So I just upgraded my iPhone 5S to the new 6S model, and I was eager to use Apple Pay. After loading up my credit card and configuring it to use my Apple Watch, I checked the instructions for activating it. Double press the button on the Watch, get the Apple Pay screen, then hold it near the credit card reader. Seemed simple enough. I rehearsed it at home. Twice. I was sure I had it down pat.
So off to Trader Joe’s, where I loaded my basket with honey crisp apples (a delicious combination of sweetness and tartness, rather like me actually), baking potatoes, cheese, crackers, and plain yogurt.
And then I found myself at the checkout counter. Putting my well-rehearsed moves to the test, I smugly double pressed the Watch button…
…and got a screen asking me if I wanted to Add a Friend.
No, I didn’t want to add a friend, I wanted to charge my credit card.
Now here’s the thing. When I go to Trader Joe’s, I typically use the Activity app on the Watch to track my journey as an Outdoor Walk. It’s ten minutes there, five minutes in the store, and ten minutes back, which typically takes 100 calories or so. Or at least that’s what the Watch tells me. So when I double pressed the button, I was in the Activities app, not on the Watch face. Was that the problem?
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So I got out of Activities and tried double pressing. Still got that stupid Add a Friend screen. A few more seconds of fumbling, and the clerk had already rung up all my items. So although I knew I could whip out my iPhone to make the payment, I decided that it was easier to just take my credit card out of my wallet and swipe. Which is what I did.
Getting home (115 calories burned, thank you very much), I tried to figure out what went wrong. After a few tries, I was able to get the Apple Pay screen on the Watch, and once I got that, I couldn’t figure out how to get back to that Add a Friend screen or why it had popped up to begin with.
The mysteries of new technology.
UPDATE: I asked this question in the Apple Support Communities and received a helpful reply. Apparently the double press on the button must be very quick; a single press brings up that add a friend screen. Guess I’ll have to practice some more…