You Can Use Your Apple Watch to Retrace Your Steps

Photo: mpohodzhay (Shutterstock)

Getting lost is no fun, but getting lost without cell service is downright scary. It’s even worse if you lose your way somewhere remote, like on a hike through the woods. When Google Maps can’t save you, though, you’re not totally out of luck. As it turns out, your Apple Watch might know exactly how to get you home, through a feature called “Backtrack.”

How to use Backtrack on the Apple Watch

Backtrack is available on the Apple Watch SE, Series 6, and newer models of the watch. You need to update to watchOS 9 to use this feature, and it’s available in the Compass app on your watch.

Before you try to use it, make sure to follow these steps on your iPhone:

1. Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services and enable Location Services.
2. On the same page, scroll down and tap Compass. Select While Using the App and enable Precise Location.
3. Return to the previous page and scroll to the bottom. Select System Services and enable location access for Compass Calibration. Select Significant Locations on this page and enable it.

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You need to allow your iPhone to access these location data points for Backtrack to work correctly.

How to use Backtrack on your Apple Watch

After enabling the required location access settings, go outside, open the Compass app on your Apple Watch, then try these steps:

1. Tap the footprints icon in the bottom-right corner of the watch’s screen.
2. Tap Start to allow the Apple Watch to trace your route.
3. Walk to a nearby place and tap the pause icon in the bottom-right corner in the Compass app. Select Retrace Steps, and the watch will guide you home.
4. Once you’ve returned, tap the footprints icon again and select Delete Steps to clear the data.

We strongly suggest testing this feature near your home to make sure it works correctly. You don’t want to find out something’s wrong after getting lost. You can enable Backtrack manually when you’re in places with no cellular signal, but it also works automatically.

Well-known iPhone app developer David Smith discovered how to activate automatic Backtrack on the Apple Watch. In case you forget to activate Backtrack manually, you can open the Compass app on the watch and tap the footprints icon in the bottom-right corner. You should see a prompt that requests access to Recent Locations. Smith discovered that tapping Allow on this screen lets your Apple Watch access your recent route and you can use this feature to retrace your steps easily.

This option could help you in an emergency, but we still recommend manually enabling Backtrack if you’re ever unsure of your steps. That way, a software bug won’t leave you lost in unfamiliar terrain.

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