The Easy Way to Keep Apps Open on Your Apple Watch

The estimated reading time for this post is 4 minutes

Q. I love my Apple Watch, I’m using it more and more every day. But the more I use it the more I get annoyed by apps closing while I’m still using them.

What happens is that I’ll open an app on my Apple Watch, like the Timer app that I use a lot for cooking. But a few minutes later when I check my Watch, the clock face shows instead of the Timer app.

In my ideal Apple Watch World, I want the Timer app to stay open on my Watch so I don’t have to open it every time I want to check it.

And I want other apps to stay open too. Not forever, but for a while so it’s not so frustrating having to re-open an app when I look at my Watch.

Is there a way for apps to stay open on the Apple Watch for longer than a few minutes? If so, can you do an article about how to do this at The Wonder of Tech? I can’t be the only one who’s frustrated by this.

A. Excellent question. I’ve had this Apple Watch issue too with apps that I want to check repeatedly, but when I go back to check them, the watch face shows instead of the app.

It’s as if every time you picked up your phone, it showed the Home screen instead of the app you were just using. Very annoying.

The good news is that you can easily change the settings for your Apple Watch to keep apps open for longer. That way, you don’t have to repeatedly re-open apps you’re currently using. And, if you find that apps stay open too long, you can adjust the setting to have them stay open for a shorter period of time.

The even better news is that you can customize how long each app on your Apple Watch stays open. And with some apps, you can set them to stay open as long as you are using them.

For example, you can have your Apple Watch close the Weather app after two minutes, close your Wallet app immediately, and keep your Timer app open while it’s running.

How to Adjust Your Apple Watch Settings to Keep Apps Open Longer

Adjusting your Apple Watch settings to keep apps open longer is easy and takes just a few seconds. If you do nothing, the apps on your Watch will stay open for two minutes.

But by adjusting the settings, you can control how long each app stays open on your Watch. Of course, you can always return to the clock by pressing the digital crown.

The setting to keep your Watch apps open longer is called Return to Clock. There are two ways to adjust the Return to Clock setting, by using your iPhone or your Watch.

Adjusting Your Apple Watch Return to Clock Setting Using Your iPhone

You can use your iPhone to adjust your Apple Watch Return to Clock setting by following these steps:

1. Open the Watch app on your iPhone
2. Go to General => Return to Clock
3. Choose the default for how long of a period you’d like before your Watch returns to showing the clock face.

The choices are:

Always -> the clock face will display after you stop using the app

After 2 minutes -> the app will stay open for two minutes before showing the watch face

After 1 hour -> the app will stay open for one hour before showing the watch face.

Using Your Apple Watch to Change Settings

To use your Watch to change how long apps are open, follow these steps:

1. Press the digital crown to open the app screen
2. Tap Settings (the gear icon)
3. Scroll down and tap General
4. Scroll down and tap Return to Clock

You can choose the default time of when your Watch shows the clock again. The choices are the same as when you use your iPhone to change this setting: Always, After 2 minutes, or After 1 hour.

Customized App Settings for Return to Clock

You can customize these Return to Clock settings for each app on your Watch. Just follow the steps above and scroll down to the apps listed under the default settings for Return to Clock.

Tap an app, then choose how long you want each app to stay open, if it’s different from the default time you chose.

Choosing to Keep Apps Open as Long as They Are Active

Some apps, such as Timer, let you keep the app open as long as it’s active with a Return to App setting. You can choose the Return to App setting by tapping the app in Return to Clock, either on your iPhone or on your Apple Watch. If the Return to App setting is available for that app, you’ll see a Return to App slider.

Toggle the Return to App option to On to keep the app open on your Watch as long as it’s active.

Your Thoughts

Have you ever been bothered by an app closing too quickly on your Apple Watch? Would you be annoyed if your iPhone showed the Home screen every time you unlocked your phone? Which default time did you set for Return to Clock on your Apple Watch?

Share your thoughts in the Comments section below!

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*Apple Watch image (edited) courtesy of Luke Chesser via Unsplash and Creative Commons