You can change your Apple Watch face from the watch itself or from your iPhone
The easiest way to change your Apple Watch face is to long-press the current face on your watch screen, then swipe left or right through available options and tap the one you want. If you prefer to work from your iPhone instead, open the Watch app, go to the Face Gallery, pick a new face, and tap "Add" — it will appear on your watch within seconds. Both methods work equally well; choose whichever feels more natural to you.
You can have multiple faces on your watch at once and switch between them by long-pressing and swiping. This means you can keep a simple time-only face for workouts, a colorful one for everyday use, and an information-dense one for checking weather and calendar events — all without deleting anything.
Key Takeaways
- Long-press the current face on your watch screen, swipe to browse faces, and tap to select a new one.
- You can also change faces through the Watch app on your iPhone by opening Face Gallery and tapping "Add."
- Your watch can store multiple faces at once, and you switch between them by long-pressing and swiping left or right.
- Some faces let you customize colors, complications (small data widgets), and background images after you add them.
- If you do not see a face you want, check the Face Gallery in the Watch app — it shows more options than appear on the watch itself.
Changing a face directly on your Apple Watch
Start by long-pressing the watch face itself — not a button, but the actual display showing the time. Hold your finger on the screen for about two seconds until the face zooms out slightly and a row of dots appears at the bottom. This tells you the watch is ready to let you switch faces.
Swipe left or right across the screen to scroll through the faces you already have on your watch. Each swipe moves you to the next face. When you see one you want to use, lift your finger and tap it. The face becomes active immediately, and you are back to the normal watch view. If you want to customize it — changing colors, adding weather information, or adjusting the style — long-press again and tap "Edit" at the bottom of the screen.
If you have never added extra faces before, you will only see one or two options when you swipe. That is normal. The next section explains how to add more faces to choose from.
Adding new faces through the Watch app on your iPhone
Open the Watch app on your iPhone — it is the app with a picture of an Apple Watch on a gray background. Tap the "Face Gallery" tab at the bottom of the screen. You will see rows of watch faces organized by type: Modular, Chronograph, Solar, Portraits, and others. Scroll through to find one that interests you.
Tap the face you want to add. A preview appears showing what it looks like on your watch. Tap the "Add" button in the bottom right corner. Within a few seconds, the face appears on your watch and is ready to use. You can now long-press on your watch and swipe to find it in your face rotation.
The Watch app shows far more faces than you will see if you only browse on the watch itself, so this is the best way to discover options you might not have known existed. You can add as many faces as you want — there is no limit.
Customizing a face after you add it
Most watch faces let you change colors, add small data displays called complications, and adjust the overall style. To customize, long-press the face on your watch until it zooms out, then tap "Edit" at the bottom. You will see options specific to that face — for example, the Modular face lets you add up to four complications (like weather, calendar, or activity rings), while the Solar face lets you choose the background color.
Swipe left and right within the Edit screen to see all the customization options for that particular face. Tap any option to change it. When you are done, swipe all the way to the right and tap "Done." Your changes save automatically.
Not every face has the same customization options. A simple face like Numerals might only let you change the color, while a complex one like Infograph lets you add multiple complications and adjust text size. Tap "Edit" to see what your chosen face can do.
Removing a face you no longer want
Long-press the face on your watch until it zooms out and the dots appear at the bottom. Swipe to the face you want to remove, then swipe up from the bottom of the screen. A trash icon appears. Tap it to delete the face. The face is removed from your watch but remains in the Face Gallery on your iPhone, so you can add it back later if you change your mind.
You cannot delete the very last face on your watch — your watch must always have at least one active face. If you try to delete your only face, nothing happens.
Troubleshooting: A face you added is not showing up
If you added a face through the Watch app on your iPhone but do not see it when you long-press on your watch, wait 30 seconds and try again. Sometimes the watch takes a moment to sync. If it still does not appear, force-close the watch face by pressing the side button on your watch, then try long-pressing again.
If a face is grayed out in the Face Gallery on your iPhone, it means your watch model does not support it. Some faces require newer Apple Watch hardware. Check which model you own by going to Settings > General > About on your watch, then look at the Face Gallery to see which faces are available for your specific model.
If you recently updated your watch software, restart your watch by holding the side button until the power-off slider appears, then slide it to turn off the watch. Wait 10 seconds and press the side button again to turn it back on. This often fixes syncing problems between your watch and iPhone.
Moving a face to a different position in your rotation
Long-press on your watch to enter face-switching mode. Swipe to the face you want to move, then press and hold it (do not just tap — hold for about one second). The face will vibrate slightly. Now swipe left or right to move it to a new position in your rotation. When it is where you want it, release your finger. The new order saves automatically.
This is useful if you have a face you use every day but it is buried in the middle of your rotation. Moving it to the first or second position means fewer swipes to reach it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use a photo from my iPhone as a watch face background?
Yes. Open the Watch app on your iPhone, go to Face Gallery, and look for the "Photos" face. Tap it, then tap "Add." On the next screen, choose which photo from your iPhone you want to use. The photo appears on your watch face, and you can add complications on top of it if the face supports them.
Why do some faces look different on my watch than they do in the preview?
Watch faces scale and adjust based on your specific Apple Watch model and size. A 41mm watch displays faces differently than a 45mm watch. The preview in the Watch app shows a general version, but the actual face on your wrist may have slightly different proportions or text size. This is normal and does not mean anything is wrong.
Can I share a watch face I customized with someone else?
Not directly through the watch. However, if you customize a face and want someone else to use the same setup, you can take a screenshot of it and send it to them, but they will have to manually recreate the customization on their own watch. There is no built-in sharing feature for face configurations.
What happens to my faces if I get a new Apple Watch?
When you set up a new Apple Watch and sign in with the same Apple ID, your faces and customizations transfer automatically during the setup process. You do not have to add them again. If you set up the new watch as a fresh device instead of restoring from backup, you will need to add faces manually through the Watch app.
Is there a way to get more faces than what appears in the Face Gallery?
The Face Gallery shows all the faces available for your specific watch model. Apple releases new faces with major software updates, but you cannot download faces from outside sources or create custom ones yourself. Checking the Face Gallery after a watchOS update is the best way to see if new options have been added.