How to Change the Watch Face on a Wear Device

Tap and hold the watch screen background to see a list of watch faces, or use the Wear app on your phone

By
Sarah Silbert
Sarah Silbert
Writer
  • Bard College
  • Sarah Lawrence College
Sarah Lawrence is a consumer technology writer whose work has appeared in Fortune and MIT Technology Review. She's also a previous senior editor at Engadget.
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Updated on May 18, 2023

What to Know

  • Easiest: Tap and hold the watch screen background to see a list of faces. Swipe to view the options. Tap one to select it.
  • Use the watch settings: Swipe down from the top. Swipe right and select Settings > Change watch face.
  • Use the Wear mobile app: Locate watch faces under the watch image. Tap a face or tap More for other options.

This article explains how to change the watch face on a Wear device. Instructions in this article apply to all Wear smartwatches and wearables.

How to Change the Wear Watch Face

Here's the easiest way to change your smartwatch background:

  1. Touch the screen to wake up your watch if the screen is dim.

  2. Tap and hold any place on the background of the watch screen until you see a list of watch faces to choose from.

    On some smartwatches, swipe left on the watch screen to see the watch face options.

  3. Swipe from right to left to see all your options. 

  4. Tap the watch face you want to set as the background.

Wear OS watchfaces.
Alphabet, Inc.

Change the Wear Watch Face Through the Watch Settings

It's also possible to customize the watch face through the Wear settings:

  1. Tap the screen to wake up your watch if the screen is dim.

  2. Swipe down from the top of the screen.

  3. Swipe from left to right until you see the Settings gear and tap it.

  4. Keep scrolling until you see Change watch face and tap it

  5. Swipe from right to left to view all your watch face options and tap the one you want.

Change the Watch Face Through the Wear App on Your Smartphone

It's also possible to change the watch face through your smartphone rather than the smartwatch itself. Open the Wear app on your phone and look for a selection of watch faces under the image of your watch. Tap the one you want or tap More to see additional options.

More Ways to Customize Your Wear Watch

The other main way to customize your device is by swapping out the smartwatch strap. Fortunately, most Wear watches use a 22mm band, so you shouldn't have a hard time finding a suitable third-party option. If you don't know where to look, consider first perusing the official options sold by the watchmaker. If nothing catches your eye, head over to Amazon to browse a broader selection of straps.

Where to Download Wear Watch Faces

To download new Wear watch faces, open the Wear app on your smartphone. Under the image of your watch, you can see a selection of watch faces. Tap More, then scroll down to the bottom of the screen and tap Get more watch faces.

Alternatively, you can download the Facer app and explore thousands of watch faces for Wear and other platforms.

FAQ
  • How do I make a Wear watch face?

    Use one of the official Android Developers' tools for making Wear watch faces such as Watch Face Studio, Watch Face Format, or Jetpack Watch Face APIs.

  • Why is there a white dot on the bottom of my Wear watch face?

    A white dot on your Wear watch means you have unread notifications. When choosing your watch face, tap the Settings gear and turn off Notification indicator to get rid of it.

  • How do I update my Wear watch?

    Wear updates should be automatic, but to manually update, go to Settings > System > About > System updates. To toggle automatic updates, go to the Play Store > Settings > Auto-update apps.

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