Back Button Assist

Back Button Assist is a switch-based input aid for people with motor impairments — reduced grip strength, hand tremor, spasticity, or limited fine-motor control — who cannot reliably control how long they press their Wear OS watch's hardware button.

On a watch, a quick press and a press-and-hold are two different commands. If your hand is unsteady, that timing is hard to control: you trigger a long-press by accident, or you cannot hold long enough. Wear OS already lets you set what the short press does, but not the long press — so Back Button Assist fills that gap: set the long-press to do the same thing as a normal short press, and the button does what you meant no matter how long you hold it.

Who it helps
• People with hand tremor whose presses are unintentionally prolonged
• People with reduced grip strength who struggle to release a button quickly
• People with spasticity or involuntary movement affecting press duration
• Anyone for whom a timing-dependent press-and-hold is unreliable

It can also map a single hold to open a frequently-needed app or return to the watch face — reaching it with one physical press instead of scrolling a list and tapping a small icon.

Some apps use the button long-press for their own controls — for example, Samsung Health uses it to pause and resume workouts. Back Button Assist bypasses these apps so their built-in behaviour is preserved, and you can customise which apps are bypassed.

Features
• Timing-independent switch — set the long-press to match the short press, so both do the same thing
• Open a chosen app with one hold — no scrolling or tapping small icons
• Home action — return to the watch face from anywhere with one hold
• Smart bypass — selected apps keep their own long-press behaviour (e.g. Samsung Health)
• The short press is unaffected and works exactly as normal
• Bezel / crown scroll support in all menus
• Works on Samsung Galaxy Watch and other Wear OS watches

How to set up
1. Install the app and open it on your watch
2. Tap "Enable in Accessibility Settings"
3. Under Downloaded apps, enable "Back Button Assist"
4. Return and choose what the button does — mirror the short press, open an app, or Home
5. Optionally choose which apps keep their own long-press behaviour
6. Done — hold the button to try it

Why it needs the Accessibility permission
Detecting a hardware button press system-wide is only possible through Android's Accessibility (filter key events) API — there is no other API for it. The permission is used solely to detect your button press and perform the action you chose. It does not read screen content and does not collect or transmit any personal data.