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If sunrise or sunset is blank, wrong, frozen, or missing on your Apple Watch, check the watch face and selected city first, then verify location permissions, refresh the iPhone–Watch connection, and restart both devices. Most cases are configuration or synchronization problems—not a reason to unpair the watch or buy a new one.

First, identify which sunrise/sunset feature you’re using

Apple Watch does not provide one universal “Sunrise/Sunset” feature. The information can come from several places:

  • World Clock complication: shows sunrise and sunset for a selected city or added location.
  • Solar Graph or Solar Dial: uses your current location and time of day. On Solar Graph, tapping the face and turning the Digital Crown shows phases including dawn, sunrise, zenith, sunset, and darkness. Apple explains Solar Graph here.
  • Another Apple face or a third-party app: availability and refresh behavior depend on the face, complication slot, app permissions, and watchOS version.

The correct fix depends on the symptom. A missing option in the complication picker is usually a face-compatibility issue; a blank value on a supported face is more likely to involve location, city selection, synchronization, or software.

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1. Make sure the watch face supports Sunrise/Sunset

Not every Apple Watch face or complication slot supports the World Clock Sunrise/Sunset complication. To check:

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  1. Touch and hold the current watch face.
  2. Tap Edit.
  3. Swipe left until you reach the complication screen.
  4. Tap the slot you want to change.
  5. Turn the Digital Crown to browse the available options.
  6. Choose World Clock, then select Sunrise/Sunset or the relevant added-location option if it appears.
  7. Press the Digital Crown to save, then tap the face.

These are Apple’s documented face-editing steps; its World Clock guide also lists Sunrise/Sunset and Added Locations complications.

If Sunrise/Sunset does not appear at all, try a different Apple face and a different slot. Face availability varies by Apple Watch model and watchOS version, so the missing option does not automatically indicate a hardware fault.

2. Check location permissions

Location-based watch features can fail when Location Services is disabled on the watch or iPhone.

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On the Apple Watch

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Tap Privacy.
  3. Tap Location Services.
  4. Make sure Location Services is enabled.

On the iPhone

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Tap Privacy & Security.
  3. Tap Location Services and make sure it is on.
  4. Open System Services.
  5. Make sure Compass Calibration is enabled.

Apple documents these settings for location-dependent compass functions. Compass Calibration is a useful diagnostic setting when location or compass behavior is failing, but Apple does not state that it is a universal requirement for every Sunrise/Sunset display.

3. Test the location independently

Open the Compass app on the watch and check whether it can show a bearing, location, coordinates, or elevation. Then open Weather and check whether its city is correct.

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If Compass shows a red spinning radar screen, Apple identifies disabled Location Services, disabled Compass Calibration, or a poor magnetic environment as possible causes. See Apple’s Compass troubleshooting guidance.

What you see What it suggests
Compass and Weather are also wrong Investigate permissions, location acquisition, connectivity, or software.
Compass and Weather work, but the complication is missing Check the face, slot, selected city, or stale face configuration.
The value is correct only after waking the display Check Always On behavior before treating it as a data failure.

4. Check the selected city or default location

A sunrise or sunset time can be accurate for the wrong city. This is especially easy to miss after traveling, changing cities, crossing time zones, or manually selecting a location.

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For the World Clock complication

Open the World Clock settings in the Apple Watch app on the iPhone and confirm that the intended city is present and selected. The exact menu wording can vary with the watchOS and iOS interface.

For Weather-based information

  1. Open the Apple Watch app on the iPhone.
  2. Tap My Watch.
  3. Tap Weather.
  4. Tap Default City.
  5. Choose the correct city.

Apple says the default city controls the location shown in Weather complications. Check Apple’s Weather instructions.

“Current location” and “default city” are not necessarily the same. A Solar Graph generally follows the current location, while a World Clock complication can intentionally show a manually selected city.

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5. Wake the display and check Always On

If the complication looks frozen only while your wrist is down, raise your wrist or tap the display. Check whether the information updates when the screen returns to full brightness.

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On the watch, open Settings > Display & Brightness > Always On and review Show Complication Data. Make sure the relevant information is allowed to appear while the display is dimmed.

Always On is not the same as a fully active display. Apple says non-live complications, including Weather and third-party complications, may refresh once per minute or as needed while the wrist is down. Live data such as Compass is not active in the dimmed Always On state. Apple’s Always On guidance explains the limitation.

A delayed update in dim mode can therefore be normal. If the complication remains blank or wrong after the display wakes, continue with the next steps.

6. Refresh the iPhone–Apple Watch connection

Keep the iPhone and watch near each other and confirm that Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are enabled. If the watch has cellular service, it may also use that connection, but do not assume that every Sunrise/Sunset display requires an internet connection.

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  1. Open Weather and Compass on the watch.
  2. Open the corresponding or relevant apps on the iPhone.
  3. Wait briefly for the devices to synchronize.
  4. Check that Airplane Mode is off.
  5. Temporarily test without restrictive connectivity or Focus settings if synchronization appears stalled.

Apple’s watchOS update history has included fixes for cases where Weather cities failed to sync between iPhone and Apple Watch, so synchronization is a credible troubleshooting area even though it does not explain every sunrise/sunset problem.

7. Restart both devices

Apple recommends restarting the Apple Watch and its paired iPhone when something is not working correctly.

Restart Apple Watch normally

  1. Press and hold the side button until the sliders appear.
  2. Tap the power button.
  3. Drag the Power Off slider.
  4. After the watch turns off, hold the side button until the Apple logo appears.

Restart the paired iPhone as well, then check the face again.

Use a force restart only if the watch cannot be restarted normally or is unresponsive: hold the side button and Digital Crown together for at least 10 seconds, until the Apple logo appears. This is a recovery step, not the preferred first fix. See Apple’s restart instructions.

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8. Update iOS and watchOS

Install available software updates on both devices. On the iPhone:

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  1. Open the Apple Watch app.
  2. Tap My Watch.
  3. Tap General.
  4. Tap Software Update.
  5. Download and install the available update.

Apple advises keeping the watch on its charger, keeping the iPhone nearby, and not restarting either device during installation. Check Apple’s current compatibility and update guidance.

As of 2026, watchOS 26 supports Apple Watch SE (2nd generation) and later, Apple Watch Series 6 and later, and Apple Watch Ultra and later. It requires an iPhone 11 or later, or iPhone SE (3rd generation) or later, with the required iOS release. Older watches receive the newest version available for their hardware; watchOS 26 is not available to every Apple Watch.

9. Remove and re-add the face or complication

If permissions, city selection, connectivity, and software are correct, perform a practical face reset:

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  1. Switch temporarily to another supported Apple face.
  2. Add the Sunrise/Sunset complication again.
  3. If necessary, remove the affected face from the active face list.
  4. Recreate the face and test the complication on a clean Apple-provided face.

Apple documents how to add complications, but does not specifically certify recreating a face as a universal fix. It is useful for isolating a stale or damaged face configuration without disrupting the entire watch pairing.

10. Check magnetic interference only when Compass is also affected

Magnets can affect compass accuracy. If Compass is inaccurate, shows the red radar screen, or behaves erratically alongside other location problems, remove magnetic accessories and test again. Apple specifically warns about magnetic material in some Leather Link, Leather Loop, Milanese Loop, and earlier Sport Loop bands. Review Apple’s magnetic-interference guidance.

Do not treat a magnetic band as the default explanation for a blank Sunrise/Sunset complication when Compass and Weather otherwise work normally.

When to contact Apple

Contact Apple Support if several built-in location features remain broken after permissions, a restart, and software updates. Escalation is also reasonable when Compass, Weather, GPS-related functions, and multiple faces fail together, or when the watch has physical damage.

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Unpairing and pairing again can resolve a broader pairing or synchronization problem, but it is disruptive and should come late in the process. Apple’s unpairing process creates a backup on the iPhone during the procedure. Use it when the problem is widespread or Apple Support recommends it; do not unpair solely because one complication is blank. Apple’s unpairing guidance is here.

Quick fix checklist

  1. Use a face and complication slot that support Sunrise/Sunset.
  2. Enable Location Services on the watch and iPhone.
  3. Enable iPhone Compass Calibration as a diagnostic check.
  4. Confirm the World Clock city or Weather Default City.
  5. Wake the display and check Always On settings.
  6. Open Weather and Compass to test location independently.
  7. Keep the iPhone and watch nearby with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi enabled.
  8. Restart both devices.
  9. Update iOS and watchOS where supported.
  10. Remove and recreate the affected face.
  11. Only then consider Apple Support, unpairing, or service.

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