How to use Poise while walking

Poise works while you walk. Wear supported AirPods, keep them connected to your iPhone and let Poise remind you when your head stays tilted down. You can put your phone in your pocket and enjoy the walk.

A reminder beyond your desk

You can spend a walk looking at the pavement without noticing. Poise gives you a cue to bring your attention back to how you are holding your head. It works while you listen to music or a podcast, take a call, or walk with nothing playing.

You do not need to hold a rigid pose or keep checking a screen. Walk naturally and pay attention to your surroundings, especially near traffic.

Before you head out

1. Connect your supported headphones to the iPhone running Poise and allow motion access.
2. Complete calibration while holding still, with your head comfortably upright and your gaze ahead. Do this before you start walking.
3. In Settings, enable Smart Activity Detection. Open Walking Posture and make sure Monitor Walking Posture is on.
4. Enable Background Posture Monitoring, then check that Active Hours includes your walk.

Set walking reminders separately

Walking Posture has its own Nudge Sensitivity and Slouch Angle settings. You can adjust how readily Poise reminds you on a walk without changing your sitting preferences.

The separate Walking Posture screen appears when Smart Activity Detection is enabled. With that setting off, Poise uses the general Posture Sensitivity Settings instead.

Check the live status when you start moving. If walking reminders are off, open Walking Posture and check Monitor Walking Posture before changing the sensitivity.

Lock your phone and keep going

Yes, you can lock your phone. With Background Posture Monitoring enabled, Poise can keep monitoring and giving reminders while your phone is in your pocket. Your headphones need to stay connected to that iPhone.

Music is optional, and Poise also works during calls. Read the audio and background guide for those settings.

If reminders are too frequent or you hear nothing

Adjust the walking sensitivity if the reminders do not suit your usual pace and head movement. If the baseline feels wrong after you reseat your headphones, stop somewhere safe and recalibrate.

If you hear nothing, check the headphone connection, Walking Posture toggle and Active Hours. Use Choose Nudge Sound to check the cue and volume. The troubleshooting checklist covers the remaining checks.

Look back after your walk

You can review your good-posture time in Progress later. During the walk, let the reminders do their job instead of checking the app after every nudge. Poise reads head position, not your whole body; the detection guide explains that distinction.