How to change your Garmin watch face
Switching the face on a Garmin takes a few seconds once you know where the control lives. Here is how to do it from the watch and from your phone, plus the exact steps for the most popular models.
The quick way, from the watch
On almost every modern Garmin, you change the face without opening any menu:
- Press and hold the center of the current watch face for a second or two.
- The face picker appears — swipe left or right through your installed faces.
- Tap (or press the select button) on the one you want. It applies instantly.
On button-only watches you can also go to Settings → Watch Face → (your face) and scroll through the list there.
From your phone (Garmin Connect / Connect IQ)
To add a new face first, use the Connect IQ Store app: find a face, tap Download, then open Garmin Connect and let it sync over Bluetooth. The new face then shows up in the on-watch picker. Our install guide walks through the whole flow.
By model
- Fenix 8 / tactix 8: hold the face → swipe → select. Or Menu → Watch Face.
- Venu 3 / Venu Sq: touch and hold the face, swipe, tap to choose.
- Forerunner 165 / 265 / 570 / 965 / 970: hold the face, swipe, press to select.
- Vivoactive 5 / 6: touch and hold, swipe through, tap the one you want.
- Instinct 3: hold the face, or use Menu → Watch Face, then UP/DOWN to scroll and select.
Tip: the steps are the same across the line — hold the face, browse, select. If your watch has a touchscreen, touch-and-hold; if it is button-only, use the menu.
If a face will not appear
- Not synced yet: open Garmin Connect and pull to sync; keep the watch nearby with Bluetooth on.
- Model not supported: re-check the face listing for your exact model.
- Face slots full: remove an unused face in the Connect IQ app, then sync again.
Once you have switched it, you can usually fine-tune colours and data fields too — see how to customize a Garmin watch face.