Okay, so the other day, I was messing around with my old Apple Watch. You know, the one I haven’t used in ages since I got the new one. I figured I’d give it to my kid, but guess what? I totally forgot the passcode. Classic me, right? So, I tried a few random numbers, but no luck. Then I remembered this thing called “watch-only mode” that I’d heard about somewhere. I thought, maybe there’s a way to use this to get around the passcode situation.
I started digging around on the internet, and it turns out that “watch-only” usually refers to crypto wallets, not smartwatches. You know, like Trust Wallet and Tonkeeper. It means you can see your balance but can’t do anything with it, like sending or receiving money. It’s like having a read-only access to your account. I get it, you can add a public address to your wallet and see the money in there, but to do anything with it, you need your private keys or that secret phrase thingy.
But that’s not what I was looking for. I kept searching, and I stumbled upon a feature on Apple Watches that unlocks your watch when your iPhone is unlocked, and your watch is on your wrist. Now, this is cool, but I was trying to get into a watch I couldn’t unlock at all, not make it easier to unlock a watch that was already working.
Then it hit me. This wasn’t a software issue; it was more like I needed to “factory reset” the watch. So, I went back to the internet and finally found the right stuff. Turns out, there are ways to reset your Apple Watch even if you don’t know the passcode. There are a bunch of methods, and some involve third-party software, which I was a bit hesitant to use.
Here’s what I did to reset my Apple Watch:
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First, I put the watch on its charger and kept it there during the whole process.
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Then, I pressed and held the side button until I saw the Power Off slider.
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I firmly pressed on the Power Off slider and then let go.
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Then I tapped on “Erase all content and settings.”
It took a few minutes, but finally, the watch reset itself. It was like it was brand new again. I then paired it with my iPhone, and boom, it worked. I didn’t even need the old passcode.
Setting it up as new was a breeze.
After the reset, I just followed the on-screen instructions to set it up. And now my kid’s got a “new” watch. So, while I initially thought “watch-only unlocker” was some magical software solution, it turned out to be a simple factory reset. I learned that watch-only usually refers to crypto stuff and not so much with unlocking a smartwatch. Anyway, it all worked out in the end!
