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How do I get MGRS on my Apple Watch?

Install FieldGrid on your iPhone and the watch app puts your 8-digit MGRS grid on the first screen in big red digits, with a second format such as UTM underneath. The watch takes its own GPS fix when it can, so the grid keeps moving while the phone stays in a pocket or a pack.

4 min read · Updated 2026-09-23

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On a lane walk with the phone zipped in a chest pocket, the grid on the wrist read 13SDD 7594 2180, and the phone in the pocket matched it, with no need to take the phone out until the end.

Setting it up

  1. Install FieldGrid on the iPhone and open it once, so it has a location fix and your settings. If the watch app doesn't appear on its own, install it from the Watch app on the iPhone.
  2. On the iPhone, tap the gear at the top of the Map tab. In Settings, under Coordinate format, whatever you pick as Primary becomes the big line on the watch; Secondary becomes the small one under it.
  3. Open FieldGrid on the watch and allow location when the watch asks. That permission is separate from the phone's.
  4. Wait for the small icon in the top-left corner to turn green. Green means the watch has its own fix; a blue iPhone icon means it's showing the last position the phone sent.

What each screen shows

Five pages, stacked vertically. Swipe up or turn the Digital Crown.

FieldGrid watch pages, top to bottom
PageWhat you see
GridFormat name and ± accuracy on top, the primary coordinate in large red type, the secondary below, then heading in degrees with N, NE, E and so on
MapYour position on Apple Maps, saved waypoints, and range rings or night red if you switched them on in the iPhone app. Crown to zoom; you can't drag or pan it
CompassHeading in 3 digits, labelled MAG, although it shows true heading whenever the watch provides one
WaypointsPoints from the iPhone and points saved on the watch, each with its MGRS grid and, once the watch has its own fix, a distance from you
ToolsSAVE WP, Send to iPhone, and the free trial timer

On the grid page with Primary set to MGRS and Secondary set to UTM, the same spot reads 13SDD 7594 2180 above and 13N 475943 4321807 below. A rally point saved on the phone at 13SDD 7810 2050 shows up in the watch list as 2.5k away.

Saving a point from the wrist

SAVE WP stores your current watch position as WP-001, WP-002 and so on, buzzes once and sends a copy to the iPhone, where a toast says it was received from the watch. If the watch has no fix it refuses and shows No GPS, which is the safer behaviour.

Send to iPhone is different: it sends a quick point straight to the phone without keeping one on the watch, and it does not check for a fix first. Wait for the green status icon first, or the phone can end up holding a point at 0, 0.

Where it falls short

  • No altitude on any watch page, although the phone shows it on the Map tab.
  • The watch waypoint list gives distance but no bearing, and the watch map can't be dragged. To walk to a point you still read the bearing off the phone or your compass.
  • Phone waypoints sometimes weren't on the watch right after launching the watch app. Opening FieldGrid on the iPhone, or adding a waypoint there, sent the list across.
  • Waypoints on the watch always show MGRS, whatever Primary is set to.

Free, Pro and the 5-minute lock

Without Pro the watch app runs for 5 minutes per session. The Tools page counts it down, and when it hits zero a FIELDGRID PRO screen covers everything until the next session, which starts once you've been out of the app for a minute. You can't buy on the watch; Pro is bought on the iPhone and the watch unlocks when the phone tells it.

Five minutes covers a grid check at a checkpoint and one dropped point. A whole lane with the grid on your wrist it does not cover, which is the main reason to consider Pro for that.

Questions and answers

Does Apple Watch have MGRS built in?
Apple's own watch apps don't include an MGRS readout. FieldGrid adds one: an 8-digit MGRS grid as the main line on its watch app, with UTM, decimal lat/long or a Google Maps link as the second line if you want.
Does the watch need the iPhone nearby?
Not for the grid. The watch app takes its own GPS fix and works offline. The iPhone is needed to set the formats, to send its waypoint list and to unlock Pro, and points you save on the watch reach the phone when the two reconnect. The map tiles need a connection like any Apple Maps view.
Can I use Apple Watch for navigation with FieldGrid?
For position checks, yes: grid, heading, a following map and distance to your saved points. There is no route guidance and no bearing to a waypoint on the watch, so pair it with a compass and the iPhone app for anything longer than a glance.
Does it work on Apple Watch Ultra?
It needs watchOS 10 or later, and runs on any Apple Watch that has it, Ultra included. The screens are the same on every size.

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