Why Is My Apple Watch Zoomed In? How to Disable Apple Watch Zoom

If your Apple Watch zooms in by itself, you can fix it without restarting your watch over and over or trying to change it on the magnified Apple Watch screen.

By Leanne Hays Updated 09/30/2021

* This post is part of iPhone Life's Tip of the Day newsletter. . *

This article was inspired by a thread in our Facebook group, where several people were experiencing the same annoying issue with their Apple Watches; a zoomed-in display that could only be minimized by restarting the watch. If your Apple Watch keeps zooming in, this post will teach you how to fix it for good.

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Enable or Disable Zoom on Your Apple Watch

The Zoom feature on your Apple Watch is a helpful accessibility feature if you have a visual impairment. However, if you don't need to enlarge your watch's display, you can turn Zoom off. If you're somehow able to still navigate the Settings app on your zoomed-in watch face, you can do this on your Apple Watch. If not, you'll want to use the iPhone method.

  1. Open the Settings app on your Apple Watch.

    Open the Settings app on your Apple Watch to disable zoom
     
  2. Scroll down and tap on Accessibility.

    Tap on Accessibility
     
  3. Tap on Zoom.

    Tap on Zoom
     
  4. Tap the green toggle to disable Zoom.

    Tap the green toggle next to Zoom to disable the Apple Watch zoom feature
     
  5. When Zoom is disabled, the toggle will turn gray.

    Zoom is disabled when the toggle is gray

This means that you won't be able to use Zoom to enlarge things on your Apple Watch screen, but it also means you won't have to deal with restarting your Apple Watch repeatedly to reset the zoomed-in screen.

Related: 15 Apple Watch Tips That’ll Make You A Pro

Disable Apple Watch Zoom from Your iPhone

If your Apple Watch zooms in by itself, it's often too zoomed in to read or navigate easily. In this case, you may have better luck disabling Apple Watch zoom on your iPhone instead. Use these steps to disable zoom using your iPhone:

  1. Open the Apple Watch app on your iPhone.

    Open the Watch app to disable zoom on Apple Watch
     
  2. Tap Accessibility.

    Tap on Accessibility
     
  3. Tap on Zoom.

    Tap on Zoom
     
  4. Tap the green toggle to disable Zoom.

    Tap the green toggle next to Zoom to disable the Apple Watch zoom feature
     
  5. When Zoom is disabled, the toggle will turn gray.

    Zoom is disabled when the toggle is gray

Remember that you can always go back in and enable this if you're having trouble reading your Apple Watch screen.

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Topics

How-To
Apple Watch
Smartwatches & Fitness Trackers
Settings
Troubleshooting

Author Details

Leanne Hays's picture

Author Details

Leanne Hays

Leanne Hays is an SEO Content Strategist and Feature Writer at iPhone Life, and has written hundreds of in-depth how-to and troubleshooting articles. She's a former Associate Editor for iPhone Life magazine, and has written for the Iowa Source, as well as web content for education marketing. Leanne has an associate's degree in education, with a focus on curriculum development, as well as a bachelor's degree in science. She has over nine years of experience with SEO, social media management, and web development and writing. Despite years of web work, Leanne is by no means an early adapter; she's only owned a smartphone for five years, which makes her highly sympathetic to the learning curve of new iPhone owners. She enjoys making reader's lives easier and putting her education experience to work by walking them through the most practical ways to use Apple devices, step-by-step.

In off-work hours, Leanne is a mother of two, homesteader, audiobook fanatic, musician, and learning enthusiast.