Support // Help & questions

Support

Questions, problems, and ideas

Requirements

• iPhone or iPad with iOS 18 or later
• Apple Watch with watchOS 11 or later (optional). It works on its own, without your iPhone nearby.
• Location access while using the app, for your own sky and true north
• A compass for your heading. Without one, the dial keeps north at the top.
• An internet connection only for Terrain horizon, Will I see it?, and searching for places. Everything else works offline.
• For the sky in AR, an iPhone or iPad with a camera

Common questions

It says CALIBRATE: MOVE IN A FIGURE 8. The compass isn't sure where north is. Move your iPhone in a figure 8 a few times, away from magnets and metal. The pale wedge either side of the heading mark shows how sure it is.

It says APPROXIMATE SKY · LOCATION OFF. Meridian doesn't have your location, so it shows the sky for a guess made from your time zone. Tap the message to open Settings, and allow location for Meridian, "While Using the App". On Apple Watch, allow it in the watch's Settings, under Privacy & Security, Location Services, Meridian. LAST KNOWN LOCATION means you're seeing the sky where Meridian last found you.

It says LOCATING… · APPROXIMATE SKY. Meridian is waiting for your location. Until it arrives, the sky is a guess made from your time zone.

It says SKY OVER … · NOT YOUR LOCATION. You're looking at a saved place. Tap the message, then Here, to come back to the sky over you.

The heading says NO COMPASS. Your device has no compass, so Meridian can't tell which way you're facing. The sky is still right, with north at the top of the dial.

A widget says APPROX. The widgets use the last location Meridian found. APPROX. means there isn't one yet, or it's more than a day old. Open Meridian to update it.

How do I read the dial? The ring is the horizon and the centre is straight overhead, with a spoke marking 30° and 60° high. The sun and moon sit at their real bearing and height. Each path is solid for the last 12 hours and dotted for the next 12, and arrows on the rim mark the next rise ↑ and set ↓. After dusk, the planets and brightest stars appear. Tap any of them for details. Tap ? to replay the tour, or find the full key in Settings.

What do the four tiles do? Time, Heading, Sun, and Moon choose what the two lines under the dial show. With Sun or Moon chosen, the line above the dial says which way to turn to face it.

How do I move through time? Spin the dial: a quarter turn is six hours, and a flick keeps it turning. Or drag across the lines, or scroll over the dial with a mouse or trackpad. The time snaps to rises, sets, and solar noon. Tap NOW, or double-tap the dial, to come back. Press and hold the time to pick any date, an equinox or solstice, or the next full or new moon. On Apple Watch, turn the Digital Crown, and tap to return to now.

How do I see the sky in 3D? Tap 3D at the top right of the dial. Twist two fingers to turn the view, and slide them up or down to tilt it. One finger still spins through time. In 3D, the paths carry on faintly below the ground, so you can find the sun at night.

How do I hold the dial still? Tap the heading at the top right. The facing mark turns gold until you tap it again.

What's in Today? Swipe up on the lines. Today graphs the sun's and moon's height through the day, lists the day from astronomical dawn to dusk with moonrise and moonset, and gives the solar time, your shadow, and the next moon phases. It's also where you turn on reminders before sunrise, golden hour, sunset, or a full moonrise, and a golden-hour countdown on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island.

When does the sun set down my street? Tap ⋯, then Alignments, and face along the street or toward a gap in the hills. Meridian lists the sunrises and sunsets on that bearing in the next year, and the moonrises and moonsets in the next three months.

How do I see the sky somewhere else? Tap ⋯, then Places, and search for a town or address. Meridian shows that place's sky in its own time zone. Swipe right on a place to rename it, and touch and hold to drag it into order.

Can Meridian spell the readings out? Yes. In Settings, under Words, set Time and date to Words, and each tile is spelled out above its bars: SEVEN TWENTY EIGHT, NORTH WEST. Turn on 24-hour words for TWENTY ONE FOURTEEN rather than NINE FOURTEEN.

Why is everything red? That's night mode, which keeps your eyes adjusted to the dark for stargazing. In Settings, under Display, set it to Off, After dusk, or On.

True or magnetic north? Meridian points to true north when it has your location. Magnetic north is what a hand compass shows. Choose in Settings, under Compass.

What do Terrain horizon and Will I see it? do? Terrain horizon draws the hills around you and times rises and sets over them. Will I see it? checks Apple Weather's cloud forecast and says in Today whether the next sunrise, sunset, and moonrise are likely to be seen. Both are off until you turn them on in Settings, and each sends your location rounded to about a kilometre. The privacy policy has the details.

Which languages does Meridian speak? English. If your device is set to another language, Meridian still reads in English, and times, dates, and numbers follow your region.

What can I ask Siri? "When is sunrise in Meridian", "When is sunset in Meridian", "What's the moon phase in Meridian", and "Which way is north in Meridian". They're in the Shortcuts app too.

Which widgets are there? Sun, Moon, and Sky dial for the Home Screen and StandBy, and Sun and Moon for the Lock Screen.

How accurate is it? The sun, moon, and planets are placed to a fraction of a degree, checked against published values and real eclipses and oppositions. Rise and set times are for a level horizon unless Terrain horizon is on.