Galaxy Watch 8: How to Customize the Home and Back Keys

Your Galaxy Watch 8 has two buttons, and each can do more than its default job. Samsung lets you program a double press of the Home key to open the app you use most, and on Wear OS models you can also choose what a short press of the Back key does. It takes about a minute, and it saves a lot of swiping. This guide follows Samsung's support page. Available screens and settings can vary by provider, software version, phone and watch.

Which button is which

Samsung describes the Home key (also called the Power key) as the button on the top right of the watch. The other button is the Back key. If you've ever pressed the wrong one, you're not alone.

Set a double press for the Home key

1. On your watch, open Settings.
2. Swipe to and tap Advanced features (or Advanced on some models).
3. Tap Customize buttons (or Home key). Samsung notes you can skip this step on some models.
4. Select Double press (or Double press Home key), then choose what you want it to launch.

On some models you can tap None to turn the shortcut off. From now on, a quick double press opens your chosen app.

Change what the Back key does

Samsung notes you can also customize the Back key on Wear OS models:

1. After you set the Home key, swipe up on the same screen.
2. Tap Short press under Back key.
3. Select Go to previous screen or Show recent apps.

"Go to previous screen" is the familiar behavior. "Show recent apps" is handy if you jump between a timer, a workout and messages.

Which app to put on the double press

Pick the thing you open many times a day and want without hunting:

• Workouts. Start tracking in one motion.
• Timer or Stopwatch. Good for cooking, training or meetings.
• Wallet or payments. Quick at a checkout.
• Weather. If you check the forecast every morning.
• Flashlight. Surprisingly useful on dark evenings this time of year.

If you're not sure, try one for a week and switch if you never use it.

Pair it with the rest of your setup

Buttons, tiles, the Quick panel and the watch face all share the same goal: getting you to information faster.

• Buttons for the one app you open most.
• Quick panel for toggles.
• Tiles for glanceable info one swipe away.
• Watch face for the time and whatever you want to see without touching anything.

Splitting jobs this way keeps each screen uncluttered.

Troubleshooting

• Can't find Customize buttons: look for Home key instead, or check under Advanced.
• No Back key option: Samsung says Back key customization is on Wear OS models; swipe up after choosing the Home key setting.
• Double press opens the wrong app: repeat the steps and choose a different app.
• Galaxy Fit or Fit2: Samsung notes these steps don't apply.

Going further with WatchLux

WatchLux is the face app I built for people who want the watch face to look as personal as the buttons feel. It has over 750 faces on both watchOS and Wear OS, rebuilt as animated faces for Wear OS 6 and later, including updated Galaxy Watch models. The catalog is at customwatchface.com. All artwork is created with generative AI tools.

WatchLux is free to download and preview; subscription unlocks the full catalog and removes ads.

My team specializes in advanced generative AI art and video, and WatchLux and ScreenLux are where we apply it to the watch and the phone.

• Android and Wear OS: WatchLux on Google Play

Source: Samsung Support, "Customize the Home key on your Samsung smart watch" (samsung.com/us/support/answer/ANS10003380)

Sean McCue, Founder, WatchLux and ScreenLux