5 Life Hacks Every Amazfit User Should Know

When I ran the Hyrox race last month, I chose my Amazfit Cheetah 2 Pro —and I was very pleased with the results . Over the past year, I’ve been watching Amazfit (and its parent ecosystem, Zepp) steadily build a loyal following among people who want serious fitness data without the $400 price tag. And now I’ve discovered that most Amazfit owners are barely using their watches to their full potential.

Below are five life hacks that go beyond the instructions, whether you’re using the budget Bip 6 , the rugged T-Rex 3 , the advanced Balance 3 trainer, or any other Amazfit option.

Unlock the secret developer mode on your Amazfit watch.

In the Zepp app , go to Profile > Settings > About , then tap the Zepp logo seven times. Voila: you’ve just unlocked developer mode. Here’s what you can do with this discreet method:

• Installing custom watch faces using a QR code. This allows you to bypass the existing watch face library and download your own watch face to your computer, scan the generated QR code, and install it directly on your watch.

• Transferring watch faces between compatible models. If you have multiple Amazfit models with the same screen resolution (e.g., Bip 6, Active, and Cheetah), developer mode allows you to transfer watch faces between them. As with the method described above, this effectively expands your design options beyond what is officially supported by any particular model.

• View device logs in real time. Get real-time debugging information about app performance, crashes, and Bluetooth connection issues directly from your phone or computer.

• Take real screenshots. Tap the screenshot icon to capture exactly what’s displayed on your watch face and automatically save the image to your phone’s photo gallery.

• Enable Developer Bridge Mode , which connects the Zepp application runtime to desktop development tools like Zepp CLI or Watchface Maker for more complex customization projects.

Not every user needs all five of these tools—I certainly don’t. But even if you don’t plan to troubleshoot errors yourself, a tool like the QR code watch face setup is worth it, thanks to its seven-tap operation.

Customize your Amazfit to your schedule

For example, consider when you typically charge your electronic devices. If you use your Amazfit to track your sleep, this means charging at a different time of day. Solution: keep your charger in the bathroom. A 10-minute charge during the shower or while getting ready in the morning is more than enough to recharge most Amazfit batteries, and it happens precisely during the time you’re not wearing the watch.

In the same vein, I recommend reconfiguring your wrist wake-up settings. If you’ve ever been woken by your watch blinking because you’ve tossed your wrist, this is for you. Instead of leaving the “Raise Wrist to View Info” feature running 24/7, set it to only operate during the hours you’re actually awake. Regardless of the hours you set, the display simply won’t activate when you move your wrist. This will not only prevent your light from abruptly turning on in the middle of the night, but it’s also a great way to save battery, as the display is one of the most power-hungry components of any smartwatch.

Save battery life (and stop inflating metrics you don’t use).

By default, the Amazfit watch collects data quite frequently, much more frequently than you actually need. If you’re not actively training, reduce the data collection frequency as follows:

• During periods when you are not exercising, reduce the frequency of heart rate monitoring from one minute to five or ten minutes.

• Turn off Automatic stress monitoring and Automatic blood oxygen tracking unless you specifically rely on these data.

• Disable continuous location tracking and heart rate recording when you’re not working out. Just remember to turn both features back on when you start working out.

These quick settings changes help prevent background activity from draining your watch’s battery without sacrificing much in terms of data.

When it comes to heart rate monitoring, rather than letting the watch collect data minute by minute, I highly recommend getting a chest heart rate monitor. Optical heart rate sensors on the wrist are convenient, but they’re not ideal, especially during high-intensity interval training or activities with a lot of wrist movement. If accuracy is really important to you (for example, for zone training), it’s worth pairing the watch with an external chest heart rate monitor , such as this COOSPO one . Once paired, enable the Heart Rate Push feature in the sensor settings, and your Amazfit will receive heart rate data directly from the strap during workouts, instead of relying on the built-in sensor.

Take advantage of amazingly convenient third-party apps.

Zepp’s built-in app ecosystem covers the basics, but I’ve scoured Reddit threads to find the best third-party apps to enhance your Amazfit:

• Navigation Wear earbuds sync Google Maps directions directly to your wrist, so you can follow turn-by-turn directions without using your phone.

• Remoteify (and similar apps) store music locally on your watch, allowing you to control playback without having to keep your phone nearby.

• The RuWeather app replaces Amazfit’s mediocre default weather app with a more detailed and accurate forecast. You can install it using a QR code from GitHub here .

• The Beeper app allows you to reply to messages from WhatsApp, Slack, Telegram, and other messengers.

Together, these apps significantly bridge the gap between the Amazfit ecosystem and more expensive smartwatches.

Learn about these Amazfit features right away.

Amazfit has a lot of useful features, but they will only be useful if you learn about them now, before you actually need them.

Fixed a bug where Amazfit workouts would pause randomly.

One of the quirks I’ve noticed with my Amazfit stopwatches is that the crown (aka the top right button) is either larger or more sensitive, causing the watch to constantly think I’m pausing my workout if I accidentally bump it.

Here’s my solution: go to the workout settings and switch the pause mechanism from a single press to a long press. The long press took me a little getting used to, but I’m glad I no longer have to worry about accidental pauses caused by natural wrist movements.

Never lose your phone again!

Be sure to go to Bluetooth settings and set up a disconnect alert so your watch notifies you when the Bluetooth connection to your phone is lost. This alert can save you from leaving your phone on a restaurant table or a bench at the gym.

Remove water quickly and easily

After exposure to rain, water can remain in your watch’s microphone and speaker ports, muffling the sound or causing false alarms. Amazfit’s solution is a built-in water removal feature: swipe down from the home screen to open the Control Center, tap the “Droplet” icon, and hold the watch with the speaker facing down. The watch will vibrate at specific frequencies designed to physically expel moisture from the ports. Like many of the methods described above, it’s helpful to know about this feature in advance so you’re prepared when you actually need it.

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