I have googled this many times but each time it tells me to hold down my side button, let go, and then hold it down again. This is apparently supposed to force quit an application, but it does not work for me. I'm also wondering about when I hold down my side button. For some people the options are: power off, power save mode, and something else. For me, the options are: power off, medical ID, and emergency call. How do I change this?
Apple Watch
Hi
It is neither necessary nor appropriate to close apps on Apple Watch in order to preserve battery life.
Apps that you have chosen to add to the Dock may update their content automatically, depending on their features. If preferred, you can remove apps from the Dock:
Switch between apps using the Dock on your Apple Watch - Apple Support
Apple's tips for maximising battery life on Apple Watch are available here:
https://www.apple.com/batteries/maximizing-performance/#watch
If an app is not working properly, it may instead help, in the first instance, to restart your watch (normally) before following any further troubleshooting steps:
Restart your Apple Watch - Apple Support
The options that you describe as being presented by your watch upon pressing the side button are correct under the latest version of watchOS - and it is not possible to change them.
Power Reserve mode can be turned on, if desired, via Control Centre. To access the setting: when viewing the time on your watch, swipe up to open Control Centre > tap on the battery percentage:
Check your battery and charge your Apple Watch - Apple Support
You can force-quit a frozen app by holding the side button until the menu appears, then hold the crown until you're returned to the home screen.
However, this will likely cost you battery life rather than saving anything as applications now need to load from scratch rather than potentially resuming from their suspended state, apps do not run in the background just because you left them suspended, and true background updates are controlled elsewhere and is not related to force-quitting an app.
The only time you should be force-quitting an app is when it's not responding correctly or not working at all, and simply exiting and returning doesn't help, any other case is wasting your time and likely battery life.
Closing an application will not save your battery.
The Power Reserve mode setting can also be accessed via the Battery complication, if this is included on your watch face.
How do I close out of an app to save my battery
