Why Is My Apple Watch Touch Screen Not Working? (2024)

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Sensitivity or a hardware fault can be to blame

By

Jennifer Allen

Why Is My Apple Watch Touch Screen Not Working? (1)

Jennifer Allen

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  • Swansea University, Staffordshire University

Jennifer Allen has been writing about technology since 2010. Her work has appeared in Mashable, TechRadar, and many more publications.

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Updated on December 18, 2022

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Jessica Kormos

Why Is My Apple Watch Touch Screen Not Working? (2)

Reviewed byJessica Kormos

  • Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College

Jessica Kormos is a writer and editor with 15 years' experience writing articles, copy, and UX content for Tecca.com, Rosenfeld Media, and many others.

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In This Article

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  • Why Is My Apple Watch Not Responding to Touch?

  • How Do I Fix an Unresponsive Apple Watch Screen?

  • Frequently Asked Questions

If your Apple Watch touch screen won't respond, it's difficult to do anything with your Apple Watch. Here's how to get your Apple Watch touch screen working properly again.

Why Is My Apple Watch Not Responding to Touch?

If your Apple Watch won't respond to your touch, here are a few possible reasons:

  • Your fingers are dirty or covered. If you're wearing gloves or your fingers are covered in some other way, your Apple Watch might not be able to recognize your touch. Check that your fingers are clean and not obscured in any way before trying again.
  • The Apple Watch screen is dirty. If your Apple Watch screen is oily, dirty or wet, this can also affect its responsiveness. Use a cloth to clean the screen gently.
  • A screen protector is affecting use. If you've applied a new screen protector to your Apple Watch, it may not be fitted correctly. Re-apply it and see if the issue is solved.
  • Your Apple Watch has frozen. If your Apple Watch has frozen, it won't be able to respond to your touch. Press and hold the Digital Crown and side button until you see the Apple logo to force a restart.

How Do I Fix an Unresponsive Apple Watch Screen?

If your Apple Watch continues to be unresponsive even after trying the above fixes and checks, there are other methods for fixing an unresponsive Apple Watch. Try these solutions.

Not all of these tips will apply to your situation. If you come across one that isn't relevant to your needs, skip to the next tip.

  1. Force-restart the watch. It's worth mentioning twice. Restarting your watch fixes the majority of problems. Hold down the Digital Crown and side button for about 10 seconds until the Apple logo appears.

  2. Close certain apps on the Apple Watch. If the issue seems to be restricted to one app, avoid using it or find an alternative. There may be an issue with the app rather than your Apple Watch.

  3. Update your Apple Watch. If your Apple Watch hasn't been updated in a while, it can help to update watchOS. Do this via the Watch app on your iPhone to see if it corrects the issue.

  4. Resync your Apple Watch. Try unpairing your Apple Watch from your iPhone then repairing it again. You'll need to restore it from a backup so it can be time-consuming but can fix screen issues. Alternatively, try resetting it entirely and avoid restoring the backup. If there's a problem with the backup, you'll only replicate the earlier issue.

  5. Contact Apple Support. If none of these fixes have worked, contact Apple Support. There may be a hardware issue with your touchscreen so it'll need to be sent away for repair.

FAQ

  • How do I factory reset an Apple Watch if the touch screen isn't working?

    To reset your Apple Watch with your iPhone, open the Watch app and select the device from My Watch. Then, tap the information icon > Unpair Apple Watch. This step also erases the watch and restores it to factory settings.

  • How do I calibrate the touch screen on an Apple Watch?

    To adjust your Apple Watch's touchscreen sensitivity, go to Settings > Accessibility > Touch Accommodations. From there, you can choose to personalize the touch screen's response to touches based on a specific duration or disable multiple touches.

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Why Is My Apple Watch Touch Screen Not Working? (2024)

FAQs

How do I fix an unresponsive Apple Watch screen? ›

How to fix an Apple Watch that's not responding to touch
  1. Remove and replace your screen protector. Remove any added screen protection that may be impeding touchscreen responsiveness. ...
  2. Clean your hands. ...
  3. Clean your device. ...
  4. Disable Water Lock. ...
  5. Force restart your Apple Watch.
Mar 18, 2024

How do I fix my Apple unresponsive touch screen? ›

Restart your iPhone or iPad. Make sure that your screen is clean and free of any debris or water. Disconnect any Lightning or USB-C accessories. If your screen works after removing an accessory, try using a different outlet, cable, or charger.

What to do when your Apple Watch won't swipe? ›

If your Apple Watch won't swipe or down, try the following fixes: Restart your Apple Watch: If your device won't respond to either action, often a simple restart will be the fix. Press and hold the side button of your Apple Watch until sliders appear. Tap the power icon, then tap and drag the Power Button to the right.

Why won t my Apple Watch do anything when I touch the screen? ›

If your Apple Watch screen is oily, dirty or wet, this can also affect its responsiveness. Use a cloth to clean the screen gently. A screen protector is affecting use. If you've applied a new screen protector to your Apple Watch, it may not be fitted correctly.

How do I unfreeze my Apple Watch screen? ›

If you can't turn off your Apple Watch or if the problem continues, you may need to force your Apple Watch to restart. Do this only if you're unable to restart your Apple Watch. To force restart, hold down the side button and the Digital Crown at the same time for at least ten seconds, until the Apple logo appears.

Why is my smartwatch not responding to touch? ›

Check that the screen is clean and free of dust. Consider the temperature where you are trying to use the watch. Sometimes if the device gets too cold or too hot, the touchscreen can be glitchy. Cold fingers often don't work well on touch screens, so warm up and then try again.

How do I get my touch screen to work again? ›

How to Fix a Touch Screen That Isn't Working
  1. Restart the device. ...
  2. Clean the touch screen and screen protector. ...
  3. Dry off your smartphone. ...
  4. Gently tap each corner of the phone. ...
  5. Remove the SIM card, memory cards, and peripherals. ...
  6. Turn on Safe Mode for Android or Windows safe mode. ...
  7. Adjust iPhone 3D Touch sensitivity.
Jun 14, 2023

How do I get my Apple touch screen to work? ›

The primary fix for an unresponsive iPhone touch screen is to: just press volume up button, then down button( just press it, don't hold it ) right after it hold the lock button until apple logo appears( don't click on swipe to shutdown ). This will fix a frozen, unresponsive or stuck screen.

What does it mean when a touch screen is unresponsive? ›

For example, a brief hiccup in your phone's system could render it .5 Causes of Unresponsive Touch Screen And Fixes · Insufficient Storage Space · Dirty Screen · Hardware Damage Or Malfunction · Software Issues..Reboot Your Phone. A good old reboot might sound futile to fix such an advanced issue.

How to force restart an Apple Watch? ›

Force restart your Apple Watch

Press and hold both the side button and Digital Crown until the screen turns black and the Apple logo reappears, then release both buttons. Your watch might take a few moments to restart.

Which button turns on the Apple Watch? ›

Turn on: If your Apple Watch is off, press the side button until the Apple logo appears (you might see a black screen for a short time first). The watch face appears when Apple Watch is on. Note: If your Apple Watch won't turn on, it may need to be charged or you may need to force it to restart.

How long do Apple watches last? ›

So how long does an Apple Watch last and are Apple Watches worth buying? There will always be exceptions, but on balance, based on the experience of our own reviewers and the comments we've seen from users online, I would say that an Apple Watch provide five to six years of good performance.

Why can't i press my Apple Watch? ›

Turn your watch off and back on. If this does not help, press and hold the side button and the Digital Crown for 10 seconds or more, until the Apple logo appears on the screen. If the steps above don't work, contact Apple Support or visit your local Genius Bar as it may be a hardware issue.

How do I use my Apple Watch without touch screen? ›

Open the Settings app on your Apple Watch. Go to Accessibility > AssistiveTouch, then turn on AssistiveTouch. Tap Hand Gestures, then turn on Hand Gestures. Tip: To learn how to use hand gestures, tap “Learn more” below the Hand Gestures switch, then tap each gesture.

Why is my Apple Watch not responding to movement? ›

If your Apple Watch doesn't wake when you raise your wrist, make sure you selected the proper wrist and watch orientation. If your Apple Watch doesn't wake when you tap the display or press or turn the Digital Crown, it may need charging.

What causes an Apple Watch to stop working? ›

The most common reason for the Apple Watch display to go dark and become unresponsive is a battery issue. Unless you've been wearing the Apple Watch all day and depleted the battery, the first troubleshooting step you should perform is a forced restart.

How do I fix my Apple Watch screen glitch? ›

According to Apple, turning off the Always-On feature in the display settings will stop the flickering. Of course some people won't like being told to stop using one feature just to quickly fix another one not working, but it is what it is.

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