The Apple Watch is more than just a time-telling device. It has many great features like a heart rate monitor, ECG, and fall detection, but you can’t access them if you can’t swipe on Apple watch. So, if the issue with your Apple Watch is that you can’t swipe on it consider this article the solution you have been searching for.
Suppose you can’t swipe on your Apple Watch, either swiping up or down then you need to get down with this article. In that case, you will be unable to navigate through the control centre and notifications, which can be pretty frustrating as it would prevent you from accessing most of the features on the Apple Watch.
Many Apple Watch users began noticing the issue of being unable to swipe up or down when the WatchOS was updated to 8.5.1.
The good news, however, is that there are known fixes that you can use to resolve the bug that prompts the can’t swipe on Apple watch issue, and we will be explaining these solutions in the remaining section of this article.
How to Resolve Can’t Swipe on Apple Watch
You need to be able to swipe either up or down on the Apple watch to use some of its features, so if you can’t swipe on the Apple watch, it makes the device increasingly difficult to use the device.
The known methods you can use if you can’t swipe on Apple watch are:
- Restart the Apple Watch.
- Restart your iPhone.
- Unpair and repair the Apple Watch.
- Change the face of the Watch.
You can also check out How to Turn Off Power Reserve on Apple Watch.
Restart the Apple Watch
Restarting the Apple Watch has proven to be a solution if you can’t swipe on Apple Watch. However, before you restart the Watch, ensure that you are not charging it cause you should not restart your Apple Watch while charging.
Follow the instructions below to restart your Apple Watch.
- Unplug the Watch if you are charging it.
- Then press and hold down the side button till the power off slider appears.
- Now drag the power off slider and wait for the Watch to turn off.
- Once the Watch is turned off, press and hold the side button until the apple logo appears.
After restarting the apple watch, you can then use it to confirm if you have resolved the can’t swipe on Apple Watch issue.
Recommended: How to Find a Dead Apple Watch
Restart your iPhone
The Apple Watch is usually connected to the iPhone to enable you to receive calls and notifications and do other things on the Watch. So if you can’t swipe on Apple Watch, restarting the iPhone might be the solution to the problem.
Follow the instructions below to restart your iPhone.
- Press and hold either of the volume buttons and the side button till the power off slider appears on your screen.
- Then drag the slider and wait for the iPhone to turn off within 30 seconds.
- After the iPhone is turned off, you can turn it on by pressing the side button till the Apple logo appears.
After following the instructions above to restart your iPhone, you can then swipe on your Apple watch to confirm that you have resolved the can’t swipe on Apple watch issue.
Unpair and Repair the Apple Watch
Sometimes, you can’t swipe on Apple watch because of a system glitch that can easily be fixed by unpairing and repairing the Apple watch.
Follow the instructions below to unpair the Apple Watch.
- Place the Apple watch in close proximity to your iPhone for unpairing.
- Then go to your iPhone and open the Apple Watch app.
- Then click on my watch tab and select all watches.
- Next, click the info button next to the Apple watch you want to unpair.
- Then select unpair Apple watch and select again to confirm.
- Then if promoted, input your Apple ID password to deactivate the activation lock.
After unpairing, you can follow the instructions below to pair your Apple watch back with the iPhone.
- Place your Apple watch comfortably on your wrist.
- Then press and hold the side button till the apple logo appears on the screen.
- Place your iPhone close to the Apple Watch and tap continue once the Apple Watch pairing screen appears on your iPhone.
- Then click on set up for myself, and when prompted, you should place the iPhone in a position where the apple watch is in the viewfinder of the Apple Watch app on the iPhone so that both devices can pair.
- Then click on set up Apple Watch and follow the instructions on your screen.
After pairing your Apple Watch to your iPhone, you can now attempt to swipe on your Watch to confirm that you have resolved the can’t swipe on Apple watch issue.
Change the Face of the Watch
Sometimes, you can’t swipe on Apple Wach because the watch face you are currently using is unable to register the swipes.
You can easily change the current face of your Apple watch by following the steps highlighted below.
- Press down the digital crown to navigate to the Watch face.
- Then on the watch face, you can swipe left or right from the edge to view the different watch faces you have.
- Then stop at the watch face you now prefer using.
It would be best if you then attempted to swipe on the new watch face to confirm that it resolved the can’t swipe on Apple Watch issue.
How to Restart Apple Watch
Restarting the Apple watch is usually the solution to resolve many of the issues that might arise when using the Apple Watch.
The only necessary precaution you should take is not to restart the Watch while charging.
You should always unplug it before restarting.
You can follow the steps highlighted below to restart the Apple Watch.
- If you are charging the Watch, unplug it.
- Then press the side button till the power off slider displays on the screen.
- Then drag the power off slider to turn off the Watch.
- Then after a couple of seconds, press and hold the side button till the apple logo shows.
You can then begin to use your Apple Watch to confirm that you have successfully resolved the issue that prompted you to restart the Watch.
How to Resolve Can’t Swipe Up or Down on Apple Watch 7
You need to be able to swipe either up or down to access some of the features of the Apple watch, like the control center.
Some of the troubleshooting methods you can use when unable to swipe either up or down on your Apple Watch 7 are:
- Change the current Watch face
- Restart your Apple Watch.
- Restart your iPhone.
- Unpair and repair the Apple Watch.
Either or all of the solutions listed above should help you fix the issue of being unable to swipe up or down on the Apple Watch 7.
How to Fix Apple Watch 3 Won’t Swipe Up or Down.
If your Apple Watch 3 cannot swipe up or down, it would restrict you from using most of the features of the Apple watch, including conveniently viewing your notifications.
You can use any or all of the troubleshooting methods listed below to resolve the issue.
- Restart the Apple Watch.
- Restart your iPhone.
- Unpair and repair the Apple Watch.
- Change the face of the Watch.
Conclusion:
This article has discussed various solutions you can employ to resolve the issue of can’t swipe on Apple Watch.
You can contact the Apple customer support team for further assistance if you have tried any of the troubleshooting methods with no solution.