How to Turn Off Find My Apple Watch [Step-by-step Guide]

Using a paired Apple Watch with your Apple devices is very convenient, as the well-designed Apple Watch is elegant, portable, and functional. It contains a lot of features that your iPhone has. One of them is the “Find My” feature.

Similar to Find My iPhone, Find My Apple Watch is used to locate your iWatch in real time. However, you may need to turn off Find My Apple Watch if you want to sell or give it away. The article below will help you learn everything you need to know about how to turn off Find My on Apple Watch and other iOS devices. Also, we will explain why the Apple store requires you to turn off Find My Apple Watch, how to check the “Activation Lock” status on iPhone, and common questions about Apple Watch. Now let’s go through these topics below!

Why I Want to Turn Off Find My Apple Watch?

Now that you have learned about the very useful “Find My Apple Watch” feature, you may wonder: why do you need to turn it off sometimes? In this section below, you will find the answer and what happens if you turn it off.

Here is the reason why Apple makes you turn off Fin My Apple Watch: if you don’t turn off the “Find My” feature on your Apple Watch before sending it away, the “Activation Lock” will prevent others from resetting your Apple Watch. In this case, an Apple technician won’t be able to help you with your device or the Apple store cannot make it a refurbished device later.

Then what happens when you erase Apple Watch from Find iPhone? When you do so, you won’t be able to locate your watch with the “Find My” app anymore or play a sound on it. All contents will be deleted from your watch, including any cards in Apple Pay, any contacts, music, and so on, but they will still be available on iCloud.

How to Turn Off Find My on Apple Watch

So now you know that if you ever need to give away your Apple Watch, such as sending it to the repair shop, you may be required to turn off the “Find My Apple Watch” feature. In this section, let’s see how to turn it off using the methods below.

If you remember your Apple ID password, it’s very easy to turn off the “Find My” feature on your Apple Watch. Here’s how:

To turn off “Find My Apple Watch”, you need to unpair your Apple Watch with your phone first.

• Turn off your Apple Watch.
• Go to the “Apple Watch” app on your iPhone.
• Tap “My Watch” and then tap the watch for which you intend to turn the “Find My” feature off.
• Tap the info icon, and then tap “Unpair Apple Watch”.

After your watch is unpaired with your phone, you have two options to turn off the “Find My” feature.

Option 1. Turn Off Find My Apple Watch on iCloud

The more general way that often works is to turn it off on iCloud.

• Go to the iCloud official website and sign in to your iCloud account using your Apple ID password.
• Click “Find iPhone”.
• Click “All Devices” to see a list of all your devices associated with this iCloud account.
• Select the Apple Watch for which you intend to turn the “Find My” feature off.
• Click “Remove from Account”.

Option 2. Turn Off Find My Apple Watch on Your Apple Watch

Another option that occasionally works if your Apple Watch was set up by a family member is to turn it off on your Apple Watch.

If this option is not applicable, use option 1 instead.

• On your Apple Watch, go to “Settings” and then tap your name.
• Go to “Find My”.
• Toggle off “Find My Watch”.
• When prompted, enter your Apple ID password.

Done! Now the “Find My” feature is turned off on your Apple Watch.

How to Check the iCloud Activation Lock Status on Apple Watch?

After using the above methods to turn off “Find My Watch”, you may want to check the “Activation Lock” status on your Apple Watch to make sure it’s indeed disabled. This section will teach you how to do so with the steps below:

• Go to the “Apple Watch” app on your iPhone.
• Tap “My Watch” and then tap “All Watches”.
• Tap the info icon next to your Apple Watch.
• If you don’t see the “Find My Apple Watch” section, then it means that the “Activation Lock” for your Apple Watch is off. Otherwise, it’s still on and you can try the methods mentioned above.

How to Turn Off Find My on Other iOS Devices?

Since the Find My feature also applies to other iOS-based devices such as iPhone, iPad, and iPod, you may also need to turn off Find My on other iOS Devices. Turning off Find My on other iOS devices is as easy as turning off Find My Apple Watch, as long as you can recall Apple ID credentials. Keep reading to learn how to turn off Find My on other iOS devices with password.

The whole process could be quite easy and straightforward if you can enter the right Apple ID and password. You can either make it on your iPhone/iPad or via the iCloud official website.

1. Launch the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad and tap on your profile.
2. Navigate to “Find My” and click on the “Find My iPhone” option.
3. Toggle off “Find My iPhone”.
4. Enter your Apple ID and password to turn off Find My on your iPhone or iPad.

If you have sold your iPhone or iPad to other users, also, you can visit the iCloud official website to turn off Find My with simple clicks.

1. Log in to icloud.com.
2. Navigate to “Find My iPhone” and tap on the “All Devices” tab.
3. If your iOS is turned on, click to Erase iPhone and then tap on “Remove from Account”.
4. If your iOS is turned off, choose the device and tap on “Remove from Account”.

FAQs About Find My Apple Watch

First, let’s see some general questions you may have about Apple Watch and the “Find My Apple Watch” feature!

1. Can you locate your Apple Watch on your iPhone?

Yes! If the “Find My” feature is enabled on your Apple Watch, locating it on your iPhone is no different from locating any other Apple device. You can simply follow the steps below to locate your Apple Watch on your iPhone.

1. Go to the “Find My” app on your iPhone.
2. Go to the “Devices” section.
3. Select your lost watch to view its real-time location on the map.

2. Can you use or reset a stolen Apple Watch?

Yes! When your Apple Watch is lost or stolen, you can simply use another Apple device to place it in the “Lost Mode” and erase it. Here’s how:

1. Go to the “Find My” app on your Apple device and then tap your lost Apple Watch.
2. Scroll up to find the “Mark As Lost” section and then tap “Activate”.
3. Tap “Continue”.
4. Enter a phone number for other people who may have your watch to contact you (This is optional). Then tap “Next”.
5. Enter a message you want to show on the lock screen of your watch (This is optional).
6. Tap “Activate”.

Now your Apple Watch is placed into “Lost Mode”. In this mode, your watch and your personal information are protected with a passcode. Apple Pay is also suspended for use.

Now if you want to further a step in protecting your information, you can choose to erase your Apple Watch using the “Find My” app as well. Here’s how:

1. Go to the “Find My” app on your Apple device and then tap your lost Apple Watch.
2. Scroll up to find “Erase This Device” and tap it.

3. What to do before you sell or buy an Apple Watch?

Here are a few things you need to do before selling your Apple Watch:

• Create a backup for your information
• Erase your Apple Watch
• Unpair it with your other devices
• Cancel cellular subscriptions if you have a cellular model
• Turn off the Activation Lock

When you buy an Apple Watch, especially from a third-party vendor, you need to check whether the previous owner has done all things listed above. Otherwise, you may encounter set-up issues with the watch.

The Bottom Line

Did you get sufficient information about the “Find My Apple Watch” feature from the article above? Let us know if you still have any problems with it by commenting below. Hope this article helps you better enjoy your Apple Watch!