Setting up your watch

Charge

To wake up and charge your watch, plug it into a powered USB port or a USB charger with the custom cable that came in the box. The cable magnetically snaps into place. Please note that it may take a while for the charging animation to appear on the display. We recommend that you charge the battery before you start using your watch. See Battery for detailed information on charging the battery.

Choose language

Choose the language you want to use on your watch. Your watch supports the following languages: Bahasa Indonesia, Čeština, Dansk, Deutsch, English, Español, Français, Italiano, Nederlands, Norsk, Polski, Português, Русский, Suomi, Svenska, 简体中文, 日本語 and Türkçe.

Set a PIN on your watch

Protect your data by setting a six-digit PIN on your watch. When a PIN is enabled, your watch automatically locks when removed from your wrist and requires the PIN to unlock. This helps ensure that even if your watch is lost or stolen, unauthorized users cannot access your personal information. You can set a PIN during setup or later by going to Settings > Data & security > Set PIN.

For more information, see Setting up and using a PIN on your watch.

Choose setup method

The watch gives you three options for setup: Browse to the option most convenient for you by swiping the display up or down. Tap the display to confirm your selection.

A. On your phone: Set up your watch using the Flow app to receive the latest firmware updates and pair it with your phone. This method requires an internet connection.

B. On your computer: A wired computer setup is quicker, and you can charge your watch at the same time. However, if you set up your watch using a computer and later want to use it with the Flow app, you will need to pair it with your phone separately. This method also requires an internet connection.

C. On your watch: If you do not have a compatible mobile device or immediate access to a computer with an internet connection, you can do the setup directly on your watch. However, please note that this method does not connect your watch to Flow. To receive firmware updates and view detailed training, activity, and sleep data, you will need to set up your device later using option A or B.

Options A and B are recommended. If you set up your watch directly on the device (option C), it will not yet be connected to Flow. Firmware updates are only available through Flow. To make sure you get to enjoy your watch and the unique Polar features at their best, it’s important that you do the setup later using the Flow app or in the Flow web service by following the steps in option A or B.

Option A: Set up with a phone and Polar Flow app

Please note that you have to do the pairing in the Flow app and NOT in your phone’s Bluetooth settings.

  1. Keep your watch and phone close to each other during setup.

  2. Make sure your phone is connected to the internet and turn on Bluetooth.

    Your watch connects to your phone via Bluetooth, which is enabled by default. If needed, you can disable it by turning on Flight mode through the Quick Settings menu.

  3. Download the Polar Flow app from the App Store or Google Play on your phone.
  4. Open the Flow app on your phone.
  5. The Flow app recognizes your watch nearby and prompts you to start pairing it. Tap the Start button on the Flow app.
  6. When the Bluetooth Pairing Request confirmation message appears on your phone, check that the code shown on your phone matches the code shown on your watch.
  7. Accept the Bluetooth pairing request on your phone.
  8. Confirm the pin code on your watch by tapping the display.
  9. Pairing done is displayed once the pairing is completed.
  10. Sign in with your Polar account or create a new one. We’ll walk you through the sign-up and setup within the app.

When you’re done with the settings, tap Save and sync and your settings are synced to your watch.

If you're prompted to update the firmware, please plug your watch into a power source to ensure a flawless update operation, and then accept the update.

Option B: Set up with your computer

  1. Go to flow.polar.com/start and download and then install the Polar FlowSync data transfer software onto your computer.
  2. Sign in with your Polar account or create a new one. Plug your watch into your computer's USB port with the custom cable that came in the box. We’ll walk you through the sign-up and setup within the Polar Flow web service.

Option C: Set up from the watch

Adjust the values by swiping the display and tap to confirm your selection. If you want to return and change a setting at any point, press the button until you reach the setting you want to change.