Turn on and wake Apple Watch
Turn your Apple Watch on and off
Turn on: If your Apple Watch is off, press and hold 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.
Turn off: Normally, you’ll leave your Apple Watch on all of the time, but if you need to turn it off, press and hold the side button until the sliders appear, then drag the Power Off slider to the right.
Tip: You can’t turn off your Apple Watch while it’s charging. To turn off your Apple Watch, first disconnect it from the charger.
Always On (Apple Watch Series 5 only)
Always On lets Apple Watch display the watch face and time, even when your wrist is down. When you raise your wrist, Apple Watch functions fully.
Open the Settings app
on your Apple Watch.Tap Display & Brightness, then tap Always On.
Turn on Always On.
Turn on Hide Sensitive Complications to hide calendar events, messages, heart rate, and more when your wrist is down.
Wake the Apple Watch display
You can wake the Apple Watch display in these ways:
Raise your wrist. Your Apple Watch sleeps again when you lower your wrist.
Tap the display or press the Digital Crown.
Turn the Digital Crown upward.
To allow this, open the Apple Watch app on your iPhone, tap My Watch, go to General > Wake Screen, then turn on Wake Screen on Crown Up.
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.
Tip: If you don’t want to wake your Apple Watch when you raise your wrist, open the Settings app on your Apple Watch, go to General > Wake Screen, then turn off Wake Screen on Wrist Raise. Or, to temporarily prevent your Apple Watch from waking when you raise your wrist, use theater mode.
Wake to your last activity
You can set Apple Watch to return you to where you were before it went to sleep.
Open the Settings app
on your Apple Watch.Go to General > Wake Screen, and make sure Wake Screen on Wrist Raise is turned on.
Scroll down and choose when you want your Apple Watch to wake to the last app you used: Always, Within 1 Hour of Last Use, Within 2 Minutes of Last Use, or Never Unless in Session (for apps like Workout, Remote, or Maps).
Choose Never Unless in Session if you want your Apple Watch to always wake to the watch face (except when you’re still using an app).
You can also do this using the Apple Watch app on your iPhone: Tap My Watch, then go to General > Wake Screen.
Keep the Apple Watch display on longer
You can keep the display on longer when you tap to wake your Apple Watch.
Open the Settings app
on your Apple Watch.Go to General > Wake Screen, then tap Wake for 70 Seconds.