Why wont my apple.watch swipe up

Here’s the crux of the article in video form:

Índice Show

Apple Watch users cannot access Control Center with ‘swipe up’ gesture
Some potential workarounds
Update 1 (May 10)
Update 2 (May 17)
Update 3 (May 19)
Update 4 (May 30)
Update 5 (June 22)
Update 6 (June 24)
Update 7 (July 1)
Update 8 (July 6)
Update 9 (July 8)
Update 10 (July 11)
Update 11 (July 15)
How to Fix Apple Watch Swipe Up/Down Gestures not Working
Fix 1: Reboot the Apple Watch
Fix 2: Force Restart the Watch
Fix 3: Try switching the Watch Faces
Fix 4: Re-pair the watch and set it up as new
Bottom Line

New updates are being added at the bottom of this story…….

Original story (published on April 14, 2022) follows:

The Apple Watch series is among the most popular smartwatches in the industry. The Apple wearable stands out for its premium design, many useful features, and perfect integration with the Apple ecosystem.

To facilitate navigation through the watch interface, there are some gestures that allow users to execute actions quickly.

For instance, there is a swipe-up gesture through which users can access the Apple Watch Control Center or notifications section.

However, according to multiple reports, the gesture is not working properly after recent watchOS updates (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7).

Apple Watch users cannot access Control Center with ‘swipe up’ gesture

There are many Apple Watch user reports related to the issue. Not only the ‘swipe up’ gesture is affected, but also the ‘swipe down’ gesture.

The problem in question prevents users from accessing their notifications, quick toggles from Control Center, change settings and more.

Source

Apple Watch not able to swipe up or down from watch face main screen

Series 4, 44mm. This happen every couple of days whew so am not able to wipe down to get my recent notifications, nor am I able to swipe up to change settings like mute the ringer, sleep, etc.

it is aggravating that the only way I have found to resolve the issue is to reboot the watch. Surely there is a better way to get it going and more so, why has Apple done anything to fix this known “Bug”?
Source

Up/down swipe no longer works

I can no longer swipe up or down on my Apple Watch. Trying to restart the watch by simultaneously pressing the side button and the crown wakes Siri, who can’t help me although he tried. How can I get the swipe back into my life?
Source

Multiple reports indicate that the issue started for many after the most recent watchOS 8.5.1 update.

Source

However, some users reported experiencing the glitch from earlier versions.

Source

Some potential workarounds

That said, there are some potential workarounds that reportedly help mitigate the problem. The first workaround is to force-reboot the watch when it occurs:

Hold the side button. Slide to power off. Wait a minute or so.

Reboot.

Should do the trick
Source

Also, you can try a reset by following the process below:

Reset the Watch, it will not affect your data. Press and hold the Digital Crown and the power button together until you see the Apple logo and then release. The Watch will reboot. Test.
Source

Finally, you can try to unpair and re-pair the Apple Watch to setup as a new device:

(Click on the image to expand)
Source

At the moment there is no official acknowledgment on the issue from Apple. We will update this story if there is any change on the matter.

Update 1 (May 10)

05:42 pm (IST): Many users are again reporting (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) that swipe-up gesture to open Control Center is not working for them.

Apple is yet to acknowledge this issue. And in the meantime, force restarting the watch can be a potential workaround.

Update 2 (May 17)

12:10 pm (IST): Apple has now released watchOS 8.6 update for eligible Apple Watches. And if you are still facing the issue with swipe-up gesture, then you can install the latest version and see if it gets resolved.

Update 3 (May 19)

06:11 pm (IST): One of the affected users said that he was able to access the notification and control center with slow swipes. So, users can try this solution and see if it helps.

Mine has done this since the last update. I have to slow down my swipes. (Source)

Update 4 (May 30)

01:52 pm (IST): According to a recent report, the issue where users can’t swipe up to access Control Center or notifications persists even after the latest update.

Update 5 (June 22)

06:45 pm (IST): Apple support suggests users remove any screen protector if installed and then try swiping up to get to the Control Center.

If you have any type of screen protector, please remove it and test again. (Source)

However, we doubt a screen protector could be interfering with the ability to swipe up to get to the Control Center since the issue gets fixed with a restart for a majority of users.

Update 6 (June 24)

06:34 pm (IST): Apple has released the second developer beta of watchOS 9, however, there’s no indication if it includes a fix for this issue.

Therefore, restarting the watch is the only workaround that might do the trick until any definitive fix is released.

Update 7 (July 1)

06:14 pm (IST): Users can try a complete factory reset of their Apple Watch in case the issue doesn’t get resolved by a reboot. This is a generic troubleshooting step that fixes the problem most of the time.

Update 8 (July 6)

05:13 pm (IST): Apple has released watchOS 8.7 beta 5 for developers, but there is no indication if it includes a fix for the swipe-up issue.

Update 9 (July 8)

06:21 pm (IST): The latest watchOS 9 developer beta 3 is now available to install. However, there’s no indication if it fixes the swipe-up issue.

Update 10 (July 11)

05:36 pm (IST): If this issue isn’t getting fixed by a restart, then users can try a temporary workaround where they need to tap and hold at the bottom while in apps and then swipe up.

How to open notifications/control center on #applewatch while in apps

• tap and hold top/bottom of your screen
• swipe down/up (Source)

Update 11 (July 15)

03:23 pm (IST): Apple has released watchOS 9 public beta 1. So, users who are still having issues accessing notifications or Control center using swipe up gesture can install it and see if the issue gets fixed.

PiunikaWeb started as purely an investigative tech journalism website with main focus on ‘breaking’ or ‘exclusive’ news. In no time, our stories got picked up by the likes of Forbes, Foxnews, Gizmodo, TechCrunch, Engadget, The Verge, Macrumors, and many others. Want to know more about us? Head here.

Many Apple Watch users are reporting a weird issue where they are not able to swipe up or down, making them unable to use the control center or notifications. The Apple Watch allows users to perform different swipe gestures to access different features of the watch. The swipe-up gesture is one of them that allows the users to access the Apple Watch Control Centre. Along with that the Swipe down gesture that has also been seen affected as per the reports, allows the users to access the notifications.

Many users have reported that they have started experiencing this issue after the watchOS 8.5.1 update. However, there are also users who have claimed that they are experiencing it prior to the aforementioned update. If you are also facing the same issue, then here are some workarounds that you can perform in order to get the Apple Watch Swipe Up/down gestures working again.

How to Fix Apple Watch Swipe Up/Down Gestures not Working

Besides the issue being reported by many Apple Watch users on various community sites, there have also been fixes shared by some of them. Here are the compiles workarounds to get the issue resolved.

Fix 1: Reboot the Apple Watch

There have been reports by the users that a simple reboot of the watch has fixed the issue for them. You can also do the same for yourself and here’s how.

Press and hold the side button to get the Power Off slider.
Swipe the POWER OFF slider to the left. This will power off your Apple watch.
Wait for a couple of seconds and press the side button again to boot the Apple Watch.

Once your Apple Watch is rebooted, try and check if the swipe up and down gestures are now working or not.

Fix 2: Force Restart the Watch

If the normal restart didn’t work for you, you can also try force restarting it. Many users have tried and fixed the issue by force restarting instead of performing the normal restart. To force restart the Apple Watch:

Press and hold the Side Button and the Digital Crown.
Release the buttons once you see the Apple logo on the screen.
Now, wait for the watch to boot up.

Once the watch is booted up, check if the issue was fixed.

Fix 3: Try switching the Watch Faces

This may sound a bit irrelevant but a user has reported that he was able to fix the issue by simply changing the watch faces. You can also give it a try.

To switch between the Apple Watch faces, simply swipe left or right on your present watch face. Cycle through the watch faces that you already have and simply stop swiping when you get your desired watch face.

Fix 4: Re-pair the watch and set it up as new

Lastly, if nothing works you can try unpairing the Watch from your paired device and pairing it back again. And during re-pairing, do not restore the backup. Instead, set up the watch as a new device. This process will not erase any of your previous health and fitness data or award badges as all of this data is stored on the paired iOS device and not on the watch.

Bottom Line

With that said, these were the current known ways by which you can tackle the issue of swipe up and down gestures not working on your Apple Watch. Currently, there is no official acknowledgement from Apple regarding this issue and hence it’s hard to expect any official fix from the company any time soon. I will be updating the fixing guide accordingly and if you have some other way to fix the issue, please share it with us in the comments below.