Why There's A Blue Border On Your Apple Watch — And How To Get Rid Of It

As famously user-friendly as Apple devices tend to be, the Apple Watch is nonetheless a complex device, with a number of common problems, idiosyncrasies, and features (many of which, in fairness, are excellent and unique) that aren't immediately self-evident. If you've been seeing a mysterious blue ring pop up on your watch and have no idea why, it's likely one of two accessibility features.

AssistiveTouch lets you navigate around the Apple Watch UI with gestures; the blue ring that pops up is both to indicate that it's been activated, and also to serve as a cursor to show you which option is selected. Or it may be that you've turned on VoiceOver, which will read buttons and options aloud when you have them selected. It's a boon if you're fumbling with your watch in the dark or for any users with visual impairments, and a welcome inclusion.

In fact, both functions can be extremely handy (especially for seniors), but they can also become an annoyance if you didn't activate them intentionally. Luckily, Apple makes it fairly breezy to deactivate either of them.

AssistiveTouch will flash the blue border around the perimeter of your Apple Watch any time you raise your wrist. It will then narrow down to a blue focus ring to indicate which option is highlighted. You can scroll through options by tapping or double tapping your index finger to your thumb, and select an option by clenching your hand into a fist. If it's the initial AssistiveTouch ring color bothering you, you can change it by going to Settings > Accessibility > AssistiveTouch > Color. Or you can turn AssistiveTouch off completely if you prefer — just go to Settings > Accessibility > AssistiveTouch and tap AssistiveTouch to toggle it on or off.

VoiceOver works similarly. It'll flash a circle or border on your watch to indicate that it's active, then it will read any text, button, or option you select aloud. You can also toggle it on or off under the Accessibility menu — just go to Settings > Accessibility > VoiceOver and flip the toggle in the desired direction.

You can also skip all the menu navigation and just use Siri to toggle either option on or off. Just say "Hey Siri, turn off VoiceOver" or "Hey Siri, turn off AssistiveTouch," and let your AI assistant do the work for you.