How to Lock an Apple Watch

If you’ve just bought an Apple smartwatch, you might be thinking about how to lock and unlock an Apple Watch. Since it’s a wearable, an Apple Watch will be strapped to your wrist most of the time. That said, you must know how to lock an Apple Watch to prevent strangers, toddlers, and even water from accessing your smartwatch. Depending on your requirements, you can choose to lock your Apple Watch automatically when you aren’t wearing it, or take control in your hands and lock your smartwatch manually. We’ll discuss both ways in this article. Without any ado, let’s get started.

Lock Apple Watch Automatically

The best way to secure an Apple Watch is to enable Wrist Detection on your smartwatch. The original Apple Watch had a manual lock option. In the later models, Apple replaced it with the Wrist Detection feature. When you enable this feature, your smartwatch locks automatically when you’re not wearing or looking at it. This will keep all your information safe, bringing up the screen contents only when you purposely look up to your smartwatch.

On Apple Watch

1. Open the Settings app on your Apple Watch.
2. Tap on Passcode and verify Wrist Detection is turned on.

On iPhone

You can also enable Wrist Detection from the Watch app on your iPhone. Here’s how to do it:

1. Open the Watch app and tap on the My Watch tab from the bottom.
2. Here, tap on Passcode and turn on the Wrist Detection toggle.

Set Passcode on Apple Watch

To lock your Apple Watch manually, you have to set a passcode. When you set up your Apple Watch, you’re prompted to set a passcode. If you’ve bypassed this step, you can always do it later on your Apple Watch or paired iPhone using the Watch app. Here’s how to do it:

On Apple Watch

1. Open the Settings app on your Apple smartwatch.
2. Tap on Passcode.
3. Now, tap on Turn Passcode On and enter your desired four-digit code.

On iPhone

1. Open the Watch app and tap on Passcode.
2. Here, tap on Turn Passcode On.
3. Now, you’ll be prompted to enter your desired passcode on your Apple Watch.

If you’ve initially created a four-digit passcode for your Apple Watch, but now want to switch to a more secure passcode, you can do it using your iPhone. Here’s what you need to do:

1. Open the Watch app on your iPhone and select Passcode.
2. Now, turn off Simple Passcode. The app will direct you to your Apple Watch for the next steps.

3. Enter your current Apple Watch passcode. Then enter a new, more secure passcode and hit the OK button.
4. Re-enter your desired code to verify it.

Lock Apple Watch Manually

You can also choose to lock the screen on your Apple Watch manually. In order to do this, you need to first disable Wrist Detection for your Apple Watch. For this, go to Settings > Passcode and turn off the Wrist Detection toggle on your Apple Watch. You can also do this using the Watch app on an iPhone by heading over to Passcode and turning off the Wrist Detection toggle.

Remember, when you disable Wrist Detection, the following Apple Watch features are affected:

• Your Apple Watch will no longer lock and unlock automatically.
• If you want to use Apple Pay on your watch, you will have to enter your passcode when you double-click the side button to authorize the payment.
• Some Activity measurements won’t work.
• Heart rate tracking is turned off.
• Your Apple Watch wonʼt automatically contact emergency services even after it detects a hard-impact fall.

With Wrist Detection now disabled, you can press the Side button to open the Control Center on your Apple Watch. Then, tap on the lock icon to secure your watch.

When you lock your smartwatch manually, you have to unlock it manually by entering the passcode.

Use Water Lock on Apple Watch

You can also choose to lock your Apple Watch while swimming, taking a shower, or going for water sports. With watchOS 5 or later, Apple Watch offers water protection, so the water can’t activate your screen and cause any inconveniences. The Water Lock feature not only locks your Apple Watch, it also pushes water out of the speaker holes to prevent any water damage.

When you select any water activity in the Workout app, your watch automatically enables the Water Lock feature to shut the screen and avoid any accidental taps. On the Apple Watch Ultra, the Water Lock is automatically turned on when the smartwatch is submerged to a depth of 10 meters or lower. Once you’re done with your activity, press & hold the Digital Crown to clear water from your Apple Watch. You’ll hear a series of tones as water is cleared out of the speaker.

Here’s how to manually turn on Water Lock on Apple Watch:

1. Press the Side button to reveal the Control Center.
2. Now, tap the Water Lock icon.
3. Finally, press & hold the Digital Crown until your Apple Watch says unlocked.

That’s how you can lock the screen on your Apple Watch to keep it safe from prying eyes, clever kids, and potential water damage. In case you have any doubts, feel free to reach out to us in the comments below.