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How to Use Compass Waypoints and Backtrack on Apple Watch

The Apple Watch tops the list of best-selling smartwatches worldwide, and for good reason. At the Far Out event on September 7, 2022, the tech giant unveiled the Apple Watch Ultra, Apple Watch SE, Apple Watch Series 8, and watchOS 9.

Many, especially outdoor enthusiasts, are excited about the updated Compass app. It contains two new features, Waypoints and Backtrack, which improve the game for those who like to travel off-road.

Here’s everything you need to know about using Compass Waypoints and Backtrack on Apple Watch!

What are the Compass Waypoints and Backtrack features?

The new Apple Watch lineup comes with a host of new features, including crash detection, low power mode, and Apple Watch Waypoint navigation. Compass Waypoints and Backtrack are new Apple Watch features that have arrived in the updated Compass.

The Compass app now offers a hybrid view that shows you both a digital view and an analog compass face. Turning the Digital Crown on your watch gives you an additional view that shows relevant location information such as latitude, longitude, elevation, and slope.

What else? It displays an orientation view that has built-in Compass Waypoints and Backtrack.

Compass Waypoints allows you to conveniently and quickly mark points of interest or locations right in the app. Just tap the Compass Waypoint icon or the Apple Watch Ultra Action button to add a waypoint.

When you select a waypoint, your device will give you a target view of the waypoint’s heading and an approximate distance from you to it.

Backtrack uses GPS to create a visual path based on where you’ve been. As soon as your device detects that you are offline, the Backtrack feature will automatically turn on in the background. This will help you trace your way back if you are disoriented or lost.

How to create and display compass waypoints

You can use compass waypoints to discard important waypoints so your Apple Watch can help you determine the distance and direction between those waypoints. To start using the feature:

  1. Open the Compass app.
  2. Tap the Compass Waypoint icon, which looks like an arrow inside a message pop-up.
  3. Customize the waypoint by adding a marker and choosing a color or symbol for it → click Done.
  4. View the compass waypoint, touch it on any of the three compass screens → rotate the Digital Crown to select the waypoint → press Select. You should see the distance and direction to the selected waypoint. For example, you will find something like “2.5 miles to your right”.
  5. Scroll down the screen to see the waypoint on the map, including its coordinates.

Add Compass Waypoint extensions to your Apple Watch face.

If you need to get back to a specific waypoint, say your tent or parked car, you can add the waypoint to the watch face by adding it as a complication.

Apple Watch complications are small pieces of information from certain apps that you want to see on your watch face. This allows you to quickly return to and navigate waypoints you’ve created or the last viewed waypoint.

Note. This only works on Apple Watch SE, Apple Watch Series 6 and later.

  1. When the watch face is displayed, touch and hold the display → tap Edit.
  2. The watch faces that offer extensions are located on the last screen, so you need to swipe left until you reach the end.
  3. Select a complication by tapping it → turn the Digital Crown to select compass waypoints. Then do one of the following: – Tap any of the first three waypoints listed to add it as an add-on. – Tap More → choose between a waypoint, a last viewed waypoint, or a parked car waypoint.
  4. Save your changes by pressing the Digital Crown. Touch a face to set it as your default face.
  5. On the watch face, tap a complication to view the waypoint in the Compass app.

Track your steps with Backtrack

You can also track your steps if you go astray while using the Backtrack feature on Apple Watch.

Note. This feature is useful when you are in a remote or heavily sheltered area.

To use it:

  1. Open the Compass app → tap the Return Path icon (with checkmarks) → tap Start to start recording the path you are following. It will show the location where you first touched the Backtrack icon.
  2. Just follow the path to return to the pinned location.
  3. When you return, tap the Back icon again → tap Delete Steps.

Source: Apple

Which Apple Watch is compatible?

All of the recently added Apple Watches to the Apple lineup, namely the Apple Watch Ultra, Apple SE, and Apple Watch Series 8, have Waypoint and Backtrack functionality in their Compass apps.

Note. Removing the Compass app from your Apple Watch also removes the Compass Waypoints and Backtrack features built into the app.

These features ship with watchOS 9, and any Apple Watch from Watch SE to Series 6 onwards will be able to work the same way. Here is the list.

  • Apple Watch Ultra
  • Apple Watch Series 8
  • Apple Watch Series 7
  • Apple Watch Series 6
  • Apple Watch SE

You also need an iPhone 8 or later with iOS 16 or later. Also, not all features are available on all devices, languages, and regions.

Unfortunately, these features will not be available to you if you have an Apple Watch Series 5 or older.

Do you have the right watch but don’t know how to update it? Read our article on how to update to watchOS 9.

Completion…

Compass Waypoints and Backtrack are built into the Apple Watch Compass app. These are must-have features if you are an outdoor enthusiast or a traveler who likes to visit remote areas.

Have you already used these features? What do you think of them and where have you used them? Why not share your adventures below?

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