Apple Watch Control Center: How to Find & Use Control Center Icons

The Apple Watch Control Center gives you quick access to various modes, features, and information. You can use it to check your battery percentage, silence alerts, enable and disable Bluetooth, and even ping your lost iPhone. We'll even teach you how to rearrange and customize it.

Jump To:

• How to Access & Edit Apple Watch Control Center
• What Can You Do in the Apple Watch Control Center: Icons Explained
• FAQ

How to Access & Edit Apple Watch Control Center

The Control Center on Apple Watch can be accessed and customized directly from the watch face:  

1. Wake your Apple Watch and press the Side button. On watchOS 9 and earlier, you'll have to swipe up from the bottom of the watch face.
   
   
2. You'll now see your Apple Watch Control Center, including various icons, buttons, and connectivity symbols.
   
   
3. To rearrange or edit your Apple Watch Control Center, scroll to the bottom and tap Edit.
   
   
4. Tap the red minus icon to remove buttons.
   
   
5. Tap the green plus icon to add buttons.
   
   
6. To rearrange your Control Center, long-press an icon, drag it to where you want it, and release.
   
   

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What Can You Do in the Apple Watch Control Center: Icons Explained

The Control Center lets you control certain Apple Watch settings. Within your watch's Control Center, you can:

• Turn cellular on or off
• Disconnect and connect to Wi-Fi
• Ping your lost iPhone
• Check your battery power and turn on Power Reserve if necessary
• Turn Silent mode on or off
• Turn Theater mode on or off.
• Turn availability for Walkie-Talkie on or off
• Turn Focus on or off
• Turn on the flashlight
• Turn Airplane mode on or off
• Use Water Lock to prevent accidental taps
• See which Bluetooth audio devices are connected or add a new one
• Turn Schooltime on
• Turn Announce Messages on or off when AirPods are connected
• Headphone Volume Icon on Apple Watch

Keep reading for an explanation of each of these features, including the corresponding Apple Watch Control Center icons. You can have up to fifteen icons in your Control Center. Certain Apple Watch models offer fewer icon options than others. For example, Schooltime mode is only available on Apple Watch Series 4 and newer cellular models that are running current versions of watchOS.

Apple Watch Cellular Icon

The cellular icon turns the Apple Watch cellular connection on or off. It is only available on Apple Watch models with cellular. Enabling cellular functions allows you to make and receive calls and texts when don't have your iPhone near you and can't access Wi-Fi.

If your iPhone is in range, the cellular icon will have a white background, and you will see a green iPhone icon in the top-left corner of your display. If you are away from your iPhone, the cellular icon will be green, and there will be green dots in the top-left corner of your screen. The dots indicate signal strength.  

To turn cellular on and off, you have to tap the icon, then toggle the slider on (green) or off (gray). If the background of the cellular icon is gray, that means your watch is not connected to a cellular network. However, if you see the phone icon, you can still make and receive calls and texts via the Apple Watch's connection to your iPhone.

Apple Watch Wi-Fi Icon

The Wi-Fi icon lets you connect and disconnect from a wireless network. If you long-press the Wi-Fi icon, you can see the network that you are connected to and others within range.

When the Wi-Fi icon has a blue background, that means that you are connected to the internet. Tap it to disconnect; this will make the background gray.

Apple Watch Ping Phone Icon

The icon that looks like an iPhone with two sound waves on either side will make your phone play a ping sound to help you locate it if it's lost but nearby. This works even if your phone is set to Silent or Do Not Disturb. If you long-press the ping phone icon, your iPhone will beep and flash a light to help you find it. This is particularly useful at night or in dark spaces. 

Typically, the ping phone icon will have a gray background, but if it's black, that means that your phone is turned off or out of range and, therefore, can't be pinged.

Apple Watch Battery Percentage Icon

The battery percentage icon is pretty self-explanatory; it shows you how charged your Apple Watch is. If you tap and hold the battery percentage icon, you will see an option to enable Power Reserve mode. Drag the switch to activate it, but bear in mind that this will turn off all features other than showing the time.

Apple Watch Silent Mode: Bell Icon

The bell icon on your Apple Watch turns Silent mode on and off. If the background of the icon is gray, Silent mode is off. If it is red and the bell has a diagonal line going through it, then Silent mode is on. When you silence your Apple Watch, it will still vibrate and light up when there is a notification.

Apple Watch Theater Mode: Masks Icon

If you tap the masks icon, the background will be orange, and Theater mode will be on. But what is Theater mode on Apple Watch? Apple Watch Theater mode will make sure your phone doesn't light up your screen in addition to activating Silent Mode.

Apple Watch Walkie-Talkie Icon

The Walkie-Talkie icon is automatically activated unless Theater mode is on. It has a yellow background when enabled. Once you set up Apple Watch Walkie-Talkie, you can use it to talk to other people who have an Apple Watch. 

Walkie-Talkie doesn't let you have conversations in real-time; it uses a push system for messages. You can only hear the messages once, and they are played automatically. You will not be able to play them again, so make sure you only keep your Walkie-Talkie mode on when you are available!

Apple Watch Focus Mode (Do Not Disturb): Moon Icon

The Focus mode icon looks like a moon. When you tap it, you can choose between various Focus Modes. You can turn off Focus mode by tapping the icon again. Tap it to turn on regular Do Not Disturb or to select one of the new Focus Modes. If you don't see the options you want, you can add existing Focus Modes and create custom ones on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac. If you have synced Focus modes across devices, setting a Focus on your Watch will also set it on your iPhone, iPad, and/or Mac.

Apple Watch Flashlight Icon 

Just like on your iPhone, your Apple Watch has a flashlight. The only difference is that your Apple Watch uses the display's brightness instead of a separate light. Tapping the flashlight icon will take you to a completely white display. When the watch is turned away from you, the light will get brighter. The Apple Watch Flashlight also includes a flashing light and a red light.

Apple Watch Airplane Mode Icon

The plane icon turns Airplane mode on and off. If the background of the icon is orange, Airplane mode is on. By default, Airplane mode will turn off your Wi-Fi and cellular networks but will keep your Bluetooth enabled. 

You will still get notifications in Airplane mode, especially if you are connected to Wi-Fi. It doesn't silence your notifications; it simply prevents you from connecting to the cellular network. That is the main difference between Airplane mode and Focus. 

Water Lock: Droplet Icon

The droplet icon turns the Water Lock on but not off. When you turn on Water Lock, you will still be able to see your watch face, but you won't be able to open anything. To turn it off, you will need to turn the Digital Crown to unlock your phone. Water Lock can even be employed to prevent accidental taps to your watch face when doing various activities!

Audio Output Icon

The audio output icon on your Apple Watch takes you to a list of any Bluetooth speakers, headphones, or earbuds that your watch is connected to. You can also add new audio devices here by tapping Connect a Device.

Apple Watch Schooltime: Raised Hand Icon

The raised hand icon enables Schooltime but doesn't disable it. Once enabled, you will only be able to see the date, time, and your name. To disable Schooltime, you need to press and hold the Digital Crown, then confirm that you'd like to exit Schooltime. Schooltime functions like an Apple Watch lock button, similar to Water Lock and Sleep mode. 

Apple Watch Announce Messages Icon

If you are using your AirPods while they're paired with your Apple Watch, you will see the icon for Announce Messages. When the background of the icon is red, it is enabled. You can tap it to turn it off. When Announce Messages is on, Siri will read your incoming messages. You can also customize your Announce Messages settings if you choose to.

Headphone Volume Icon on Apple Watch

Tapping the ear symbol in the Control Center takes you to headphone volume. It looks the same as the app to measure noise levels that can be found in the App Library.

I hope you enjoyed our mini Control Center Apple Watch user guide! The buttons in your Apple Watch Control Center all have different purposes that can take a while to get familiar with, so hopefully, this guide helped speed up that process for you! You can discover even more Apple Watch icons and symbols here and also learn how to unlock your Apple Watch in Sleep or Water Lock Mode. If you're interested in upgrading, check out our review of the Apple Watch Series 8.