Turn on the Apple Watch With a Force Restart
The most common reason for the Apple Watch display to go dark and become unresponsive is a battery issue. Unless you’ve been wearing the Apple Watch all day and depleted the battery, the first troubleshooting step you should perform is a forced restart. You don’t want to wait a half-hour or more for the watch to charge if that isn’t the problem. The Apple Watch may have experienced a software issue, or you may have accidentally triggered a mode that caused the watch to go dark. A forced restart forces the device to turn off. When you turn on the Apple Watch, almost any problem except a dead battery will be resolved.
Charge the Apple Watch
This might sound like a no-brainer, but just because you think you are charging your watch doesn’t mean the watch is charging. If your Apple Watch turns off at the end of the day, it is likely a battery depletion issue. However, if you have problems in the morning or afternoon, your Apple Watch may not be getting enough battery power when it is charging.
Check the bottom of the Apple Watch to ensure there is no plastic wrap stuck to the watch. The Apple Watch uses induction to power up while sitting on the charging pad. Anything attached to the bottom of the watch can cause a problem.Verify that the charging station is plugged into a wall outlet. Someone might unplug the charging station to use the wall outlet, and it’s easy to forget to plug it back into the wall.Inspect the cable to ensure there are no cuts, worn-out spots, or other damage. If someone else in the household has an Apple Watch, use their watch to check that the charging station is supplying power. The watch’s display should show the power icon (a lightning bolt) when it is charging.
Check the Apple Watch Settings
The Apple Watch display can also be turned off via an accessibility feature called Screen Curtain. This feature is part of the VoiceOver assistance for the visually impaired. When VoiceOver is turned on, the watch is operated by sound rather than sight. If you performed a force restart, charged your phone, and inspected the charging station to no avail, check the Apple Watch settings to ensure VoiceOver is turned off. You don’t need your watch for this.
Rule Out Power Reserve Mode
Apple Watch has a Power Reserve mode similar to the low power mode for the iPhone, except that it is more extreme than the iPhone version. The Apple Watch shuts down almost all functionality when in Power Reserve mode, and the screen goes dark. When you press the crown button, the watch briefly displays the time before going dark again. To exit from Power Reserve mode, restart the watch. To do this, hold down the side button (not the crown) until the Apple logo appears. If this doesn’t work, hold down both the crown and the side button to perform a force restart. How is PowerReserve mode activated? The Apple Watch prompts you when it gets down to 10 percent of battery power. The screen makes it easy to turn on the power-saving mode accidentally. You can also turn it on if you tap the battery icon in the Apple Watch Control Center and tap Power Reserve at the bottom of the next screen.
