Watch will not swipe or tap in workouts

I’ve noticed this issue for a few days. In my case, it seemed to be caused by the check-in reminder. I received a prompt to start a check-in and I dismissed it by clicking on the x, bypassing setup of the check-in feature for the first time. I tried another workout and instead of dismissing, I stepped through the check-in setup. Now the Workout app is responding to my taps and swipes again. Alternatively, try disabling check-in reminders.

Did you try to set the watch back to factory settings and set it up as a new device, without using the latest backup?

This would be a way to rule out defective software.

You will only lose your created Watch faces and may have to activate the cards in your Wallet app again.

Then try to start workouts again.

Unpair and erase your Apple Watch - Apple Support

Did you somehow enable the Water Lock during your workout?

The Water Lock will lock your screen to make sure, that no buttons are touched on the workout screen accidentally.

How to use Water Lock and eject water from your Apple Watch - Apple Support

Step 1. Force Restart.

According to Apple:

To force restart your Apple Watch, press and hold both the side button and Digital Crown for at least 10 seconds, then release both buttons when you see the Apple logo ().

Step 2. Reset Watch.

How to reset your Apple Watch:



1. Put your watch on its charger and keep it there until you complete these steps.
2. Press and hold the side button until you see Power Off.
3. Press and hold the Digital Crown until you see Erase all content and settings.
4. Tap Reset, then tap Reset again to confirm.
5. Wait for the process to finish, then set up your Apple Watch again. When asked, restore from a backup.

NOTE — Erasing all content and settings erases all media, data, and settings from your Apple Watch, but it does not remove Activation Lock. To remove Activation Lock, unpair the watch first. Before your watch is erased, a backup of its contents is created on your iPhone.

Step 3. Connect Watch.

Then make sure both devices are in close proximity with the following settings:

• AirPlane turned off
• WiFi turned on
• Bluetooth turned on

Click ▶︎ Connect/Pair your Watch for detailed instructions.

Need more help?

• United States: 1-800-APLCARE.
• Contact Support.
• Apple Watch Support.
• Apple Watch User Guide.

Good luck! 👋🏼😉

Smiliñ 😎 Brian

I’ve been experiencing the same for about 10 days to 2 weeks. This was never an issue before. I have to hold the side button and crown until the watch resets and then it allows me to end my workout again. I have to repeat this process every time I do a workout though. It’s very frustrating.

Which Apple Watch are you using?

Did you also try to set it up as a new device to rule out a software issue?

I was never able to dismiss or in any way respond to the check-in reminders (or course no one I know wants to receive them, that's crazy) They just rendered workout function very hard to use. I have to initiate and end workout using Siri since the watch face is unresponsive. I disabled reminder but interface is still not working. I can pause using the crown button once workout is over but then it keeps wanting to restart workout. Siri seems to be the only way which is very annoying. Yes I have restarted and get automatic OS updates.

I agree this seems to be related to the OS update where the check-in reminders were forced on us.

Apple Watch series 11 will not swipe to left to pause the workout.