Apple Watch Notifications or Control Center Not Working? How to Fix

Apple Watch is a great device that allows you to check your notifications or access the Control Center with a simple swipe on its face. However, you can sometimes face issues with your Apple Watch that can be annoying, ranging from poor battery life to the black screen of death to frozen apps. 

Many Apple Watch users have recently reported that they cannot access notifications or the Control Center with a swipe up or down on their watch. If you are one of those the issue has touched, rest assured that we are here to help.

In this guide, we will show you the steps to fix notifications or Control Center not working on Apple Watch. Before proceeding with our methods:

1. Try switching your Apple Watch face.
2. On the new watch face, swipe down or up to see if you can access notifications or the Control Center.
3. If that does not work, make sure you read on.

Method 1: Reboot Apple Watch

A lot of users have reported that a reboot has fixed the issue. In fact, a reboot can fix many software-related issues on both iPhone and Apple Watch. Here are the steps:

Step 1: Press and hold the side button until you see the Power Off screen.

Step 2: Simply drag the slider to power off your watch.

Step 3: Once your Watch is completely turned off, press and hold the Side button again to turn it back on.

Try to trigger notifications or the Control Center to see if you have fixed the issue when it’s on. 

Method 2: Hard Reset Your Watch

A hard reset should be the last resort if you have exhausted all of your possibilities. Performing a hard reset won’t impact your data, but you will be asked to enter your passcode if you have one set up on your Watch. Note that you cannot perform a hard reset if your watch is in the middle of a software update. 

Step 1: Hold down the Side and Digital Crown buttons until you see the Apple logo.

Step 2: Now, your watch should reset and takes seconds to finish booting up. Simply enter the passcode if required. If you forgot your passcode, you will need to erase your device via the Watch app on your iPhone and then restore it from a backup. So, make sure you have your passcode handy. 

Method 3: Re-Pair Your Watch

If a hard reset does not work, try unpairing your Watch from your iPhone. Some users have reported that this method works. Here’s how to do it.

Step 1: Launch the Watch app on your iPhone and then select the My Watch tab.

Step 2: Tap All Watches and hit the info button next to the watch you wish to unpair.

Step 3: Now, tap Unpair Apple Watch and confirm your action. You might be asked to enter the passcode during the process. 

Step 4: Open the Watch app > All Watches > Pair New Watch. 

Step 5: Follow the on-screen instructions to repair your watch. 

Method 4: Check Notification Settings

Before performing a hard reset, try checking your notification settings. You may have turned off notifications for certain apps or tweaked some settings. It’s worth checking out your settings before going further with a hard reset. Here are the steps:

Step 1: Open the Watch app on your iPhone and select the My Watch tab.

Step 2: Select Notifications and check if notifications are now enabled on your Watch. You can also see a list of apps that you have enabled notifications for. 

Method 5: Contact Apple

If none of the above solutions works, then contact Apple and ask for their support. Your Apple Watch may have a hardware issue. If this is not the case, try restarting your watch and wait until a new software update comes out. It could be that a bug prevents notifications or the control center from working.