The Portraits watch face is one of the highlights of watchOS 8. Not only does it provide a new way to customize your watch face, it also improves your photo viewing experience on your Apple Watch. Each time you tap the display or raise your wrist, one of your favorite portrait shots will appear on the screen. You can even zoom in or out to get a closer look at your memories. Portraits Watchface is undoubtedly a notable addition to watchOS, but it has been reported to be non-functional for many users. So I came up with seven best ways to fix the issue where the Portraits Watch face doesn’t work on the Apple Watch. If this issue also applies to your smartwatch, try these viable solutions.
Contents
- 1 7 fixes to fix portrait watch face not working on Apple Watch
- 1.1 How Does Portraits Watch Face work on Apple Watch?
- 1.2 1. Make sure your Apple Watch is compatible
- 1.3 2. Reconfigure the portrait watch face
- 1.4 3. Turn off / on Wake-on Rest Raise and Wake-on Crown Up.
- 1.5 4. Make sure theater mode is disabled
- 1.6 5. Hard reset your Apple Watch
- 1.7 6. Update your Apple Watch
- 1.8 7. Last resort: Erase your Apple Watch and re-pair it with your iPhone
- 2 Fixed an issue where Portraits Watch Face did not work on Apple Watch
7 fixes to fix portrait watch face not working on Apple Watch
There are reports that portrait mode photos do not appear when you raise your wrist or tap the display, but there are also reports that turning the digital crown does nothing. This issue can occur for a variety of reasons, including misconfigurations, compatibility, and even hidden bugs, so try different solutions to fix a non-functional Portraits watchface. But before we start with troubleshooting tips, let’s first understand how the Portraits Watch Face works on your Apple Watch.
How Does Portraits Watch Face work on Apple Watch?
The portrait watch face uses shots in “portrait” mode to create a deep multi-layer watch face. Watchface intelligently recognizes images and crops them to accentuate your subject, improving the photo viewing experience on your Apple Watch.
Choose up to 24 portrait mode photos and customize your Apple Watch portrait watch face in three different styles: classic, modern, and round. Each time you raise your wrist or tap the display on your smartwatch, a new image will appear on your screen. Even better, you can also use the digital crown to zoom in and out on your face. See the GIF below!

1. Make sure your Apple Watch is compatible
First and foremost, make sure your Apple Watch is compatible with your Portraits watch face. The following is a list of Apple Watch models that support Portraits watch faces.
- Apple Watch Series 4
- Apple Watch Series 5
- Apple Watch SE
- Apple Watch Series 6
- Apple Watch Series 7
Please note that the Portraits watch face requires an image in “Portrait” mode captured on an iPhone running iOS 10.1 or later.
2. Reconfigure the portrait watch face
Make sure the Portraits watch face is fully configured. It may sound very naive, but many of us forget to check the basics, especially when dealing with new features, which can be annoying later. Therefore, be sure to reconfigure it.
- Go to View the app On your iPhone -> Face gallery Tabs at the bottom of the screen -> Portrait-> Select Photo.

- now, Select a portrait image From your photo library. Then customize the style and complexity.Then tap addition..

If your smartwatch is within distance, your Portraits watch face will immediately appear on your screen. If that doesn’t happen Turn Bluetooth off / on iPhone ([設定]->[Bluetooth]) And Apple Watch ([設定]->[Bluetooth]), Reboot both devices.
3. Turn off / on Wake-on Rest Raise and Wake-on Crown Up.
If you can’t see the new portrait photo on your watch after tapping the display or raising your wrist, try turning it off / on. Wake on Wrist Raise and Wake On Crown Up.
- Open Settings app On Apple Watch -> Display and brightness..
- Then turn the toggle off / on Wake on Wrist Raise and Wake On Crown Up.. Then restart your smartwatch.

After the wearable device restarts, tap the display to see if you can see the new portrait image. If so, you have resolved the issue with your Apple Watch Portraits watch face.
4. Make sure theater mode is disabled
If Theater Mode (also known as Cinema Mode) is enabled, raising your wrist will not turn on your Apple Watch display. Therefore, if you raise your wrist and the smartwatch display does not start, make sure that theater mode is turned off.
- Swipe up from the bottom edge of the display and press the theater mode icon to turn it off.

5. Hard reset your Apple Watch
If your Portraits watch face doesn’t work properly on your Apple Watch, hard reset your smartwatch (also known as a forced restart). Well known for troubleshooting common watchOS issues, it’s worth a try.
- Press and hold the digital crown and side button At the same time, until the Apple Watch screen goes black and the Apple logo appears on the screen.

6. Update your Apple Watch
If the issue persists, your Apple Watch may be aware of a hidden bug in watchOS. Given the buggy watchOS 8 (and the latest watchOS version), this possibility shouldn’t be overlooked.
Update watchOS directly from your Apple Watch
- Open Apple Watch Settings App-> General-> Software Update.. Now, let your Apple Watch check for software updates before you can download and install the latest version of watchOS as usual.

Update watchOS using a paired iPhone
- Go to View the app on your iPhone->[マイウォッチ]Tab->[一般]->[ソフトウェアアップデート]..
- Now wait for a while for the device to check for updates. When you see the available watchOS updates, download and install them.

7. Last resort: Erase your Apple Watch and re-pair it with your iPhone
If you’re having trouble fixing your Portraits watch face, erase your Apple Watch and re-pair it with your iPhone. This radical solution is always very reliable for fixing complex watchOS issues. watchOS is designed to automatically back up important data when you erase content, and you can even restore the backup during setup so you don’t have to worry about losing your data.
Erase Apple Watch from your wrist
- Move to Settings app -> General-> Reset..Now tap Erase all content and settings confirm.

Erase Apple Watch using iPhone
- Head to View the app On your iPhone -> General-> Reset.Then click “Clear Apple Watch content and settings” confirm.

After successfully erasing your Apple Watch View the app On your iPhone, follow the simple on-screen instructions to re-pair your smartwatch with your iPhone.
Fixed an issue where Portraits Watch Face did not work on Apple Watch
that’s it! Hopefully the Portraits watchface started working properly on watchOS devices. Reconfiguring and hard resetting your watch face will often help resolve the issue. And if these Apple Watch tips don’t work, updating your watch and re-pairing it with your iPhone can often help. That said, which of these solutions fixed the Portraits watch face on the wearable device? Don’t forget to share your valuable feedback with us.