One of the cool perks of owning an Apple Watch is receiving calls, messages, and app notifications right on your wrist. But what happens when your Apple Watch stops showing notifications? No worries!
If your Apple Watch is no longer showing notifications, here are some troubleshooting steps you can try.
1. Check Notification Settings
On the Watch app on your iPhone, you have the option to enable specific notifications for your watch. You can customize notification settings for your watchOS apps and mirror notifications for your iPhone apps. If you’ve disabled notifications for an app, they won’t appear on your Apple Watch.
To check your notification settings, open theWatchapp on your iPhone and tap onNotifications. Scroll down to find a list of apps, where you can select an app to confirm if its notifications are enabled for your Apple Watch.
2. Restart Your Apple Watch
Restarting your Apple Watch is a great way to troubleshoot a bunch of software issues, including any notification issues you may face. But, like your iPhone, there is no restart option, so you’ll have topower off your Apple Watchand then turn it back on.
To turn off your Apple Watch, long press the side button and tap thePowericon on the top-right corner of your screen. Then, slide thePowerslider to the right to turn off the device. Now, hold the side button until the Apple logo appears to turn it back on.
3. Ensure Your Apple Watch Is Unlocked
If you have set a passcode on your Apple Watch, as a security precaution, it will not display any notifications. You’ll then have to unlock your Apple Watch to view your notifications.
If your watch is locked, it will display a blue lock icon at the top of the screen. To unlock your watch, swipe up and enter the passcode. To disable the passcode entirely, follow these steps:
4. Unpair and Re-Pair Your Apple Watch
Another troubleshooting measure you can try is tounpair your Apple Watchfrom your iPhone and re-pair it. You should be careful while carrying out this step because any Apple Watch data that isn’t backed up to your iPhone will be lost in the process.
So, once you’re certain yourApple Watch is backed up to your iPhone, you can proceed with the unpairing process. And when you’re done, pair your Apple Watch like you did when you first set it up (using the Watch app).
5. Turn Off Focus
The Focus feature on Apple devicesblocks your notifications when turned on to prevent distractions. When you enable Focus, your device won’t alert you when notifications come in, and they will not appear on your screen like usual, but you can manually check them afterward.
To turn off Focus on your Apple Watch, swipe up to access the Control Center, scroll down, and tap theMoonicon.
It’s important to note that if you’ve turned on Focus on a connected device, it will be mirrored on your Apple Watch. For example, if you’ve turned on Focus on your Mac, it will also be enabled on your Apple Watch. So, ensure you turn it off on your other devices.
6. Turn Off Airplane Mode
Airplane Mode disables all connections to Wi-Fi, mobile networks, and Bluetooth on your device, depending on your settings. When turned on, calls, messages, and notifications from apps that need an internet connection will not come in on your device.
To turn off Airplane Mode on your Apple Watch, swipe up to access the Control Center, then tap theAirplaneicon to disable the feature.
7. Turn Off Cover to Mute
Cover to Mute is a cool Apple Watch setting that lets you mute your watch by simply placing your hand above it when a notification arrives. You can turn it off to troubleshoot your notification issues. Here’s how to turn off Cover to Mute:
8. Update Your iPhone and Apple Watch
Apple releases periodic updates, including bug fixes for their software. Updating your iPhone and Apple Watch to the latest software can fix any notification issues you have. We advise you regularly update your devices to prevent any software malfunction.
You canupdate your Apple Watchusing the Watch app on your iPhone or go toSettings > General > Software Updateon your wearable. Likewise, you can go toSettings > General > Software Updateon your iPhone to check for a new iOS version.
Take Control of Your Apple Watch Notifications
We hope one of these troubleshooting steps helped you get notifications on your Apple Watch again. Always stay on top of your notification settings to decide which notifications you receive, and use Focus to turn off notifications when you don’t want any distractions.
Furthermore, you can choose how notifications appear on your Apple Watch with notification previews.
