You aren’t receiving notifications on your Apple Watch and you don’t know what to do. Further, you’re not being alerted when you receive new texts and emails and it’s starting to get frustrating. In this article, I’ll explain exactly why you’re not getting notifications on your Apple Watch and show you how to fix the problem permanently! Further, I’ll show you how to fix when Apple Watch stops receiving notifications from your iPhone that it’s paired with.
We’ll explain how you can fix common notification problems. For example, we’ll show you how you can troubleshoot when
Apple watch:
- Does not show incoming calls such as Facetime calls.
- Does not ring when you receive calls.
- Does not alert (for instance vibrate) incoming messages.
- Does not show contact names on incoming calls.
Before we jump into solutions, there are two things you should bear in mind about receiving notifications on your Apple Watch:
- Alerts for new notifications will only show up on your Apple Watch when it’s unlocked and it’s on your wrist.
- You won’t receive any notifications alerts on your Apple Watch if you’re actively using your iPhone.
You can find the above notes at the top of the Notifications menu in the Watch app on your iPhone and I’m pretty sure one of them may be the reason why you’re not getting notifications on your Apple Watch.
Please try the troubleshooting tips below. And after each step check to see if notifications start working.
If you are not getting notifications on your Apple Watch, the first thing you should do is to make sure that your Apple Watch is connected. You can check your Apple Watch connection in Control Center on your watch. To access Control Center, swipe up from the bottom of the watch face. Please ensure that Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are enabled on your paired iPhone.
Solution #1. Restart both your Apple Watch and iPhone. Restarting your devices may bring the notifications back. Please follow these steps:
- Restarting your Apple Watch: Press and hold down the side button until the red slider appear on the display. And then drag the slider. Wait until your Apple watch is turned off completely. Then press and hold the side button until you see the Apple logo.
- Restarting iPhone:
- iPhone X, 11: Press and hold down the volume up (or down) and the side button together until the red slider appears on the screen. Then drag the slider. To turn your iPhone back on, press and hold down the side button until the Apple logo appears on the screen.
- iPhone 8 and earlier: Press and hold the top or side button until the power off slider appears on the screen. Then drag the slider. To turn your iPhone back on, press and hold the side or top button until you see the Apple logoe.
Solution #2. Turn off Do Not Disturb. The Do Not Disturb feature can be used to silence alerts and notifications. When Do Not Disturbed is turned on, your Apple Watch will not receive notifications from your iPhone. To turn off Do Not Disturb on your Apple Watch, Start the Settings app on your Apple Watch and tap Do Not Disturb. Make sure the switch next to Do Not Disturb is turned off.
Also on your iPhone, head over to Settings > Do Not Disturb > Make sure Do Not Disturb is turned off.
Another setting you should check out is Cover to Mute. This also silences incoming alerts or notifications on the Apple Watch. Turn this off as well by heading to the Watch iPhone app, and My Watch > Sounds & Haptics and then turn off Cover to Mute.
See also:
iPhone Notifications Disappearing From Lock Screen? Fix
Solution #3. Are you receiving notifications on your iPhone? For instance, does your iPhone ring when you get a call? Do you get text notifications on your iPhone?
You can check your notification setting by heading to Settings > Notifications.
It’s also worth noting that your Apple Watch notifications settings mirror your iPhone notifications settings. To change this setting:
- On your iPhone: head over to the Apple Watch app > My Watch > Notifications > Phone and ensure that Mirror My Phone is selected.
Also, ensure that your iPhone is connected to a Wi-Fi or cellular network to receive notifications. If you are experiencing network connection issues, you might need to try the fixes below:
- Turn on Airplane Mode on your iPhone, wait about 20 seconds, and then turn it back off.
- Reset your network settings: head over to Settings > General > Reset > Reset Network Settings. (please note: this will remove your network settings).
Solution #4. Ensure that your Apple Watch and iPhone are running the latest software version. Here is how:
- iPhone: head over to Settings > General > Software Update.
- Apple Watch: head over to Settings > General > Software Update. Alternatively, you can update your Apple watch using your iPhone: launch the Apple Watch app, and then go to My Watch > General > Software Update.
Solution #5. If you are having notifications problems with Contacts on your Apple Watch, you may need to refresh the contacts data on your Watch. Some users have reported that Apple Watch is displaying phone numbers for incoming calls, instead of the contact names, even when the callers are in your address book. Please follow these steps to fix this issue:
- On your Apple watch, launch the Apple Watch app, and then navigate to My Watch > General > Reset > and hit Reset Sync Data. Please note, this may take a couple of minutes.
Solution #6. Turn off Wrist Detection
As I pointed out at the beginning of this guide, your Apple Watch will only receive notifications when you’re wearing it. However, there might be a problem with the sensor that is located at the back of your Apple Watch that detects if you are wearing it or not. If the sensor is broken, your Apple Watch may not be able to determine that you’re wearing it, therefore, you won’t receive notifications.
You can resolve wrist sensor problems by turning off Wrist Detection completely. On your iPhone, head over to the Watch app and tap Passcode. Then, turn off the switch next to wrist detection and confirm your decision by tapping Turn Off when you see the confirmation pop up.
Solution #7. Not Receiving Notifications For A Specific App?
If you’re not getting notifications on your Apple Watch from a specific app, then you may have inadvertently turned off alerts for the app. On your iPhone, head over to the Watch app and tap Notifications.
When you scroll down, a list of the apps installed on your Apple Watch will appear. Locate the app that you’re not receiving notifications from and tap on It.
Hooray! Notifications are working on your Apple Watch and you won’t miss any more important alerts. Next time you are not getting notifications on your Apple Watch, you’ll know exactly how to troubleshoot . Thanks for reading and feel free to ask any other questions you may have in the comments.