- If your Apple Watch Series 9 won’t turn on; first try a different charging cable and adapter.
- You can also fix an Apple Watch Series 9 that won’t turn on by restarting it or checking for hardware issues.
- If all else fails, send the watch to Apple for hardware repair.
After paying hundreds of dollars for the tiny computer in your wrist, it can be nerve-wracking to find that it won’t turn on—especially if it’s no longer under warranty.
However, as tempting as it may be to declare your Apple Watch Series 9 dead and panic-buy a new smart watch, we think you should hold off.
There are many reasons why an Apple Watch Series 9 screen might not be turning on, and most of them have a simple fix.
Here we’ll go through five of the most common reasons an Apple Watch Series 9 won’t turn on, and how to fix the problems.
How to turn on an Apple Watch Series 9
You need to make sure you’re turning on your Apple Watch Series 9 the right way before trying any of the troubleshooting steps mentioned below.
By the offset chance this is the issue, here’s how to turn on an Apple Watch Series 9:
- Press and hold the side button until the Apple logo appears (this may take a few moments).
What to do if your Apple Watch Series 9 won’t turn on
Once you’re sure that you can switch on your Apple Watch Series 9 properly, you can try to get to the bottom of why it’s not turning on.
Check for Any Physical Damage
Did you recently drop your Apple Watch, and now it isn’t turning on? Give your watch a good once-over to determine if there is any noticeable damage:
Is the screen cracked or damaged? (Even if it isn’t, a recent fall could have dislodged something internally to break the screen.)
If you find something physically wrong with the watch, you may need to take it to Apple for hardware repair.
Check the battery, and check your Apple Watch charger
One common reason an Apple Watch Series 9 won’t turn on is simply that the battery is dead. Try charging the watch. If it’s truly drained, the watch won’t necessarily light up right away. Try leaving it plugged in for 15 to 30 minutes or so before trying to turn it on again.
Did charging it not do anything? It’s possible you could also have a damaged charger. Try another charging cable or power adapter, if you have them. You might also want to try another wall outlet or power strip, just to be sure.
If your Apple Watch Series 9 is still unresponsive after you try to power it with several different chargers, then move on to the next solution.
Do a force restart
Maybe a software malfunction has turned the screen black but the Apple Watch is otherwise still on. If you find the Apple Watch Series 9 is frozen, perform a force restart to hopefully get the watch working again.
Press and hold the two buttons (the larger, circular Digital Crown and the smaller oblong Side Button) simultaneously for 10 to 15 seconds.
After the Apple logo appears, release the buttons and wait another few seconds. When the watch turns back on, it should work smoothly again.
Turn off Power Reserve mode
To prolong your Apple Watch’s battery life, the wearable alerts you that its battery has dropped below 10%. It will ask if you want to switch on Power Reserve mode, and enabling the feature will put the Apple Watch is a basic state of just telling the time.
To turn off Power Reserve mode, press and hold the Side Button (thinner, oblong) for about 7 to 10 seconds. When the Apple logo appears, the watch is rebooting into its regular mode.
Turn off the Screen Curtain
The Screen Curtain mode keeps your Apple Watch’s face darkened even when it’s operating normally, only allowing interaction via voice.
To turn off the Screen Curtain, open the Apple Watch app on your iPhone, then go to the General tab. From there, tap “Accessibility,” then go to “VoiceOver.” Finally, toggle Screen Curtain off (the button will be on the left).
As you can see, even when your Apple Watch Series 9 won’t turn on, it just takes a few steps to get your wearable back up and running.
