TheGoogle Pixel Watch 2is packed with features, making it one of thebest Android smartwatchesworth your money. When you set up your new smartwatch, Google urges you to use a PIN or pattern lock for additional safety. You may find this irritating, as the Pixel Watch automatically locks itself when you take it off your wrist. When you wear the watch again, it doesn’t display incoming notifications unless you enter the screen lock. Turn off the screen lock on your Pixel Watch to avoid this behavior. Follow this guide to learn how.
All the safety features on the Google Pixel Watch 2
Emergency SOS, Safety Check, Safety Signal, and much more!
Why you shouldn’t deactivate the PIN or pattern lock on your Pixel Watch
Avoid turning off the screen lock on the Pixel Watch. Doing so turns off device protection features, which ensures no one else can use your watch if it is stolen. The screen lock also provides an additional layer of security, as you must enter it before resetting the watch. This ensures no one apart from you’re able to reset the watch.
Google Wallet access is also turned off, so you can’t use the watch to make NFC-based payments or show your boarding pass at the check-in counter. Turn off the screen lock if you are okay with losing access to these features.
You also miss out onusing Extend Unlock— whenever Google rolls out the feature — if you don’t have a screen lock on the watch.
How to turn off screen lock on your Pixel Watch or Pixel Watch 2
Deactivating your Pixel Watch’s pattern or PIN lock is easy, though you must remember the screen lock. Otherwise, it can be challenging to turn off this safety measure.
Alternatively, use the companion Pixel Watch app on the paired phone to turn off the PIN or pattern lock on the smartwatch.
Turning off the screen lock doesn’t impact theSmart Lock functionality of your Pixel Watch.
What to do if you forget your Pixel Watch’s PIN or pattern lock
You must know your Pixel Watch’s PIN or pattern lock to unlock it. What if you forget the screen lock and can’t enter the correct code or pattern? Or maybe your Pixel Watch stopped recognizing the unlock PIN or pattern. You must factory reset the wearable from the recovery menu.
Your Pixel Watch resets itself without entering the unlock pattern or PIN. As part of this process, the data on the watch is erased, and the watch is unpaired with your phone.
The watch automatically restarts after the reset. Pair it again with a new phone after this. You might need to log in with the same Google account previously used on the wearable during the pairing process, but you won’t enter the screen lock PIN or pattern.
Rebooting into the fastboot and recovery menu could be finicky. Try again if the steps don’t work the first time around. Also, ensure your Pixel Watch has at least 50% battery before resetting it.
Learnhow to back up your Pixel Watchto ensure data loss is not an issue.
Enjoy your new Google Pixel Watch 2
Google’s Pixel Watch lineup gets many things right, especially the second-generation model. The Fitbit integration makes these wearables great for fitness tracking and health monitoring. The best part is you don’tneed Fitbit Premium to use the Pixel Watch, so you don’t need to pay for another service every month.
Google bundles six months of free Fitbit Premium for new users, so make sure to redeem the offer. Also, check out ourtips to extend the battery life of your Pixel Watch 2and make it last longer.
Google Pixel Watch 2
The Google Pixel Watch 2 is the sequel to Google’s first self-branded smartwatch. The second generation doesn’t reinvent the wheel, instead offering a handful of low-key improvements like a redesigned digital crown, Wear OS 4 out of the box, and a newer chipset that should offer better performance and battery life.
