For many, the Apple Watch is the de-facto choice when it comes to owning and using a smartwatch. But like any of our other devices, it’s just another type of computer at the end of the day. Whether you’re testing out the watchOS beta, or are trying out a new app, you might find yourself running into issues that you aren’t accustomed to. Today, we’re going to take a look at how to close apps on Apple Watch if things aren’t working as you expect them to.
As opposed to the iPhone, iPad, or Mac, some might not have known that you could even manually close apps on Apple Watch. watchOS is pretty good about putting apps to sleep, and removing them from memory while still receiving notifications when they arrive. However, you might want to close an app that you either don’t use very frequently or one that’s acting up.
From your Apple Watch, press and release the Side button once.
Scroll the list of open applications using the display or the Digital Crown.
Once you find the app, swipe from right to left on the app card.
Tap the X found within the red box next to the app.
Repeat this process for any other apps that you want to manually close.
Just like with the iPhone and iPad, we don’t recommend closing apps that you use on a regular basis on the Apple Watch. Doing so will be more pressure on the processor built into your Watch and could result in subpar battery life and performance.
How to Force Close Apps on Apple Watch
It’s a problem that we run into on pretty much any of our devices, but there are times when an app is acting up to the point that you can’t actually close it. If you’ve tried to close apps on Apple Watch the normal way to no avail, then you need to force close the app.
Open the app that is not working properly.
Press and hold the Side button until the Power menu appears.
Press and hold the Digital Crown.
You’ll need to continue holding the Digital Crown on the side of your Apple Watch until you see your watch face. Otherwise, the app won’t actually be forced to close, and it could continue to cause problems.
Force Restart Apple Watch
In some cases, one app can wreak havoc on your Apple Watch entirely, making it impossible to interact with anything else. If this happens to you, then you’ll want to force your Apple Watch to restart, and here’s how you can do so:
Press and hold the Side Button and Digital Crown at the same time.
Continue holding until you see the Apple logo appear.
Release both buttons at the same time.
The process should only take a few moments, but then your Apple Watch will finish restarting and you can go about using it as intended. If you continue running into problems with different apps on your Apple Watch, we recommend deleting the app entirely and then re-installing it if you need to.
Andrew is a freelance writer based on the East Coast of the US.
He has written for a variety of sites over the years, including iMore, Android Central, Phandroid, and a few others. Now, he spends his days working for an HVAC company, while moonlighting as a freelance writer at night.
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