How to Unpair Apple Watch

The Apple Watch is a great piece of technology, but even the best pieces of technology need to be reset every once in a while. Whether you want to pair your Apple Watch with a new phone or upgrade to the best Apple Watch, you'll need to unpair it from your current iPhone, back up its data, and turn off Activation Lock so that it can be set up again. This article shows you how to unpair an Apple Watch from an iPhone by using either the iPhone or the Apple Watch.

How to Unpair Apple Watch on iPhone

1. On the iPhone, open the Apple Watch app.

2. At the top of the screen, tap All Watches or My Watch.

3. Tap the Info (i) icon next to your watch. 

4. Tap Unpair Apple Watch.

5. If your Apple Watch can use cellular data, you need to tell it how to use your monthly cellular plan. Tap Keep Plan if you want to pair this Apple Watch and iPhone again. Tap Remove Plan if you want to pair a different Apple Watch with a different iPhone. Tap to confirm.

6. Type in the password for your Apple ID. This is needed if you want to turn off features like Activation Lock and Find My Watch.

7. Tap Unpair Apple Watch, then tap Unpair [Name] Apple Watch.

The process of unpairing takes a few minutes because your iPhone backs up the data on your watch. When your Apple Watch reboots to the screen where you can choose your language, you're done.

How to unpair Apple Watch without iPhone

If you need to reset your Apple Watch to factory settings but don't have your iPhone with you, you can do it from the watch itself, but it won't be able to do a new backup. Also, go to your iPhone's Watch app and delete it as soon as you can.

1. Go to Settings on your Apple Watch.

2. Tap General.

3. Swipe down to the bottom and tap Reset.

4. Tap Erase All Content and Settings.

5. If you have a passcode, type it in when asked.

6. If you have a cell phone watch, swipe down and choose "Erase All" or "Erase All and Keep Plan."

How to unpair Apple Watch/erase without your passcode

If you can't remember your passcode, you can also reset your Apple Watch, but it won't be able to make a new backup. Like above, don't forget to take it off your iPhone's Watch app at some point.

1. Put Apple Watch on its charger.

2. Hold down the side button like you're going to turn it off.

3. Hold down the Digital Crown button until you see Erase all content and settings.

4. Tap "Reset"

Related: How to reset Apple Watch.

What to Do When Upgrading to a New iPhone

If you want to upgrade your phone after this process, you should make a copy of the old phone. As described above, when you unpaired your Apple Watch from your phone, the data from your Apple Watch was backed up on your phone. Activate the new iPhone and restore the data that was backed up, which includes the data from the watch. Connect your Apple Watch to your new iPhone once you've set up your new phone.