Use Control Center on Apple Watch

Control Center gives you an easy way to check your battery, silence your watch, turn on Do Not Disturb, turn your Apple Watch into a flashlight, put your Apple Watch in airplane mode, turn on theater mode, and more.

Open or close Control Center

  • Open Control Center: From the watch face, swipe up. From other screens, touch and hold the bottom of the screen, then swipe up.

    Note: You can’t open Control Center from the Home screen on your Apple Watch. Instead, press the Digital Crown to go to the watch face or open an app, then open Control Center.

  • Close Control Center: Swipe down from the top of the screen, or press the Digital Crown.

    Two images: Apple Watch without cellular on the left, showing Control Center. The Wi-Fi button is at the top left, Ping iPhone button at the top right, Battery Percentage button at the center left, Silent Mode button at the center right, Do Not Disturb at the bottom left, and Walkie-Talkie button at the bottom right. The right image shows Apple Watch with cellular. Its Control Center shows the Cellular button at the top left, Wi-Fi button at the top right, Ping iPhone button at the center left, Battery Percentage button at the center right, Silent Mode button at the bottom left, and Do Not Disturb button at the bottom right.

App icon

Description

For more information

Cellular icon

Turn cellular on or off—Apple Watch models with cellular only.

See Use Apple Watch with a cellular network.

Wi-Fi icon

Disconnect from Wi-Fi.

See Disconnect from Wi-Fi.

Ping iPhone icon

Ping your iPhone.

See Locate your iPhone.

Battery percentage showing 100%

Check your battery percentage.

See Charge Apple Watch.

Silent mode icon

Silence Apple Watch.

See Turn on silent mode.

Passcode lock icon

Lock your watch with a passcode.

See Turn on and wake Apple Watch.

Do Not Disturb icon

Turn on Do Not Disturb.

See Turn on Do Not Disturb.

Walkie-Talkie icon

Make yourself available for Walkie-Talkie.

See Use Walkie-Talkie on Apple Watch.

Theater mode icon

Turn on theater mode.

See Use theater mode on Apple Watch.

Water Lock icon

Turn on Water Lock (Apple Watch Series 2 and later only).

See Go for a swim with Apple Watch.

Flashlight icon

Turn on the flashlight.

See Use the flashlight on Apple Watch.

Airplane mode icon

Turn on airplane mode.

See Turn on airplane mode.

Audio Output icon

Choose audio output.

See Connect Apple Watch to Bluetooth headphones or speakers.

Customize Control Center

You can rearrange the buttons in Control Center by following these steps:

  1. Touch and hold the bottom of the screen, then swipe up to open Control Center.

  2. Scroll to the bottom of Control Center, then tap Edit.

  3. Drag a button to a new location.

  4. Tap Done when you’re finished.

Turn on airplane mode

Some airlines let you fly with your Apple Watch (and iPhone) turned on if you put them in airplane mode. Turning on airplane mode turns off Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and—on Apple Watch models with cellular—cellular.

  • Turn on airplane mode on Apple Watch: Touch and hold the bottom of the screen, swipe up to open Control Center, then tap the airplane mode button.

    Control Center with airplane mode button highlighted to show airplane mode is on.

    Ask Siri. Say something like: “Turn on airplane mode.”

  • Put both your Apple Watch and iPhone in airplane mode in one step: Open the Apple Watch app on your iPhone, tap My Watch, go to General > Airplane Mode, then turn on Mirror iPhone. Any time you switch to airplane mode on one device, the other switches to match.

When airplane mode is on, you see airplane mode icon at the top of the screen.

Note: Even with Mirror iPhone turned on, you must turn off airplane mode separately on your iPhone and Apple Watch.

Use the flashlight on Apple Watch

Use the flashlight to light a darkened door lock, alert others when you’re out for an evening run, or light nearby objects while preserving your night vision.

  • Turn on the flashlight: Touch and hold the bottom of the screen, swipe up to open Control Center, then tap the Flashlight button. Swipe left to choose a mode—steady white light, flashing white light, or steady red light.

  • Turn off the flashlight: Press the Digital Crown or side button, or swipe down from the top of the watch face.

Use theater mode on Apple Watch

Theater mode prevents the Apple Watch display from turning on when you raise your wrist, so it stays dark in movie theaters, concerts, or other public events. It also turns on silent mode, but you still receive haptic notifications.

Touch and hold the bottom of the screen, swipe up to open Control Center, tap the theater mode button, then tap Theater Mode.

Control Center with theater mode and silent mode buttons highlighted to show theater mode is on.

When theater mode is on, you see the theater mode status icon at the top of the screen.

To wake Apple Watch when theater mode is on, tap the display, or press the Digital Crown or side button.

Note: On Apple Watch Series 2 and later, turn the Digital Crown to gradually wake the display.

Disconnect from Wi-Fi

You can temporarily disconnect from a Wi-Fi network and, on Apple Watch models with cellular, use an available cellular connection instead—right from Control Center.

Touch and hold the bottom of the screen, swipe up to open Control Center, then tap the Wi-Fi button in Control Center.

Control Center on Apple Watch (GPS + Cellular), with Wi-Fi button at the top right. Callout reads “Tap to disconnect from Wi-Fi.”

Your Apple Watch temporarily disconnects from the Wi-Fi network. If you have an Apple Watch with cellular, the cellular connection activates if you have coverage. When you leave and later return to the place where you were connected to Wi-Fi, your Apple Watch automatically joins that network again unless you’ve forgotten it on your iPhone.

Turn on silent mode

Touch and hold the bottom of the screen, swipe up to open Control Center, then tap the silent mode button.

Control Center with silent mode button selected.

You can also open the Apple Watch app on your iPhone, tap My Watch, tap Sounds & Haptics, then turn on silent mode.

Tip: When you get a notification, you can quickly mute your Apple Watch by resting the palm of your hand on the watch display for at least three seconds. You’ll feel a tap to confirm that mute is on. Make sure you turn on Cover to Mute in the Apple Watch app on your iPhone—tap My Watch, then go to Sounds & Haptics.

Turn on Do Not Disturb

Use Do Not Disturb to keep calls and alerts (except for alarms and heart rate notifications) from making sounds or lighting up the screen.

You can turn on Do Not Disturb for a specified amount of time, until you leave your current location, or until the end of a calendar event. Just touch and hold the bottom of the screen, swipe up to open Control Center, tap the Do Not Disturb button, then choose an option: On, On for 1 hour, On until this evening, On until I leave, and On until end of event.

Control Center with Do Not Disturb button selected.

You can also open Settings on your Apple Watch, tap Do Not Disturb, then turn on Do Not Disturb.

When Do Not Disturb is on, you see the Do Not Disturb icon at the top of the screen.

Tip: To silence both your Apple Watch and iPhone, open the Apple Watch app on your iPhone, tap My Watch, go to General > Do Not Disturb, then turn on Mirror iPhone. Then, any time you change Do Not Disturb on one, the other changes to match.

Locate your iPhone

Can’t find your iPhone? Your Apple Watch can help you find it if it’s nearby.

Touch and hold the bottom of the screen, swipe up to open Control Center, then tap the Ping iPhone button.

Your iPhone makes a tone so you can track it down.

Tip: In the dark? Touch and hold the Ping iPhone button and iPhone flashes as well.

If your iPhone isn’t in range of your Apple Watch, try using Find My from iCloud.com.

Control Center, with the Ping iPhone button shown at the center left.

Find your Apple Watch

If you lost your watch, use Find My to find it.

  1. Open the Find My app on your iPhone.

  2. Tap Devices, then tap your watch in the list.

You can play a sound on your watch, tap Directions to see directions to it in Maps, mark it as lost, or erase it.

You can also track your Apple Watch using Find My and iCloud. See Locate your Apple Watch and the Apple Support article If your Apple Watch is lost or stolen.

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