One terrific feature of the Apple Watch is the ability to receive notifications for text messages, emails, reminders, and more. But with that comes a ding that can be bothersome and, to some, even annoying.
Luckily, you can adjust the sounds and haptics for alerts on your wrist. Here’s how to set your Apple Watch to vibrate only.
Adjust Your Apple Watch Sound and Haptic Settings
To change how notifications alert you on the Apple Watch, start by adjusting the sounds and haptics directly or using the Watch app on your paired iPhone.
- Open the Settings app on the Apple Watch or the Watch app on the iPhone to the My Watch tab.
- Select Sounds & Haptics.
- Turn on the toggle for Silent Mode.
Note: You can also control the Silent Mode setting from your Apple Watch Control Center.
- Turn on the toggle for Haptic Alerts.
- Leave the Default set to emphasize the haptic touch or select Prominent for a more noticeable vibration.
- Optionally adjust any other Sound & Haptic settings as you please. Then, use the arrow on the top left to exit the Settings.
Tip: Haptics not working correctly? Look at these fixes if your Apple Watch isn’t vibrating.
Change Your Apple Watch App Notifications
With the sound turned off and the haptics turned on, you can customize the notifications for certain apps on your Apple Watch. You can mirror the alerts on your iPhone, use haptics only, or disable app notifications altogether.
Customize Your App Notifications
Currently, the ability to customize app notifications applies only to Apple-specific apps like Mail and Reminders.
- Open the Watch app on your iPhone to the My Watch tab. App-specific notification settings aren’t currently available on the Apple Watch itself.
- Select Notifications.
- In the first list, select an app to see its available options.
- For example, for apps like Mail, Messages, Phone, and Reminders, you can choose from Mirror my iPhone or Custom.
- If you pick Custom, you can disable Sound and enable Haptic for vibrate only.
Mirror Your iPhone App Notifications
For third-party apps, you can either mirror your iPhone or disable the notifications. If you decide to mimic your iPhone settings for an app and those alerts do not play a sound, that will apply to your Apple Watch notification for the app as well.
- Open the Watch app on your iPhone and go to the My Watch tab.
- Select Notifications.
- In the second list below Mirror iPhone Alerts From, turn on the app toggles for those you want to mimic your iPhone notifications.
If you turn off an app toggle, then you won’t receive notifications.
Tip: Alert issues? Find out what to do if you can’t get Apple Watch notifications from your iPhone.
Feel a Tap Without a Ding
The ability to change the sounds, haptics, or vibrations on your Apple Watch is a great feature. If you just want to turn off the sound and use vibrate-only temporarily, look at these other ways to silence your Apple Watch and simply pause the dings.
