How to Change the Watch Face on a Wear OS Device

Changing the watch face on your smartwatch is one of the easiest ways to customize your wearable device — and it can go a long way toward adding your personality and unique flair to this wrist-worn gadget. Wearables running Wear OS are different from the popular Apple Watch and so have different ways to customize how it looks.

Before we dive into the steps for switching out the digital watch-face design, let's take a minute to review what, exactly, is an Wear OS device. These are smartwatches that run Google's wearable software called, you guessed it, Wear OS. This is the other main wearable platform apart from Apple's software for its Apple Watch lineup of products, and it includes all the functionality you'd expect, from notifications for incoming texts, emails and more to at-a-glance Google Now updates.

Some of the top Android Wear smartwatches include the Motorola Moto 360, the Sony Smartwatch 3, the Huawei Watch, and the LG Watch Urbane. If you know you want a smartwatch running Wear OS but aren't sure exactly where to go from there, consider narrowing down what type of design you'd prefer to sport on your wrist. For instance, some options, like the Moto 360, have a round watch display, while others, like the Sony Smartwatch 3, have a rectangular display and look a bit bulkier. You'll also want to think about whether you want a casual or fancy design, since some options, including the Huawei Watch, look dressier than others.

So, you've decided upon an Wear OS smartwatch, purchased it and maybe even have the newly arrived gadget in your hand right now. What do you do now? Well, you'll certainly want to download the apps that make the wearable most useful to you — from apps that track your workouts to weather apps, productivity apps, and more — but you also might want to download a watch face that has a bit more personality than the standard option that your smartwatch shipped with.

To download a new Wear OS watch face, head to the Wear OS app on your smartphone. Under the image of your watch, you'll see a selection of watch faces. Click More. Then, scroll down to the bottom of the screen and touch Get more watch faces. You should be able to view and download a wide variety of watch faces from here. If you're looking for some inspiration there are some pretty amazing Wear OS watch face options.

Note that this isn't the only option; you could also pay $1 to download the Facer app and explore and choose thousands of watch faces for Wear OS and other platforms. But if you're just getting started, you might as well try the "free" method first.

Okay, so let's now assume that you have downloaded the watch face you'd like to use on your Wear OS device. From here, you have three methods for changing up the face on your wearable.

This first option lets you switch up the watch face from the smartwatch's screen. 

This method goes through your smartphone rather than the smartwatch itself.

Open the Wear OS app on your phone.

This final option requires the most steps, but it accomplishes the same goal and the steps are relatively easy to follow.

Once you have found and installed a unique watch face, you may want to further customize your wearable device. 

There's another main way to add character to your smartwatch, and that's by swapping out the strap. Fortunately, most Wear OS watches use a 22mm band, so you shouldn't have a hard time finding a third-party option that both works and suits your fancy. If you don't know where to look, consider first perusing the official options sold by the watchmaker, and if nothing catches your eye, head over to Amazon and browse the broader selection of straps.