Apple Watch 101 « iOS & iPhone

How To: Cheat Your Apple Watch Rings

Apple Watch owners know the struggle — it's the end of the day, and those rings aren't met. Whether you forgot your watch before hitting the gym, let the battery run out, or just didn't move enough, you could feel the sting of fitness failure. But it doesn't have to be this way. You can actually close your Activity rings yourself; it just takes a little know-how.

How To: Send Animated Activity Stickers (That You Didn't Earn) in iMessages

If you have an Apple Watch, you might know that the activity awards you earn can be shared with your friends as iMessage stickers on your iPhone. However, you first have to earn achievements in order to use them as stickers. That changes somewhat with iOS 12, as Apple added animated activity stickers for all Apple Watch users, whether they've earned award badges or not.

How To: Reset Your Apple Watch Back to Factory Settings for a Clean Slate

A clean slate may be just what your Apple Watch needs. Whether you want to start fresh, wipe all your personal data, fix buggy issues, let someone borrow it, sell it, or get back in after you forgot your passcode, resetting the Watch back to factory settings is pretty simple, and you can do it with or without your iPhone.

How To: Forgot Your Apple Watch Passcode? Here's How to Bypass It Using Your iPhone or Watch

Using a passcode on your Apple Watch is a good way to keep other people out of your data, but what happens when you see that "Wrong Passcode" screen yourself? You can, of course, try again in a minute, but if you've forgotten it for good, there's still a way to get back into your Apple Watch.

How To: Lock Your Apple Watch with a Passcode to Increase Security & Keep Prying Eyes Out

While there isn't as much personal data residing on your Apple Watch as there is on your iPhone, it's still a good idea to set a passcode for it and lock it up when you're not using it. If you don't, while it's charging or otherwise off your wrist, others may be able to sneak a peek at your activity, messages, emails, and other personal details. Plus, you won't be able to use Apple Pay without one.

How To: Eject Water from Your Apple Watch's Speaker After Getting It Wet

Whether you like to go swimming or jump in a hot shower with your Apple Watch on, the chance is pretty high that you'll get water inside its speaker. If you're a big runner, even sweat can get inside there. While there is no way to prevent water from getting inside your Apple Watch's speaker, there is an easy way to get it out so that your muffled speaker sounds brand new again.

How To: Prevent Accidental 911 Calls from Your Apple Watch (So Emergency Services Don't Show Up While You're Sleeping)

I've called 911 accidentally more than a few times on my iPhone using the Emergency SOS triggers, but it's also just as easy to trigger an unintentional call to emergency services using an Apple Watch. These accidental 911 calls can put a strain on local public-safety answering points, or call centers, as well as local authorities and emergency medical technicians.

How To: Call 911 from Your Apple Watch in Case of an Emergency

When you can't reach your iPhone or don't have it on you, how do you get help from emergency services? Unless you have one of those life-alert mobile triggers, someone nearby, or some amazing telepathy skills, hope might be the only answer — unless you wear an Apple Watch, that is.

News: What the Irregular Heart Rhythm Notification Means on Your Apple Watch

Waking up your Apple Watch to see "your heart has shown signs of an irregular rhythm suggestive of atrial fibrillation" might come as a shock. While your watch can send you warnings if it detects a fast or low heart rate, those messages are pretty vague, while the abnormal arrhythmia alert can downright scary. So what should you do if you receive one of these AFib notifications?

How To: Track Your Sleep Activity in Apple's Health App for iPhone

While keeping your iPhone out of the bedroom might help to avoid unnecessary distractions before bedtime, it could be better served right by your side to help diagnose sleeping issues you may be experiencing each night.

News: What to Do When You Get a Low Heart Rate Notification on Your Apple Watch

You're minding your business when your Apple Watch taps you. To your surprise, the watch claims your heart rate dipped abnormally low. The news might come as a shock — especially if you have no history of a heart condition — but before you panic, you should take the time to fully understand what this alert is really saying and what you can and should do about it.

How To: Figure Out Your Total Calorie Burn in Apple's Health App

If you transition to an Apple Watch from another wearable like Fitbit, you might be a bit confused by the new calorie burn counter. Instead of ending your day with thousands of calories burned, your watch says you've burned just hundreds. Could it be you're less active with your Apple Watch? Probably not. It's more likely because of the different way the watch counts your calories.

News: High Heart Rate Warning on Your Apple Watch? Here's What That Means

Your Apple Watch sends you notifications from friends, family, and the apps that are important to you. Occasionally, however, the watch may scare the heck out of you with a notification warning of an abnormal, elevated heart rate. If you have no history of heart conditions, this alert might come as a shock. Why do you have a high heart rate, and what are you to do with the information?

How To: Get watchOS 2 Beta on Your Apple Watch Right Now

Not to be outdone by the announcements of Mac OS X El Capitan and iOS 9, the Apple Watch is also getting a much needed software update. Some of the notable new features we can look forward to on watchOS 2 are Nightstand mode, additional screens for friends, email replies, and other improvements we probably should have already had.

How To: How Your Apple Watch Can Help You Find Your Parked Car

Everyone's forgotten where they parked their car at least once. Either you forget to take note of the section you parked in, or maybe it's more of a Dude, Where's My Car? type of situation. Either way, you're left to circle the same street or parking structure, over and over, with nothing but exhaustion and frustration to show for it.

How To: Check Your iPhone's Battery Life from Your Apple Watch

Considering how the Apple Watch works as an extension to your iPhone, it would've seemed like a no-brainer to include the ability to view your iPhone's battery life from the Watch, but in true Apple fashion, they did not.

How To: Take Snapchat Photos Using Your Apple Watch

To take group shots and better selfies on your iPhone, you can use your Apple Watch as a remote shutter for the Camera app—but what if you want to take a snapshot or video with a different app?

How To: Apple Flaw Lets Thieves Completely Reset Your Apple Watch & Get Away with It

There's a recently discovered flaw by iDownloadBlog that lets thieves reset a stolen Apple Watch without a hitch, which is the result of Apple not including the Activation Lock feature that iPhones have had since iOS 7.

How To: Apple Watch Vulnerability Lets Thieves Use Apple Pay Without Your PIN

No, your Apple Watch isn't totally hacker-proof, despite what some have claimed.

How To: Change the Display Orientation & Digital Crown Position on the Apple Watch

There are more ways to wear an Apple Watch than just the default one. Out of the box, an Apple Watch is set up to be worn on your left wrist with the Digital Crown on the right side. But what if want the Digital Crown facing the opposite way? Or what if you're left-handed and want the Watch on your right wrist instead?