Wearables are fun and convenient, and among all the options, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 and Galaxy Watch 5 Pro are two of the best smartwatches on the market. Both work great out of the box, but we have some simple tweaks you'll want to do before you get used to the default settings. Let's look at some of the best ways to customize your new watch.
Set your watch orientation
The Galaxy Watch 5 lets you select whether you wear your watch on your right or left wrist, but did you know you can also change the position you want the keys to face? To get started, follow these steps:
- Go to the Settings menu by swiping down from the top.
- Select the settings gear icon. You can also swipe up from the bottom to get to the app menu and open the settings app.
- Scroll down and tap General.
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You'll find Orientation about halfway down. Click Orientation to see bullet toggles for which wrist you prefer.
Under the wrist settings, you can change your Key Position, which lets you choose whether you want your home and back keys on the left or right side of the watch. The watch defaults to the right, but if you prefer to have the keys on the left, tap the left toggle, and it flips the screen 180 degrees.
Setup Google Assistant
Your watch comes with Bixby activated, but if you want to use Google Assistant, download and install the app. Although none of the Android Police team members have run into any issues, there have been a few reported problems setting it up. If Google Assistant is installed, scroll down, tap My Apps, and then tap Assistant to update the app. To set up Google Assistant for the first time, go to your App menu and follow these steps:
- Open the Google Play Store.
- Tap the search box and type Google Assistant.
- You'll see Google Assistant at the top. Tap to install it.
Now that Google Assistant is ready to use on your Galaxy Watch, it's time to set it up. By default, long pressing the home key opens Bixby. If you'd rather have that open Google Assistant, go back to your Settings.
- Scroll down until you see Advanced Features.
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Tap Customize keys.
There are a few configuration options here. Both the home key and back key can be customized, so let's take a look at what your options are.
Customize what your buttons do
You can set custom actions for your home key's double press and press and hold functions and your back key's short press.
- Head to Settings and open Advanced features.
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Select Customize keys. You can change the Press and hold shortcut from Bixby to Google Assistant.
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You can also change the Double press shortcut. By default, a quick double press opens your most recent application. You can choose to change this to Accessibility shortcuts, or you can set it to open any application on your watch.
If you want, you can change it to Bixby and have both Bixby and Google Assistant mapped to your home key.
The back key performs the same function as swiping from the left. This is redundant, so if you want to, you can change it to show recent apps instead.
Reorder Quick toggles
Quick toggles offer a convenient way to perform various functions on your watch. There are so many ways to use your smartwatch, so you may want to reorder your Quick toggles so that the ones you prefer are easier to get to. To set the order of your Quick toggles:
- Swipe down from the top of the screen.
- Swipe to the end of the list and tap the + icon to enter Edit mode.
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In Edit mode, add the toggles you want that don't show, delete toggles you never use, and long press the toggles you use the most to drag them to the first screen.
Set up the Quick launch gesture
Samsung introduced a new gesture called Quick launch, which is like a knocking motion. You can open an app or use a feature like a flashlight with a simple gesture by moving your wrist up and down a few times. Quick launch needs to be activated before you can use it, and you can follow these steps to set it up:
- Go to Settings > Advanced Features.
- Scroll down to the Gestures section and tap Quick launch.
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To use this gesture, turn the toggle to the On position.
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Choose Select an option to pick which app to open or which feature to use.
This is handy for doing things like turning on your flashlight in the dark when your hands are full. Under the option you select is a little animation showing you how to use the gesture.
Customize your emergency SOS message
When you get a new device, it's important to customize your emergency SOS message so that it reaches the right person when you need it the most. SOS mode is activated by tapping your home key several times. If you accidentally tap your home key too many times when trying to double tap, adjust your cancelation countdown window.
This option is customized in the Samsung Wearable app on your paired phone. Make sure to download and install the app from the Google Play Store and open it. Then follow these steps:
- Select your watch and tap Watch settings.
- Scroll down until you see Safety and emergency, and tap it.
- Toggle on SOS with Home key to get started.
- Choose whether you need to press the home key three or four times to activate SOS mode.
- Count down before sending sets your watch to wait five seconds before sending SOS messages and calls, allowing you to cancel them.
You can set SOS mode to send messages and calls to one or multiple recipients. It's important to note that the Galaxy Watch 5 doesn't call 911 by default, and there isn't an option to turn this on. Instead, you can add 911 as a contact and choose it as one of the recipients.
We don't know how well this works, so we recommend adding your local emergency services phone number as a contact. Also, make sure you send messages and calls to at least one other person.
Customize the font size and style
Not everyone prefers the default font size and style on Samsung Galaxy Watch 5. If you are among them, change it to your preference under settings.
- Go to Settings and select Display.
- Select Font.
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Tap Font style and pick a different style of your choice.
- Go back and select the Font size menu.
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Use the slider to increase or decrease the font size.
Change the call and notification vibration pattern
Most users keep their Galaxy Watch on vibrate mode so that it only buzzes when a notification or call arrives. If you frequently miss incoming alerts, change the vibration pattern from settings.
- Go to Settings and select Sounds and vibrations.
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Scroll to Call vibration and Notification vibration and choose another pattern from the following menu.
Your watch has other options besides Do Not Disturb mode
There are three other silent mode options other than Do Not Disturb. To activate any mode, swipe down from the top to open the Quick settings panel. Next, tap the icon for the mode you want to activate, choose how long you want to activate it, and tap OK. So, what do the modes do?
- Do Not Disturb Mode: All notifications are turned off except Alarms.
- Goodnight mode: Silences all notifications except Alarms.
- Theater mode: Silences all notifications, Alarms, and Wake-up gestures.
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Water Lock mode: Switches off all the watch's sensors and displays only the time. To turn off this mode, press and hold the home button.
There are other uses for these modes that you may not have thought of:
- Tasks with repetitive hand motions: If you activated gestures, use Theater mode for some tasks. Doing chores or other tasks that look anything like the gestures will trigger them and can be distracting.
- Doing the laundry: Use Water Lock mode to keep your wet clothes from turning on your screen, turning off your music, or performing other functions you don't want.
- Driving: Use Theater Mode to guarantee you're distraction-free and keep your eyes on the road.
- Concerts, dance parties, and other crowded spaces: When you're in a crowd, anyone you bump into can activate your phone. Who knows the havoc so much activity can wreak? Random calls and messages, missed notifications, or any number of things. Think butt dialing but on your wrist. Using Theater mode or Water Lock mode will save you the headache.
Customize watch faces from the Galaxy Store
If you're not fond of Samsung's default watch face, go to the Galaxy Store in the Galaxy Wearable app or the Google Play Store app and search for galaxy watch faces. If you go to the Play Store, look for the featured Wear OS banner to open the Watch Face category or look for it under the Categories tab. The quickest way to get there is to follow these steps:
- Press and hold your current watch face.
- Swipe from the left edge to bring up the menu.
- Tap More watch faces to see your options.
After you've chosen a new watch face, press and hold your current watch face and swipe to the right to see the watch faces you installed. Some watch faces allow you to customize system-wide background styles by going to Display in your Settings app.
Control your Galaxy phone's camera remotely with your watch
Although the Galaxy Watch 5 is compatible with many Android phones, it works best when paired with a Samsung Galaxy phone. No surprise there, but what can you do with a Galaxy phone that you can't do with other phones? One of the best features of your Galaxy pair is controlling your phone's camera from your watch.
Setting up your phone in one place and then remotely triggering a photo from across the room opens up new photo possibilities. You'll want to install the latest version of Samsung's Camera Control app. When you open the app, you can tap to focus, take a photo, or set a timer. The image is then saved to the gallery of your phone.
Enjoy your Samsung Galaxy Watch 5
Now that you're set up and ready to go, we hope you enjoy your new watch. Customization doesn't have to stop at button preferences. There are plenty of great watch bands if you want to switch up your look.
The latest One UI 5 software on Galaxy Watch 5 is based on the Wear OS 4 platform. You can read our dedicated guide to learn more about the next big smartwatch update.