New watch series 11, passcode settings greyed out, cant set up Apple Pay.

Question

Level 1

4 points

New watch series 11, passcode settings greyed out, cant set up Apple Pay.

When I was setting up the watch it initially asked me to set up a passcode, which I did successfully.

However when I went to set up Apple wallet, it insists that I “must set up a passcode first”. When I go to passcode settings they are all inactive fields, except for wrist detection and complications, which I can toggle.

I have tried:

Switching iPhone and Watch off and on again (a few times)

Switching off VPN on my iPhone

Switching off complications and wrist detection

No luck with any of these fixes. Any ideas?

Apple Watch Series 11, watchOS 26

Posted on Dec 6, 2025 2:37 PM

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Answer 1

6x6

Level 6

19,257 points

Dec 6, 2025 5:57 PM in response to Madabad

Try to unpair the watch and pair it again but choose not to recover the watch backup. The watch will be set up as a brand new device and you should be able to set it properly.

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Answer 2

Madabad Author

Level 1

4 points

Dec 9, 2025 12:27 AM in response to 6x6

Thanks for that, I gave it a go, a few times. Unfortunately with no success:

Reset via phone, re installed as new watch, set long passcode during setup, no change.

Reset via phone, set short passcode during setup, no change

Reset via watch, set short passcode during setup, no change.

It looks like this bug has been around for years. At this stage I’m considering just returning the watch. What a disappointment!

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