Apple Watch is a handy gadget that helps you check your notifications without taking your phone out of your pocket. Generally, Apple Watch receives any notifications that your phone gets.
But sometimes, this feature might not work due to many reasons. It is unlikely that a hardware failure will result in your Apple Watch not getting notifications.
Luckily, you can fix this problem by following the troubleshooting tips below. Let’s get to the fixes.
Why Is My Apple Watch Not Getting Notifications?
If you don’t see notifications on your Apple Watch, you need to check your connection. Swipe up on the watch face to open Control Center. If your devices are disconnected, you might see the red iPhone icon, the red X icon, or the Wi-Fi icon. Try to pair your Apple Watch with your iPhone.
There are a few features in your Apple Watch that, if turned on, can cause your gadget not to receive any notifications.
If you have no idea which features you may have accidentally enabled, the settings below may ring a bell:
- Scheduled Summary
- Airplane mode
- Wrist Detection
- Cover to Mute
In the right circumstances, these features are very helpful but can sometimes cause problems and prevent your Apple watch from receiving notifications.
How Do I Fix Apple Watch Not Getting Notifications?
If your Apple Watch isn’t receiving notifications, ensure Bluetooth and notifications are enabled on both your Apple Watch and iPhone.
For more detailed instructions, follow the steps below to fix it when your Watch is not getting notifications:
1. Restart Apple Watch
The first and most basic thing to do in this situation is to restart your Apple Watch. This would solve the problem if a system bug caused the notification issue.
- Press and hold the side button of your Watch.
- In the newly opened menu, select the Power option and drag the slider to the right to turn your Watch off.
- Press and hold the side button again to restart your Watch.
Note: You will only see the Power icon if your Watch has watchOS 9 or later. The previous models don’t have a Power icon or a slider.
2. Activate Bluetooth
To pair your Apple Watch with your iPhone, you need to enable Bluetooth connection on each device.
Once you have enabled it, make sure your iPhone and Apple Watch are in an approximately close range from one another.
- To check the connection status, head to the Control Center on your Watch by swiping up.
- Press the Green iPhone icon and ensure that it says connected.
- If not, open the Settings app on your Watch and go to Bluetooth.
- Enable the toggle next to Bluetooth.
- Follow the same path on your iPhone to enable your iPhone’s Bluetooth.
3. Turn Off Cover to Mute
Cover to Mute will mute your Apple Watch if you put the palm of your hand on the screen for 3 seconds. Your Watch will mute itself even if you have covered it accidentally.
- Head into Setting on your Watch and select Sounds and Haptics.
- Find and turn off Cover to Mute.
Keep an eye on your Apple to see if it gets notifications after turning off the “Cover to Mute” feature.
4. Disable Wrist Detection
Having tattoos on your wrist or wearing the Watch on the top of your shirt will mess up the Wrist Detection system causing your Watch to behave strangely and disable notification alerts.
Thus, turning this function off will help you fix Apple Watch Not Getting Notifications.
- Select Settings and then Passcode.
- Disable Wrist Detection.
5. Toggle off Scheduled Summary
If your turn Schedules Summary, your iPhone will only send notifications to your Apple Watch in a specified time.
- Open Settings on your iPhone.
- Go to Notifications.
- Find the Scheduled Summary and turn it off.
6. Turn on App Notifications on Apple Watch
It has happened to most of us when we accidentally adjust the notification settings of our phones or smartwatches.
This might be the reason for your Apple Watch not getting Notifications.
- Open the Apple Watch app on your iPhone.
- Head into Notifications and select each app one by one.
- Check if the Allow Notifications option is enabled, then head back to the Notification screen and scroll down to third-party apps. Make sure that the toggle next to each is enabled.
7. Disable Focus Modes
Apple Watch comes with a few focus modes, and the famous one is the Do Not Disturb mode. Each of these profiles will alter the Watch settings; if enabled, you won’t receive notifications on your Watch.
- Swipe up to open Control Center.
- Press the Focus mode icon (the half-moon) to disable it.
Note: You will find the Focus Mode profiles in the Apple Watch settings and the Focus section. You might want to check each one to see if they are set to turn on automatically.
8. Check Low-Power Mode Settings
WatchOS 9 came to the smartwatches with a new feature called Low-Power mode. Enabling it will prolong your Watches battery life but may cause the notification to be delayed.
- Launch Settings on your Watch and select Battery.
- You should find the Low-Power mode there. Turn it off.
Note: WatchOS 8 and earlier have a similar feature called Power reserve. Press and hold the side button and turn the feature off.
9. Turn Off Airplane Mode
Airplane Mode is notorious for messing with notifications settings on mobile devices and gadgets. If you enable this feature on your Watch, it will deny any incoming notifications.
- Go into Settings on your Apple Watch and select Airplane Mode.
- Press the toggle to turn the feature off.
10. Disable Silent Mode
Silent Mode does what you think it does: mutes all the sound from the Apple Watch; thus, if you receive any notifications, you won’t notice it.
- Go to Settings, and then Sounds & Haptics.
- Turn off Silent Mode.
Wrap-Up: Apple Watch Not Getting Notifications
It remains unclear why Apple has equipped the Apple Watch with so many notification-disabling features.
As a result of these features, it’s easy to accidentally mute your Apple Watch and wonder why notifications aren’t coming through.
The variety of these features makes it easy to accidentally mute your gadget and wonder what caused your Apple Watch not getting notifications.
If you’ve tried all these fixes and your Apple Watch still won’t receive notifications, you may need to get in touch with Apple Support for more advice.
Did one of these fixes work for you? If so, let us know in the comments below!
