Apple Watch Series 5 Timer not working properly

Hi Bill,

It sounds like you're having trouble with using the Timer app on your Apple Watch, and I want to help.

Here are the steps you would normally follow to create a timer:

Set a timer on Apple Watch - Apple Support

If the Timer app isn't responding as expected, I recommend forcing the app to quit and then restarting your Apple Watch.

To force an app to quit on Apple Watch: With the app open, press and hold the side button to show the power options. Then press and hold the Digital Crown to quit the app.

Next, press and hold the side button to power off and start again.

If the issue persists, I recommend unpairing and pairing your Apple Watch again:

Unpair and erase your Apple Watch - Apple Support

Set up your Apple Watch - Apple Support

Good luck!

Thanks for using the Apple Support Communities.

I had a similar problem with the custom timer on my series 4 40mm watch.

I found tapping only on the upper half of the “start” button solved my problem.

I had thought I was tapping the start button, but the watch sensed I was tapping “cancel”.

It would help if Apple could adjust the sensitive areas of the “start” and “cancel” buttons to make them more distinct.

I did what was mentioned for the Apple Watch 5. I closed the app and then restarted my watch. All fixed. When I opened the Timer app all the timer options are there. Th aks

I saw this today for the first time on my series 4; upgraded to 6.1 (17S84) when it hit the streets; not had any problems until now.

Went to set a timer, found it sitting as I left it last time I used it some days ago. Unable to cancel or restart (a custom 16min timer).

Force quit the timer app and it appears to be working again - more than once (I tried three in a row) - which is not to say it won't throw a wobbly in the future. Still definitely never seen it before, so my bet is the OS update.

I can confirm that this is a bug. The timer operated normally until the introduction of watchOS 6

I have been trying to figure out how to reproduce the bug reliably, but it seems to occur after repeating the same timer multiple times without leaving the timer app. I can relate to mfieldva in terms of usage and why using siri is not a practical workaround.

After. hitting repeat on the timer multiple times, hitting pause changes the dialogue to cancel/start. the start button still functions as expected but the cancel button does not lead you back to the timer selection of the interface.

This is a bug, and i have to basically have to reassert my watch every-time i use my timer.

You don’t have to restart the watch to fix the frozen timer. You can force close the app by holding down the button on the right while the timer is active. Once it changes to the log off screen, hold the crown button down until it returns to the home screen. Now you will be able to restart the app. It’s still a pain but much faster than restarting the watch itself

I have the same problem on my series 3 watchOS 6. Siri is a good work around till they fix the bug. Works perfect for a baking timer.

Newest update fixes the problem. Install updates on phone then restart watch.

Restarting it solved the issue.

I have been experiencing this issue with the 4. I've called in the last 3 days in a row. No solution except powering off and powering on, which in my opinion is unacceptable. They offered to send me a new watch for the exchange of my credit card, I declined that option.

The issue with the watch being replaced is if there is truly a bug issue then the timer function will not work properly on any device. If this isn't accurate I'd love some feedback.

To address your issue Bill one thing that worked as I read in the answers on a different forum was to ask Siri on the watch to set a timer, some how that over rode the defect on the watch and I was able to use my timer again and stop and return to it.

Best of luck to you.

Same problem here. Apple Watch series 3. I can use the timer one time. After that, I have to either quit the timer app or restart the Apple Watch. Very inconvenient and the first time this bug has appeared since I’ve owned an Apple Watch. This is an issues with either iOS 13 or Apple Watch version 6.x. Could be a combination of both. My best guess and hope is that this will be fixed via an update within the next week or 2...

So... Even when the time is in the "stuck" mode, I have had success starting the timer with Siri by asking to "set the timer to XX minutes". THIS DOES NOT FIX THE BUG, APPLE, but it is a work around that doesn't require re-starting the watch.

AGAIN, APPLE NEEDS TO FIX THIS BUG!

Same problem on a Series 2. Force quitting works (we'll see for how long). Clearly a bug in the 6.1 release. Thanks for fixing ASAP.

Using Siri to start a timer seems to get around the frozen buttons.