📱
Phone Companion App
The watch app works fully standalone — the phone app is optional.
📱 Companion App
→
Send
Routes
Plan
Watch
Settings
Send Tab
- Send GPX route files directly to the watch
- Send
.mapfiles for offline use - Send a URL of a
.mapfile — the watch downloads it directly - Topo Download Area — opens as a popup
Routes Tab
- List of routes stored on the phone — recorded on the watch or planned in the Plan tab
- View — opens the route with full stats, configured via Settings → Route View
- Export as a shareable PNG snapshot, optionally overlaid on your own photo
- Save as GPX or TCX to phone storage
- Upload to Health Connect, Intervals.icu (API key in Settings), or manually to Strava via the browser (Strava's direct API connect has been removed due to subscription costs)
- Rename
- Delete
- Send to Watch
- Navigate To — opens the phone's maps app with directions to the route's start
Plan Tab
- Plan routes with routed or straight-line segments
- Load existing GPX files on the map
- OSM, Topo and Satellite styles
- 3D terrain view
- Create Route via the down-arrow menu — export as GPX, send straight to the watch, or save to the Routes tab
Watch Tab
- Flow Guide — opens the interactive watch app flow diagram as a popup
- Custom Theme Viewer — create custom map themes for the watch
- Name the theme
- Full colour picker per element, with 10 colour presets to start from
- Live map preview before sending
- Import a theme from an XML file — custom or downloaded; must be XML, zip files aren't accepted
- Send Theme to Watch
Health Connect
- Push a recorded route straight to Health Connect for other health apps to read
- Syncs route path, distance, elevation gain and heart rate samples
- Session times use the route's real GPX timestamps, not the upload time
- No account or subscription required
Configure TOPO Area (Send Tab)
Opens as a popup from the Send tab. Downloads a custom topographic map area to the watch, built around a specific route.
1
Upload GPX
Loads a route into the Topo Preview screen
Tap to open →
2
Fix GPX
Adjusts the TOPO area's boundary box so the whole route fits inside it
Tap to run →
3
Area Name
Name for this downloaded TOPO region
Text entry
4
Zoom Level
Shown below the preview box
—
5
Min / Max Zoom
Zoom range to download tiles for
—
6
Map Source
Tile provider for this TOPO area
OpenTopo · SwissTopo · TraceStack · USGS Topo · Kartverket
7
Download Area
Sends the tiles to the watch — can take a while, as tiles aren't self-hosted
Tap to start →
8
Refresh Download Area
Reads installed TOPO files on the watch and lists them below — tap an area to highlight it green and preview it on the map, tap again to remove
Tap to refresh →
Map sources: OpenTopo works worldwide · SwissTopo covers Switzerland only · TraceStack works worldwide but needs an API key (set in Settings → Accounts) · USGS Topo covers the USA only · Kartverket covers Norway only.
Settings Tab
Accounts
1
Strava
Manual upload link — direct API connect was removed due to subscription costs
Link
2
Intervals.icu API Key
Enables uploading routes to Intervals.icu
Text entry
3
TraceStack API Key
Required to use TraceStack as a TOPO area map source
Text entry
Companion App
1
Theme
Visual theme for the companion app itself
Light · Fjord · Dark
Route View
1
Distance Units
Used throughout route view
km · mi
2
Map Style
Base map style for viewing a route
Standard · Topo
3
Show Elevation Chart
Elevation profile on the route view
On · Off
4
Show Status Bar
Distance/time/elevation summary bar
On · Off
5
Route Line Colour
Colour of the route line on the map
Multiple colours
6
Route Thickness
Width of the route line
—
Routes Tab
1
Auto Delete Routes
Automatically remove received route files after a set time
Off · 7 Days · 30 Days
2
Sort Files
Order routes are listed in
Newest · Oldest · Name
Watch Extras
1
Stats Labels
Show stat name labels on watch stats pages
On · Off
2
Show Maps Tab on Watch
Toggle the Maps tab on the watch to clean up its UI
On · Off
3
Show Tracks Tab on Watch
Toggle the Tracks tab on the watch to clean up its UI
On · Off
⌚
Get WristNav
Available now on Google Play for Wear OS
💡 The watch app works fully standalone with offline maps, GPX routes and GPS recording. The phone app is optional.
🗺️
App Flow
🏠 Home
↔
🗺️ Map Viewer
📊 Stats
│
📥 Maps
│
🗂️ Tracks
│
⚙️ Settings
💡 Map Viewer is only accessible from Home and returns to Home. All other sections are accessed via the Home menu.
🏠
Home Screen
- Tap the large circle button to start recording — a second tap goes straight to the map
- GPS status indicator — red (no fix), green (good fix)
- NAV OFF / NAV ON toggle — tap to pick a GPX route to follow, tap again to clear it
- When a route is loaded, starting recording goes straight into the map flow
- Swipe right from Home to open the map directly
🗺️
Map Screen
Controls
- Pinch to zoom, swipe to pan
- Crown / rotary input for zoom on compatible watches
- Long press to open the main menu
- Location button — colour customisable separately for locked and free-pan states in Settings → Map → Map Settings
- Compass tape — tap to cycle modes · drag right to go back to Recording Screen (can swap to a Compass or Zoom function, or remove completely, via Settings → Map → Map Settings → Map Control — also can move to left or right hand side, which also swaps the side of the location button)
- Map Lock — tap the clock/battery bar to lock all input
Compass Modes
- 🔴 Red — North locked: Map always faces north
- 🟢 Green — Heading: Map rotates with direction of travel
- 🔵 Blue — Free compass: Map locked north, tape moves live with your bearing
Navigation Overlay
- Remaining distance to end of route — toggle in Settings → Navigation → Nav Distance
- Live elevation profile with current position marked — toggle in Settings → Navigation → Nav Elevation
- Turn-by-turn style prompts along the route — toggle in Settings → Navigation → Nav Turns
- Direction arrows overlaid on the map — toggle in Settings → Navigation → Nav Arrows
Bezel Stats
- Live workout data curved along the bottom of round screens, straight bar on square watches
- 3 configurable stat slots — enable in Settings → Map → Map Settings → Bezel Stats, then swipe right to configure
- Text colour controlled by the Map Text colour setting
Scale Bar
- Optional on-screen distance scale, toggled in Settings → Map → Map Settings → Scale Bar
📥
Maps Page
Download Maps
- Browse regions and download directly to the watch — no phone needed
- Some countries have a single file, others use regional leaf maps
- Tap any region to download
- Available regions: boothy91.github.io/wrist-nav-maps
- Swipe through downloaded maps — tap to delete
💡 You can also send
.map files directly from the phone companion app (Max 15mb).🗂️
Tracks Page
Import GPX
- Import GPX files sent from the phone companion app
- Download OSM traces directly to the watch
Track List
- Each track shows name and distance
- Tap a track to open its detail view
- Delete tracks from the detail view
Track Detail Pages
- Stats: Distance, total time, moving time, date
- Heart rate: Avg, max and min HR (watch-recorded tracks only)
- Cadence: Avg cadence, max cadence, total steps (watch-recorded tracks only)
- Elevation: Gain, loss, max and min elevation
- Graph: Full elevation profile graph
📊
Stats Pages
Customisable Stats
- Up to 10 pages, 3 stat slots per page
- Optional stat labels — toggle via phone companion app Settings tab
- Configure in Settings → Stats → Stats Pages
- Add and remove pages freely
Available Stats
⏱ Time
⏱ Moving Time
📏 Distance
🏃 Avg Pace
🏃 Lap Pace
📏 Lap Distance
❤️ Heart Rate
❤️ Avg HR
❤️ Max HR
👣 Steps
⛰️ Altitude
📈 Ascent
📉 Descent
💨 Speed
🗺️ Nav Distance
🔥 Calories
⏺️
Recording
- Recording continues when the screen sleeps via a background service
- Vibrates at every km or mile split with split time shown on screen
- Optional countdown timer before recording starts (3s or 5s)
- Auto-pause when speed drops below a configurable threshold
- Adjustable minimum GPS recording distance and time interval
- Optional GPS filtering to smooth out noisy or jumpy GPS points during recording
- Activity type written into GPX — Run, Trail Run, Walk, Hike, Road Cycle, Mountain Bike, Gravel, Kayak, Ski, Snowboard
- GPX exported with timestamps, elevation, heart rate and cadence data
⌚
Watch Face Complications
Assign any WristNav stat to a complication slot on your watch face. Updates live during recording.
15 Complication Providers
- Select from your watch face customisation screen
- Tap any complication to open WristNav directly
- Tap any complication to open WristNav directly
- Shows live data during recording, placeholder when idle
Time
Distance
Avg Pace
Heart Rate
Avg HR
Max HR
Steps
Altitude
Ascent
Descent
Speed
Lap Pace
Lap Distance
Nav Distance
Calories
⚙️
Settings
Access via the main menu at the bottom. Swipe left/right through the 6 categories.
⚙️ Settings
→
Display
Map
Recording
Navigation
Stats
System
Display
1
Watch Theme
Visual theme for the entire app
Light · Fjord · Dark · Forest · Sand
2
Stats Text Size
Font scale for stats pages
Small · Medium · Large
Map
Tap Map to open Map Theme Settings. Swipe through 5 options.
1
Map Theme
Visual style of the rendered map
Light · Fjord · Dark · Light Min · Fjord Min · Dark Min · Custom
2
Custom Themes
Manage custom themes sent from the phone app — activate or delete
Tap to open →
3
Map Settings
Full map overlay and control settings
Tap to open →
4
Lock Zoom
Fixed zoom level when location button is locked to position
15 · 16 · 17 · 18
5
Ele Colour
Colour of the elevation profile line and gradient fill
Red · Blue · Green · Cyan · Orange · Purple · White
Map Settings — accessed via Settings → Map → Map Settings. Swipe through 10 options.
1
Map Control
How the map is zoomed and panned via the compass tape
Off · Compass · Zoom
2
Control Side
Side of screen compass or zoom buttons appear on
Left · Right
3
Top Bar
Clock and battery bar visibility
Always · Tap · 2s · 10s
4
Map Text
Colour of nav overlay text, elevation labels and bezel stats
Red · Blue · Green · Cyan · Orange · Purple · White
5
Location Button (Locked)
Colour of the location button while locked to GPS position
Red · Blue · Green · Cyan · Orange · Purple · White
6
Location Button (Free)
Colour of the location button while free-panning the map
Red · Blue · Green · Cyan · Orange · Purple · White
7
Scale Bar
On-screen distance scale overlay
On · Off
8
Import Colour
Colour of imported GPX route lines on the map
Red · Blue · Green · Cyan · Orange · Purple · White
9
Import Width
Width of imported GPX route lines
1px → 40px
10
Bezel Stats
Live stats curved along bottom of screen in map mode — swipe right to configure 3 slots
On · Off
Recording
1
Activity
Activity type written into GPX for Strava / Garmin categorisation
Run · Trail Run · Walk · Hike · MTB · Kayak · Ski…
2
Rec Distance
Minimum GPS distance between recorded points
2m · 5m · 10m · 20m · 50m
3
Rec Time
Minimum time interval between recorded points
1s · 2s · 5s · 10s
4
Auto Pause
Automatically pause recording when speed drops below threshold
On · Off
5
Pause Speed
Speed threshold for auto-pause
0.5 · 1.0 · 1.5 · 2.0 km/h
6
Record Colour
Colour of the live recording track line on the map
Red · Blue · Green · Cyan · Orange · Purple · White
7
Record Width
Width of the live recording track line
1px → 40px
8
Heart Rate
Enable heart rate recording via the watch sensor
On · Off
9
Steps
Enable step/cadence recording
On · Off
10
Countdown
Countdown timer before recording starts
Off · 3s · 5s
11
Lap Splits
Vibrate and show split time at every km or mile
On · Off
12
GPS Filtering
Smooths noisy or jumpy GPS points during recording
On · Off
Navigation
1
Nav Distance
Show remaining route distance overlay while navigating
On · Off
2
Nav Elevation
Show elevation profile with live position marker
On · Off
3
Nav Turns
Show turn-by-turn style prompts along the route
On · Off
4
Nav Arrows *Beta Testing* (Currently in Google Review)
Adds direction arrows to the map page when Nav is enabled
On · Off
Stats
1
Stats Pages
Configure up to 10 stats pages — add, remove and assign stat slots
Tap to open →
2
Calories
Set weight and age for live calorie tracking
Tap to configure →
3
Barometer
Altitude source, either Barometer On or Off
Barometer · GPS
4
Pace Avg
Time window used to calculate average pace
10s · 30s · 60s · 3min · 5min · All
System
1
Distance
Distance and pace units used throughout the app
km · mi
2
Small Units
Elevation units for altitude, ascent and descent
Feet · Metres
3
Keep Screen On
Prevent screen from sleeping during navigation
On · Off
4
Keep Active
Keep app active and GPS running in background when not recording a route
On · Off
5
Battery Saver
Minimal dark map during navigation to reduce battery — restores on disable
On · Off
🐛
Reporting Crashes
Crashes are automatically captured and reported to the development team via Sentry. You don't need to do anything.
🙏
Credits
- Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
- Trail Planner by boothy91