If you’ve just received a Garmin smartwatch as a gift, congratulations! You’re now the owner of one of the most feature-packed fitness devices around. With so many options and menus, getting started can feel a little overwhelming. While Garmin’s initial setup will cover the basics, taking a little extra time to personalize your watch makes it much more enjoyable and useful right from the start.

As someone who has tested nearly every Garmin model, here are the nine setup moves I always recommend to new owners to unlock their watch’s full potential.

1. Personalize Your Sports Modes

Since tracking workouts is a core function, start by organizing your sports. During your first activity, you’ll be asked to pick “favorite” sports to keep them at the top of the list for quick access. Next, dive into the settings for each activity to customize the data screens that appear during your workout, showing the stats you care about most, like heart rate or lap pace. You can even change the default accent color for each sport type.

2. Organize Your Widget Glance

Swipe down from your watch face to see your widgets—small info panels for things like the weather, heart rate, or daily steps. You can edit this list to remove ones you don’t need and add those you do. You can also group related widgets into folders (like putting all health stats together) to make scrolling through them much faster.

3. Find Your Perfect Watch Face

You’ll be looking at this a lot, so choose a face that suits your style. Switch between the built-in options or explore thousands more in the Garmin Connect IQ app store. You can customize which data “complications” (like battery life or steps) appear and tweak the colors.

4. Set Up Button Shortcuts

Navigate to your watch’s system settings to configure shortcuts. This lets you assign specific actions to button presses. For example, you can set a double-press of the backlight button to turn on the flashlight, or make holding the start button instantly open your timers.

5. Enable Safety & Emergency Features

This is a crucial step. In the Garmin Connect app, go to Safety & Tracking to set up an emergency contact. You can enable LiveTrack to automatically share your location with loved ones during activities and activate incident detection, which can automatically alert your contact if it senses a hard fall during a workout.

6. Connect to Strava (Or Your Favorite App)

If you use Strava or another fitness platform, sync it! In the Garmin Connect app, tap the three-dot menu, go to Settings > Connected Apps, and link your account. Your activities will then automatically upload after you finish them.

7. Link Your Music Service

Most Garmins can store music. In the watch’s music menu, choose to set up a streaming service like Spotify, Amazon Music, or YouTube Music. After downloading the app and logging in, you can sync playlists directly to the watch for phone-free listening on runs.

8. Set Up Garmin Pay for Contactless Purchases

For convenient, phone-free payments, set up Garmin Pay. Open the Garmin Connect app, go to the wallet section, and follow the prompts to add a supported debit or credit card. You’ll create a secure PIN for authorization.

9. Consider a More Comfortable Band

The standard silicone band works, but many find a nylon strap more comfortable for all-day wear, especially during workouts. You can find affordable, high-quality third-party options online that are easy to swap out.

Taking these steps will transform your new Garmin from a generic gadget into a perfectly personalized fitness and life companion.