Garmin devices offer a plethora of activity and watch settings to explore, even when you're not exercising. From creating new workouts to selecting watch faces, monitoring your Body Battery and Readiness scores, and tracking stock market options, there's much to discover on the best Garmin watches.
However, navigating through the settings can be cumbersome, often requiring multiple presses of the 'back' button to return to your watch face. Technology should simplify our lives, and with a single gesture, you can return to the home screen effortlessly.
Having tested various Garmin watches, from the budget-friendly Vivoactive to the advanced Garmin Fenix 8, I often forget some of the hidden features while focusing on GPS accuracy or dive computer capabilities. Recently, I revisited the Gear Tracking feature in Garmin Connect, which led me to recall another lesser-known trick.
During a conversation with our publication's Homes Editor, Cat Ellis, she expressed frustration that the Lily 2 Active lacks the classic Garmin touchscreen gesture. This gesture involves covering the watch face with your palm to return to the home screen—a neat feature that Garmin refers to as the 'palm gesture.'
While this gesture doesn't function during activity tracking, it serves another purpose. When I used it on my Garmin Venu 4 while running, it didn't return to the home screen; instead, it locked the touchscreen, preventing sweat or clothing from interfering with the display during my workout. This feature is available on any watch equipped with a touchscreen lock, which the Lily 2 Active lacks.
For those with compatible watches, the palm gesture is straightforward, effective, and often overlooked—thankfully, I'm here to remind you of it.
How to Perform the Palm Gesture on Your Garmin Watch
- On a touchscreen Garmin watch, navigate through the menus and settings as usual.
- To return to the home screen, briefly cover the entire watch face with your palm.
- Your watch will revert to the home screen.
Garmin states: “To return to the watch face from any screen (except while recording an activity), press your palm against the watch face. This will also dim the backlight. You can wake the display by tapping it.”