpair Your Apple Watch Successfully?
This problem might happen if you have network problems, device problems, or interruption during the unpairing process. The result is that your Apple Watch will remain stuck in that state, not allowing you to proceed in any ways. Try the solutions below to possibly get past this problem.
1) Try Restarting the Apple Watch
It is always worth trying a restart on the Apple Watch that is stuck at unpairing.
2) Try Erasing the Apple Watch Manually
Beware that this process will erase all your data, apps, and settings from your Apple Watch. If your Apple Watch is protected with a passcode, follow these steps to reset it:
- Make sure that your Apple Watch is connected to a charger during the entirety of this process.
- Proceed to press and hold the side button.
- As soon as the “Power Off” button shows up, press and hold the “Digital Crown”.
- Keep holding the button until the “Erase all content and settings” appears.
- Tap on “Reset” twice to have your Apple Watch fully reset.
If none of these solutions work, feel free to get in touch with Apple Support to get professional counseling and possibly have your device repaired by the official experts.
There are different reasons that you might want to unpair your apple watch. Maybe you want to get a new iPhone, or maybe you want to sell your device. Whatever the reason is, you need to unpair your Apple watch.
In this short article, I will show you how you can unpair your Apple watch, whether you have your iPhone at your disposal or not.
The unpairing process will unlink your Apple watch from your iPhone. Once this is done, the two devices will not be connected and won’t share any data.
The process will also unlink your Apple watch from your Apple ID. As you see, this is so important and it is something you should do if you want to sell it or give it away or whatever.
Unpair your Apple Watch with your iPhone
First, let’s see how we can do that with our phones the right way. The process that I’m about to show you is really useful for all Apple users.
- Open your iPhone and go to the Apple Watch app.
- Then scroll down and find General and tap it.
- Scroll all the way down and tap Reset.
- Then go ahead and tap Erase Apple Watch Content and Settings.
- Now at the bottom of the screen, tap Erase All Content and Settings.
- Here the app will ask for your ID. Write your Apple ID Password and tap Erase.
- Then the Unpairing process starts and you need to wait for a couple of minutes.
After doing all that, your Apple watch will become unpaired. Just remember to keep both the watch and your iPhone close together when you’re doing this process.
Unpair your Apple Watch without your iPhone
So in cases that you don’t have access to the iPhone that was paired with your Apple watch you can still unpair it.
To do this, follow the steps below and simply unpair your Apple watch.
- Get your Apple watch and go to Settings.
- Tap General.
- Now scroll all the way down and press Reset.
- Go ahead and press Erase All Content and Settings.
- Scroll down and press Erase All.
As you see the process is so simple and you can do it with ease.
How to pair your Apple Watch
Now that we have learned how to unpair an Apple watch with or without an iPhone, let’s see how we can pair it. This section is preferably for users who don’t know how to pair their Apple watch.
- If you just got your Apple watch go ahead and turn it on by pushing and holding the side button down until the Apple logo pops up.
- On your iPhone, a pairing screen should appear. Tap continue.
- Now tap Set Up for Myself.
- Then an animation will pop up on the screen of your Apple watch. Now, point your iPhone camera at that animation.
- After a few seconds, the devices will be paired.
After you’ve done all that, it’s time to set up your apple watch. You will be asked to put your Apple ID and stuff like that. Then you can adjust the setting and features the way you want to.
Conclusion
Whether you want to get a new iPhone or Apple watch or simply sell your device you need to unpair it first. As you saw, the unpairing process is so simple that you can do it with ease. If you have found this article, please do share it with your friends.
