My Apple Watch Keeps Asking For My Apple ID Password, Fix

BySerhat Kurt Posted on Reading Time: 5 minutes

Several users have said that the Apple Watch keeps prompting them to enter their Apple ID passwords over and over and over again.

Apple ID Password

It can be very frustrating when your Apple Watch keeps asking for your password despite entering it numerous times. There may be various reasons why you may experience this problem. For example, this issue may start occurring following a watchOS update. Sometimes these iOS and watchOS updates can cause certain types of issues. If you have multiple Apple IDs, you may run into this problem. Or, maybe there are issues with Apple’s servers.

See also: Apple Watch Is Stuck On The Apple Logo

Are you having this problem too? Is your Apple Watch in a loop of continuously asking for your Apple ID password, even after you have successfully entered your password? Fortunately, it’s pretty easy to fix the problem. This article explains how you can fix your Apple Watch that keeps asking for your Apple ID password.

See also: How To Create an Apple ID Without an Apple Device & Credit Card

On your Apple Watch, you can sign in with your Apple ID so that you can use the App Store, iCloud, iMessage, Apple Music, etc.

Try the troubleshooting tips below in order. After trying each step, test your watch again to see if your problem is fixed.

Before you begin, please ensure that your iPhone and Apple Watch have the latest version of iOS and watchOS.

  • To update your iPhone, go to Settings > General > Software Update.
  • To update your Apple Watch, go to Settings > General > Software Update. You can also update your Apple Watch using your iPhone by going to the Apple Watch app > General > Software Update.

Furthermore, likewise, please make sure that all of your Apple Watch apps are up to date. An app can cause your watch to get stuck in an endless loop of asking for the Apple ID password. On your watch, open the App Store app and then go to Account > Updates and tap Update All. You can also turn on automatic updates by going to Settings > App Store.

See also: Apple Watch: Sign In To Complete Purchase, Fix

1. System status

Before going any further, you may want to check that iCloud services and Apple ID services are working correctly at Apple’s end. This is really easy. Follow the steps below:

  • Open Safari or any other browser of your choice on your device.
  • Visit the Apple System Status page. (direct link)
  • This page lets you check if various Apple services are running or not.
  • It is possible that some Apple services may be experiencing downtime or slow performance causing this issue for you. This page will also show a bit more information about what happened if there is an outage.

If this is the case meaning if there’s an outage for a service, what you can do is to be patient! Apple will fix it.

2. Sign in in Settings

On your iPhone, try to sign in again. To do this, open the Apple Watch app on your paired iPhone, then tap the My Watch tab and go to General > Apple ID and sign in by re-entering your Apple ID password. Enter your password here and then follow the onscreen instructions.

If this does not work, try these steps to enter your password:

  • Enter your password on your Apple Watch.
  • Now on your paired iPhone, go to Settings > Your Name > Password & Security > Get Verification Code.
  • And enter the verification code on your watch when it was asked.

3. Apps

Some apps may cause this problem. More specifically, if Automatic App Install is enabled, some apps may be stuck in installing and cause this problem. Here is what you can do:

  • On your paired iPhone, open the Apple Watch app and then tap My Watch.
  • And go to Settings > General and turn off Automatic App Install.
  • Now go back and tab My Watch.
  • Scroll down and find the Available Apps section.
  • In this section, do you see any app that is trying to install? If there is, remove this app by turning off Show App.
  • If this resolves your problem, you may want to re-try to install the app that you removed.

4. Turn it off and on again

Try turning off your watch and turning on again. Here is how:

  • Press and hold the side button until the power off slider appears.
  • Drag the slider.
  • Wait for your watch to turn off.
  • Then press and hold the side button again until the Apple logo appears.

Try restarting your paired iPhone also.

If restarting does not work, try to force restart your watch. You can do that by pressing and hold the side button and Digital Crown until you see the Apple logo.

5. Unpair and repair

If you are still having this problem, you may want to unpair and then repair them. Please note that this may take up to a few hours. Here is how:

  • On your watch, go to Settings > General > Reset > Erase All Content and Settings. This will also create a backup of your watch.
  • On your paired iPhone, open the Apple Watch app and tap My Watch. Tap your watch, tap the info (i) icon then tap Unpair Apple Watch. And then follow the onscreen instructions.
  • Now pair your watch and phone again. During the pairing process, you will be asked to set up as new or restore from a backup. First set up from a backup. Then test your problem, if your watch keeps asking your Apple ID password still, then repeat these steps again (unpair and repair again) and this time set up as new.

You can hopefully resolve this problem by using the tips described in this article and never get any password prompts again on your watch.

See also: How To Find Your Missing Apple Watch

Dr. Serhat Kurt worked as a Senior Technology Director specializing in Apple solutions for small and medium-sized educational institutions. He holds a doctoral degree (or doctorate) from the University of Illinois at Urbana / Champaign and a master’s degree from Purdue University. He is a former faculty member. Here is his LinkedIn profile and Google Scholar profile. Email Serhat Kurt.

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2 Comments

  1. I’ve been seeing this issue. I suspect it is related to new security requirements imposed on the Apple ID’s containing personal health information.

    People may have set up their watch with what was PREVIOUSLY a secure enough password, but now, it is no longer considered secure enough to hold personal health data.

    Officially Apple has requires:
    – 8 overall characters.
    – 1 uppercase.
    -1 lowercase.
    – At least 1 number.
    Apple help topic HT201303 also mentions, “Apple also uses other password rules to make sure your password isn’t easy to guess.”

    Password aspects which I have recently seen rejected by the Apple ID portal include:
    – using words or phrases included in the email address.
    – including your First or Last name in the password.
    – only 1 number at the end of the password.
    – just the number “1” added to the end of the password. More digits will be considered more secure. A year is 4 digits, half way to the required 8 characters, but the User’s Birth Year may be rejected.
    – repeating number digits. I have seen “PetsName2022” rejected due to repeating digits. Unclear if it’s because of the two consecutive 2’s or the three overall 2’s. Falling back to “PetsName2021” was accepted.

    Reply

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