How to Improve Apple Watch Performance?

Is Apple Watch suddenly running slow? You should try to resolve the issue yourself before contacting Apple customer service or considering purchasing a newer model.

As your Apple Watch ages and Apple releases new watchOS software, its performance may begin to decline. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to fix poor performance and extend the life of your smartwatch.

We should note that if these steps don’t work, you’ll want to investigate other possible fixes. If all else fails, you’ll want to make an appointment and bring your Apple Watch into an Apple Store to see if they can diagnose the problems.

Without further ado, here are steps you can try to improve the performance of your Apple Watch.

Restart Your Watch

Before doing anything else, try restarting your Apple Watch. A simple restart can have a positive impact on the performance of your Apple Watch.

Turn your Apple Watch off, leave it off for a minute, and then turn it back on and see if you notice a change. If you’re still having problems, continue with the next steps.

Download Latest Software

Throughout the year, Apple will release new watchOS software. Point updates (xxx) usually fix bugs and security issues, while milestone upgrades (xx) usually deliver a nice mix of new features, security updates, and bug fixes.

Apple may not specify performance fixes in the watchOS 10 update’s changelog, but new software always has the potential to help (or in some cases, hurt) the performance of your Apple Watch.

For more information about the latest version of watchOS 10, see our guide.

Disable Background App Refresh

Background App Refresh, as the name suggests, keeps the apps on your Apple Watch updated in the background. The process makes your device work, and the work can slow it down.

If you don’t want or need your apps to constantly run in the background, we recommend turning this feature off and seeing if your Watch gets a performance boost.

1. Open the Watch app on your iPhone
2. Tap General
3. Tap Background App Refresh

On this screen, you can choose whether you want to disable the feature completely or turn it off on an app-by-app basis. If your performance issue is really bad, you’ll probably want to turn it off completely at the top of the screen.

Clear Website Data

The Apple Watch doesn’t come with a full-blown version of Safari, but it does let you open website links you receive in emails, as well as messages from friends and family.

Over time, data from these connections can accumulate, and if you’re running out of storage space, getting rid of these files can have a positive impact on your Apple Watch’s performance.

Here’s how to get rid of website data on your Apple Watch. You can do this from the Watch app on your iPhone or from the Apple Watch itself.

1. Open the Settings app on your Apple Watch
2. Tap General
3. Scroll down and tap Website Data
4. Tap Clear Website Data
5. Confirm your decision

Apple states that this will remove website cookies, credentials, and other browsing data. We recommend doing this every once in a while to help keep your Apple Watch fast.

Delete Apps You Don’t Use

Speaking of freeing up space, you may also want to delete apps you don’t use from your Apple Watch. Here’s how to delete an app from Apple Watch:

1. Go to your Apple Watch’s home screen
2. Press and hold the icon of the app you want to delete
3. Tap the X symbol when apps start wiggling
4. In the window that opens, tap Delete app

Turn Off Workout Reminders

We also recommend turning off automatic Workout Reminders to reduce the amount of work your Apple Watch performs. This is valid unless you trust the feature. If you don’t, here’s how to turn it off.

1. Go to your Apple Watch’s home screen
2. Open the Settings app
3. Scroll down to Workout and tap it.
4. Turn Workout Start Reminder off

You can always turn it back on if necessary.

Start from scratch

If nothing here works and you can’t find a solution elsewhere, you can try resetting your Apple Watch so it starts from scratch.

This process is quite extensive and will take time to complete and should only be used as a last resort. If you want to go through with it, you will check out this guide.