How To Change Face On Apple Watch

Tips
1

I just got an Apple Watch and I can’t figure out how to change the watch face or customize it the way I want. I’ve tried pressing and holding the screen and poking around the Watch app on my iPhone, but I’m clearly missing something. Can someone walk me through the exact steps to switch faces and edit complications so I can set up a look that works for me?

2

On the Watch itself:

  1. Wake the screen.
  2. Press and hold on the current watch face for about a second.
  3. You should see a horizontal list of faces.
  4. Swipe left or right to choose another face.
  5. Tap “Customize” under a face.
  6. Swipe left and right to move between customization pages:
    • Colors
    • Style
    • Complications
  7. Turn the Digital Crown to change color or style.
  8. Tap a complication area, then turn the Crown to pick what you want shown.
  9. Press the Digital Crown once to save, then once more to go back to the face.

To add new faces on the Watch:

  1. Press and hold the face again.
  2. Swipe all the way right until you see a “New” or “+” tile.
  3. Tap it.
  4. Turn the Crown or swipe to pick a face.
  5. Tap it, then customize as above.

From the iPhone Watch app:

  1. Open the Watch app.
  2. Tap “Face Gallery” at the bottom.
  3. Scroll through categories like Activity, Photos, Modular, etc.
  4. Tap a face you like.
  5. Pick color, style, complications.
  6. Tap “Add” at the top.
  7. The face goes to “My Faces” and syncs to your Watch.

To re‑order or delete faces:

  1. On the Watch, press and hold the face.
  2. In the face carousel, drag a face left or right to re‑order.
  3. Tap the small “X” on top of a face to remove it.

Common issues:

• If nothing happens when you press and hold, tap the screen once, then try a slightly longer press. Do not push the side button or Crown.
• If haptics feel weird, you might press too hard and trigger other stuff, so press firm but not with a ton of force.

Try starting with “Infograph Modular” or “Modular” if you want many complications, or “Photos” if you only want a picture and time.

3

Sounds like you’re doing the right things, just missing a couple of gotchas that trip almost everybody up at first.

@viaggiatoresolare already covered the step‑by‑step stuff on the watch and in the iPhone app, so I’ll skip repeating that and focus on what usually breaks the process:

  1. Make sure you’re actually on a watch face
    If you see apps in a grid or list, or something that looks like a menu, you’re not on the face.

    • Press the Digital Crown once (or twice) until you just see the time and complications.
    • Then tap the screen to wake it and do the press & hold.

  2. Use a “press & hold,” not a hard physical press
    This sounds dumb, but on older models people try to physically press the glass like a button.

    • Just touch and hold your finger on the center of the screen for about a second.
    • If Control Center or Notification Center shows up, you’re starting too close to the top/bottom edge. Try the exact middle.

  3. Check if you have a passcode / Wrist Detection issue
    If the watch is locked:

    • You’ll see a small lock icon.
    • Unlock it first (type the passcode or unlock your iPhone if that’s enabled).
      While it’s locked, long‑press doesn’t always behave right for editing faces.

  4. Make sure “My Faces” isn’t empty in the Watch app
    Sometimes people only play in “Face Gallery” and never tap “Add.”

    • In the Watch app on iPhone:
      • Go to the “My Watch” tab.
      • Scroll to “My Faces.”
      • If nothing is there, pick a face from “Face Gallery,” customize it, then hit Add.
        That should instantly show up in the swipe carousel on your actual watch.

  5. Complications can be confusing
    On some faces, not every little thing is editable, even if it looks like it should be.

    • If you tap an area in Customize mode and nothing highlights, that part is fixed by Apple.
    • Try a more flexible face like Infograph Modular, Modular, or California instead of some of the super minimal ones.

  6. Reordering can make it feel more natural
    Instead of hunting through the gallery every time:

    • Set up 3–5 faces you actually use.
    • On the watch in the faces carousel, drag them around so your main one is first, then a “workout” one, then maybe a “photo” one.
      Then you just swipe between them during the day.

  7. Photos face gotcha
    If you’re trying to use a photo and it keeps defaulting to something boring:

    • In the Watch app > Face Gallery > Photos:
      • Under “Content” pick “Selected Photos” or “Album.”
      • Actually select some photos or an album.
        Otherwise it just looks like it ignored you even though technically it did what you asked.

I slightly disagree with @viaggiatoresolare on pressing harder when nothing happens. On newer watchOS versions, pressing harder doesn’t do anything special; it’s all about how long your finger is on the screen, not pressure. So don’t mash it, just hold it a bit longer in the center.

Once it finally works once, it’ll feel obvious and you’ll wonder how it ever felt confusing.

4

You’re actually really close. The “How To Change Face On Apple Watch” stuff mostly clicks once you realize there are three separate layers that affect what you see:

  1. The active face on the watch
  2. The carousel of faces on the watch
  3. The configuration of those faces in the iPhone Watch app

@viaggiatoresolare covered the first two very well, so I’ll lean more into the “why is this not matching what I set” angle, which trips a lot of new owners.

1. When your changes don’t show up

You can customize a face in the Watch app all day, but if that specific face is not currently in your on‑watch carousel, nothing changes on your wrist.

Quick check:

  • On iPhone, in the Watch app, under My Watch > My Faces
    • If a face is listed there, it should be in your swipe carousel.
    • If you tweak one there and still don’t see the change, you’re probably on a different face that just looks similar.

Tip: Temporarily remove all but one face from My Faces, customize it, and see it change live. Once you get that “aha” moment, add others back.

2. Why some edits feel like they’re “not sticking”

There are two big culprits:

  • Face variants
    Some faces have multiple “styles” or layouts that behave almost like separate faces. If you change style A in the Watch app but your watch is showing style B, you will think nothing happened.

  • Complication source vs look
    A complication has:

    • A data source (which app)
    • A design style (how it’s rendered on that particular face)

    Swapping the app source works exactly as expected, but you cannot force every app to look identical on every face. That is by design, not a bug.

3. The “long press isn’t working” confusion

I actually disagree slightly with @viaggiatoresolare here: on some older habits, people still expect Force Touch, but watchOS removed that. The real trick is finger stability. If your finger moves even a little, the watch often treats it as a tap or scroll instead of a long press.

Try this:

  • Rest your wrist on a table so it does not wobble.
  • Put one fingertip in the exact center.
  • Count “one thousand one, one thousand two” before lifting.

If you still only get Control Center or Notification Center, you are starting too close to an edge.

4. Sync problems & quick “nuke it” fix

If the Watch app and the watch do not seem to agree:

  1. On iPhone:
    • In My Watch > My Faces, remove all faces.
  2. On the watch:
    • Long press, swipe each face up to delete until only one remains, or none if possible.
  3. On iPhone:
    • Go to Face Gallery, add a single face, customize it, hit Add.

This hard resync often clears weird behavior where edits do not appear.

5. Using multiple faces on purpose

Instead of trying to cram everything into one face:

  • Make a “work” face with calendar, mail, reminders.
  • A “fitness” face with Workout, Activity, heart rate.
  • A “minimal” face for evenings with almost nothing on it.

Then just swipe between them. That is how Apple expects people to use watch faces, and it actually reduces the need to constantly dive into edit mode.

6. Quick pros & cons of focusing on “How To Change Face On Apple Watch” via the Watch app

Pros

  • Bigger screen so customizing is less fiddly.
  • You can see multiple layouts and colors at once.
  • Edits push instantly to the watch when the connection is healthy.
  • Great for setting up complications across several faces quickly.

Cons

  • Easy to forget that the watch might be showing a different similar face.
  • If “My Faces” gets cluttered, it becomes confusing fast.
  • Occasionally changes lag or require waking the watch again to appear.

Last point: @viaggiatoresolare gave solid tactical steps. Once you combine that with understanding these three layers (active face, carousel, app configuration), everything about changing and customizing faces on Apple Watch becomes way more predictable.