Uninstalling a face is easy once you know the one rule: the face currently on screen cannot be removed. Switch away first, then any of the three routes below takes under a minute.
Published 2026-07-183 min read
Step zero: switch away from the face
Garmin refuses to uninstall the face that is currently active, and the error message when
you try is unhelpful. Hold UP (or the touchscreen on touch models), pick any other face,
then proceed. Our switching guide has
the exact gesture per model.
Route 1: the Connect IQ app (recommended)
Open the Connect IQ app on your phone and make sure your watch shows as connected.
Open your device's installed content and find the watch face under your watch faces.
Tap the face, then Uninstall (on some versions a trash icon).
Let the watch sync. The face leaves the carousel within a minute.
Route 2: the Garmin Connect app
Garmin Connect can do it too: open your device, then Appearance, then
Watch Faces, select the face and choose uninstall from its menu. Same result, useful if
you happen to be in Connect already.
Route 3: Garmin Express over USB
On a computer, plug the watch in, open
Garmin Express,
select the watch, open Apps and remove the face there. This route works even
when the phone's Bluetooth connection is acting up, which makes it a good fallback.
What removal does and does not do
Uninstalling deletes the face and its settings from the watch and returns its storage to
the Connect IQ budget (the usual cure when installs start failing). It does not touch your
purchase: licenses are tied to your Garmin account, and every face you ever bought can be
reinstalled from the store for free. If you are within 48 hours of a purchase and want
your money back instead, that is a refund, not an uninstall; the process is in our
guide to buying and refunds.
Frequently asked
Will I lose a paid face if I uninstall it?
No. The license lives on your Garmin account, not on the watch. You can uninstall a purchased face today and reinstall it next year for free, on the same watch or a new one. Refunds are a separate topic with a 48-hour window, covered in our buying guide.
Can I delete the built-in Garmin faces?
No. Factory faces are part of the firmware and cannot be removed. On some models you can remove a saved customized copy of a built-in face from the carousel, but the face itself stays available.
Does removing faces actually free up space?
Yes, and it is the standard fix when new installs start failing. Every Connect IQ face you remove gives its storage back to the Connect IQ budget.
I uninstalled a face and the watch still shows it.
The uninstall completes on the next sync. Open Garmin Connect, wait for the watch to connect and sync, and the face disappears from the carousel. If it lingers, restart the watch.