HermesEnabler 2 is an open-source app that adds the Hermès watch faces to an Apple Watch that does not come with them. It works only on watchOS 27.0 through watchOS 27.3 beta 1, and you install it by sideloading an IPA file.
Developer Jinwoo Kim, who goes by pookjw, rebuilt the open-source project on GitHub on November 10. The first version dates to December 2024 and was a debugger snippet that loaded a framework into the ClockFace process on the watch simulator, while the new version is a full app that runs on your watch. Contributors added an iPhone companion app, backup controls and support for the Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 within a day.
HermesEnabler 2 Switches On Hermès Faces
The Watch Faces screen in the app has two switches, one for Hermès and one for Ultra Faces. If you turn on Ultra Faces, you can no longer use the Hermès Faubourg Party face, so you give up that face if you want the Ultra ones. After you change either switch, the app tells you to restart Carousel so the faces reload.
Apple sells its Hermès faces, such as Circulaire, Radial and Maritime, as exclusives on the Apple Watch Hermès models. The Hermès switch changes the DeviceBrand value in the watch’s MobileGestalt data, which is how the app marks your watch as a Hermès model.
A contributor added the Hermès switch for the Series 12 and Ultra 4 on stock watchOS on November 10 and noted that the Ultra Faces option did not work well on the Series 12. The app checks your watchOS build number before it writes anything, and it returns an error on a build it has not verified.
Backup Comes Before Every Change
The app asks you to create an initial backup of the watch’s MobileGestalt file when you first open it, and every switch stays disabled until you do. The app keeps that first copy as the original and cannot overwrite it. After that you can save manual backups, restore any backup and delete the ones you no longer need.
To install it, download the IPA from the project’s Releases page and sideload it with Sideloadly. Then open the Watch app on your iPhone, install HermesEnabler2 from My Watch and Apps, and open it on your Apple Watch to follow the steps. If you have Xcode, you can build the project yourself and run it on your watch instead.
The code is MIT licensed, and the developer says to use it at your own risk. Restoring a backup puts the saved file back, and the app asks you to restart the watch afterward.
Other Switches Go Beyond Faces
The same app flips more than 20 watch capability flags. These flags cannot add missing hardware or bypass service eligibility, so the sensor switches still need the sensor in your watch.
Display and controls
- You get Always-On Display switches, including AOD 1 Hz, which only helps faces that support seconds in the always-on state.
- You can turn on the Action Button, Double Tap, On-Screen Keyboard and Raise Wrist to Wake flags.
- You can pick a Screen Resolution preset from the SE 40 mm size up to the Series 10 through Series 12 46 mm size, which changes the size watchOS reports and not the physical pixels. A Restore Original Size button undoes the change if the layout clips.
Sensors and health
- You get separate switches for the Depth Sensor, Absolute Altimeter, Always-On Compass and Compass Orienteering.
- You also get switches for Continuous Heart Rate, Noise Exposure, Battery Information and Swimming Workouts, and your Health permissions still apply.
Siri and region
- Siri AI needs watchOS 27, a supported watch and an iPhone with Apple Intelligence, while Audio Intelligence is meant for Series 12 and Ultra 4 hardware.
- You can set the Region Code and the Sales Region separately, with choices for the United States, Hong Kong, Japan, mainland China, Taiwan, the United Kingdom and Canada.
- Changing the Sales Region can make factory-information tools report a mismatch.
New watchOS Builds Need an App Update
The Hermès switch writes only on watchOS builds the developer has verified, and it returns an error on any other build. Apple released watchOS 27.2.1 on November 9, which is inside the supported range, so a newer build needs an app update before the switch works on it.
Open Settings, then General, then About on your Apple Watch to see your watchOS version before you install the app. The developer tagged version 1.0 on November 10 and version 1.4.1 on November 11.
