• Tips - The quickest way to mute your watch
• Trivia - Is there an Apple Watch for kids?
• Deep Dive - Make your old watch feel new again
• Reader Questions - How to get steps on your watch face
• Fun and Interesting Tidbits - Is your Apple Watch band safe?

🫥 Disappearing apps? Get them back.

🚫 Cancel alarms to avoid interruptions.

🤫 Silence your watch with the palm of your hand.

True or False? In 2019, Apple released a small Apple Watch marketed specifically for kids. It failed to take off, and Apple discontinued it the following year.

• ✅ True
• ❌ False

🏆 Did you get it right? Scroll down to find out! 🏆

Spring clean your Apple Watch to make it feel brand new

Why is it so common to treat our homes to a refreshing deep clean every spring, yet we neglect a device we wear all day every day? Unlike your home, it takes very little time to make your Apple Watch feel brand new—inside and out!

1. How to refresh your Apple Watch on the inside

Did you know that a glitchy device will experience faster battery drain? Start your spring cleaning by restarting your device. If that doesn’t help, try a force restart! Turning your device off and back on again can do wonders—helping your software clear temporary memory and turn off whatever is running in the background. Next, make sure your watch is running the latest software version—Apple will periodically patch up any known problems.

2. Out with the old

Scroll through your Apple Watch apps, are you seeing anything you don’t use or even recognize? Delete whatever is unnecessary! While you’re on an app deleting spree, check out what’s taking up the most storage on your watch and deleting whatever you no longer need, like music, podcasts, photos, etc.

3. And in with the new

Discovering new apps and features can also make your watch feel brand new. Here are some of my favorite Apple Watch apps; some even have nifty complications that you can add to your watch face! Don’t forget to check if your watch automatically downloads every app you add on your iPhone, you may want to turn this off to avoid clutter.

4. Change up your watch face collection

I tend to get stuck using the same watch face, but there are so many options! My go-to option is the Infographic watch face because it lets me add a bunch of complications. But I also like having a plain distraction-free option that is pretty rather than functional. You can have several faces and quickly switch between them by swiping over your display.

5. Increase battery life in a few simple steps

Nothing makes an Apple Watch feel old than a fast-draining battery . There are lots of hidden settings that you can easily turn off, such as excessive background app refresh, Wake on Wrist Raise, Listen for Siri, Environmental Noise Monitoring, and Always-On Display. You can also limit the number of notifications your watch receives, which is great for battery life as well as your mental health. Here’s a list of the best watch face options that don’t kill your battery life.

6. External makeover for your Apple Watch

The best way to freshen things up is to physically clean your watch and watch band. Apple officially recommends using ONLY 70 percent isopropyl alcohol wipes, such as Clorox Wipes—other chemicals may damage your Apple devices. When it comes to cleaning Apple Watch bands, each material requires special care.

7. New watch bands and accessories

If you have serious issues that haven’t been fixed using basic troubleshooting steps, you can try performing a factory reset, which involves unpairing your Apple Watch then re-pairing it. Your watch will automatically create a backup when you unpair it from your iPhone and you can restore it from that backup so you don’t need to start the setup from scratch.

8. Factory reset: dos and don’ts

If you have serious issues that haven’t been fixed using basic troubleshooting steps, you can try performing a factory reset, which involves unpairing your Apple Watch then re-pairing it. Your watch will automatically create a backup when you unpair it from your iPhone and you can restore it from that backup so you don’t need to start the setup from scratch.

9. Is it time for an upgrade?

An Apple Watch can easily last at least five years if not more, but it can start to feel outdated after just two years. Since doing a screen repair or battery replacement isn’t always worth the cost, consider buying a new watch if yours is slowing down or looking a bit worse for wear. We can help you decide what model is best for you. As someone who has bought both brand new and refurbished watches, I always recommend considering them.

Is there an Apple Watch issue we didn’t cover in the steps above that you need help with? Email OntheWatch@iphonelife.com and let me know!

Our April Challenge has begun, but you can still join! As long as you’ve worn your Apple Watch, the free Challenges app will give you points for all the exercises you’ve already done this month. It’s a great way to stay motivated to reach your health goals by staying active. We’ll be doing a weekly accountability post for premium subscribers in our Insider Facebook group to share struggles and tips and support each other on our journeys.

To join our upcoming April challenge, enter the code PWHG in the Challenges app. Need help? This article explains the steps and tells you more about the app.

The top 20 participants of the March challenge are:

1. Lesterwich - 3,036 pts
2. Bobby O - 2,984 pts
3. jiklaw - 2,922 pts
4. callmelizzie - 2,774 pts
5. rmele - 2,770 pts
6. jdavidbowman - 2,701 pts
7. Mary - 2,661 pts
8. brian.sweet - 2,576 pts
9. michrich57 - 2,289 pts
10. thom.darke - 2,279 pts
11. jeshortmd - 2,255 pts
12. Bonnie H - 2,173 pts
13. Steve Reynolds - 2,103 pts
14. gracem.ward - 2,060 pts
15. junkmail5000 - 2,056 pts
16. #SickPackJourney - 2,011 pts
17. cuckoo.ballots.5t - 2,003 pts
18. kathimszpara - 1,935 pts
19. lcraft464 - 1,924 pts
20. zoelovri - 1,610 pts

Are you enjoying the challenge? Do you have any suggestions for how we can make it even better? Email OntheWatch@iphonelife.com and let me know.

You asked and we answered!

I would like my steps to appear as a complication on my watch but I can’t find “steps” as an option. - Dolores P

Hello Dolores, for some reason Apple’s Workout app doesn’t offer a steps complication, but there is a way to display steps on your watch face. You’ll have to download the free Pedometer++ app and follow the steps in the linked article to set up the complication. Happy stepping from a fellow step-tracker! 😊

✉️ Email your questions to OnTheWatch@iPhoneLife.com and we might answer them in a future edition! Questions may be edited for clarity and length.

The correct answer is: ❌ False

While there have been various sizes of Apple Watch offered and different features and plans offered with children in mind, there has so far not been an Apple Watch made specifically for kids.