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My Apple Watch Ultra 2 has been acting sporadic

My watch went crazy today, flicking between different screens, typing its own texts, I couldn’t stop it or turn it off, had to just wait for battery to go flat to stop.


[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Posted on Feb 1, 2024 4:56 AM

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Posted on Feb 2, 2024 8:20 AM

I have the same issue! The watch went crazy, hopping from app to app. I took it off from my wrist and it looks like some one is trying to guess the password - trying different number combinations.

I’m not able to restart it. It looks like I have to wait until it runs out of battery.

119 replies

Apr 5, 2024 2:34 AM in response to wickedvix

It's a bug in 10.3 on s9 and U2 watches.

Update phone to iOS17.4.1 and watch to watch OS 10.4


If a hard reboot does not fix it then Wipe Watch and set up again then update


Put Apple Watch on its charger.


Press and hold the side button until you see the screen with the power button in the upper-right corner, then let go of the side button. If your Apple Watch has an earlier version of watchOS, you see the Power Off slider instead of the power button.


Press and hold the Digital Crown until you see the red Reset button.


Tap Reset, then tap Reset again to confirm. 


After Apple Watch unpairs completely, you can pair again. Remember that you'll need the Apple ID and password that were used to set up the watch.



Feb 5, 2024 4:10 PM in response to Enoyls

My ultra 2 also went crazy today. I do not think moisture or exercise was the source as far as I know, although maybe my having paused a workout contributed to it? Was just standing around waiting to pick up kid from school. The Digital Crown seems normal, but like the other posts, it will sometimes flick around to different apps, and does not really seem to respond to my touch anymore. Also tries entering wrong pass codes. I've tried restarting it, and after the "wait X more minutes" I think I've finally got it back to normal. Frustrating!

Apr 10, 2024 7:03 AM in response to Needhelpapplewatch222

Same issue here

then my iPhone started to call phone numbers (from my favorite list ) randomly

folks in different timezone - not happy


this builds on previous software issues: like any call would go through from the phone to me watch and the line was open

I spoke to genius desk twice and the agreed this is a major issue (like when you are on a business zoom call). They could reproduce the issue - but not solve it

in essence : this is not the product I bought

software updates +/- AI learning changes the features

i consider returning the ultra 2 - and get a Timex watch 😆

Apr 10, 2024 4:30 PM in response to Needhelpapplewatch222

It happened to me today. Ultra 2. Kept trying to start the compass. Then screens kept changing. I took it off my wrist and then the keyboard was typing random numbers in the Lock Screen. Locked me out. I tried to turn it off but the screen was unresponsive and wouldn’t let me slide to power off. I finally held the crown and side button and did a hard reset. Now waiting the 15 minutes until it lets me type a passcode again. Really freaky.

Apr 16, 2024 2:53 PM in response to LD150

To day 4/16/2024 this is the third time my watch had done this! I was driving and it affected my music on my iPhone through my car then it made the siren go off, it was clicking and was going to dial 911! Maps suddenly started a destination. I took it off my wrist and it was still going nuts! It is fully up to date on software updates.

I have unpaired it and paired it the second time it did this as per your instructions. It seemed to have fixed it. But now I can't get into it because it is locked out for 17 minutes. Then after 17 minutes it starts trying to unlock and locks out again. It will not power done on (even force shut down)my wrist or charger using your procedures. I shut off my bluetooth on my phone and will wait till battery dies! But i'm afraid it will try to call 911 again! So the software update didn't repair it!

Apr 17, 2024 5:35 PM in response to LD150

I tried that like ten times If the power button would come on it would disappear before I could press it or I pressed it while it was in the screen and it did nothing. Sometimes it would go to the slide to power off button but it wouldn't slide at all and then disappear! As I said I let it sit in my drawer until the watch battery died sometime today. Put it on the charger and a few seconds the apple logo lit up and it powered up like normal! Since I have already unpaired and reset the watch, then repaired it to my phone, I don't think it is going to work. I checked for updates today and it said it is up to date! I worried if I bring it in for repair I will lose the pulse-ox feature! Due to my health problems that is a big reason for buying the watch in the first place!

Apr 18, 2024 8:39 AM in response to Movering44

So after speaking with Apple Support on the 9th of April 2024, (following my Ultra 2’s autonomous meltdown at 2AM that morning) I was advised that it could either be a hardware issue or a software issue, but they would have to have the Ultra 2 to find out. They had an appointment available at my local Genius Bar for later that day. They confirmed an issue and sent my watch off for “repair/ diagnostic”. I heard back yesterday, after a little chasing from me, and they vaguely stated that they had completed their diagnostics and that they were sending me a replacement product. No real information on the root cause of the issue was given. I can only presume that it was primarily a hardware issue or they wouldn’t have replaced it? Guess I’ll keep guessing! Pleased to have “a” watch back on my wrist, but definitely not the “it just works“ experience that I pay for or I’ve come to expect from Apple. Thanks to the Community support, first time I’ve used it. I’ve learnt a few things that I hopefully won’t need! Best regards

May 20, 2024 12:39 PM in response to Needhelpapplewatch222

My watch was possessed today- I tried to power it down- instead it called 911 and the. Sent an emergency message to all my emergency contacts and freaked my kids out. Now it just entered its own passcode and I’m now locked out for an hour before I can even try anything. I’m not near my charger so who knows how long it will be locked out or just die. So annoyed- relatively new.

Apr 10, 2024 8:56 AM in response to thomaso2

Read the whole thread next time.


It's a bug in 10.3 on s9 and U2 watches.

Update phone to iOS17.4.1 and watch to watch OS 10.4


If a hard reboot does not fix it then Wipe Watch and set up again then update


Put Apple Watch on its charger.


Press and hold the side button until you see the screen with the power button in the upper-right corner, then let go of the side button. If your Apple Watch has an earlier version of watchOS, you see the Power Off slider instead of the power button.


Press and hold the Digital Crown until you see the red Reset button.


Tap Reset, then tap Reset again to confirm. 


After Apple Watch unpairs completely, you can pair again. Remember that you'll need the Apple ID and password that were used to set up the watch.

My Apple Watch Ultra 2 has been acting sporadic

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