The icons at the top of the Apple Watch face and Control Center provide status information such as unread notifications and Low Power Mode. It’s a lot to decode. Icons at the top of Control Center provide even more, like the connection to iPhone via Bluetooth and the Wi-Fi or cellular connection.
What do the status icons mean?
| Status icon | What it means |
|---|---|
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You have an unread notification. Swipe down on the watch face to read it. |
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Apple Watch is charging. |
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Apple Watch battery is low. |
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Low Power Mode is on. |
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Apple Watch is locked. Tap to enter the passcode and unlock. |
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Water Lock is on, and the screen doesn’t respond to taps. Press and hold the Digital Crown to unlock. |
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Do Not Disturb is turned on. Calls and alerts won’t sound or light up the screen, but alarms are still in effect. |
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Personal Focus is turned on. |
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Work Focus is turned on. |
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Sleep Focus is turned on. |
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Airplane Mode is turned on. Wireless is turned off, but nonwireless features are still available. |
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Theater Mode is turned on. Apple Watch is silenced and its display won’t light up when you raise your wrist. |
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You have a workout in progress. To end the workout, see Use the workout controls. |
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Apple Watch has lost the connection to a cellular network (on models that support cellular). See Set up and use cellular service. |
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Apple Watch has lost the connection with its paired iPhone. This happens when Apple Watch isn’t close enough to iPhone, or when Airplane Mode is enabled on iPhone. |
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Apple Watch is connected to its paired iPhone. |
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An app on Apple Watch is using location services. |
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Apple Watch is connected to a known Wi-Fi network. |
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There’s wireless activity or an active process happening. |
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The microphone is on. |
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Apple Watch is connected to a cellular network. The number of green bars indicates signal strength. |
Check the status in Control Center
For additional status information, check the icons at the top of Control Center. They show things like apps using your location, the Wi-Fi or cellular connection, the connection to iPhone via Bluetooth, and features such as Airplane Mode or Do Not Disturb.
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Press the side button to open Control Center and then see the status icons at the top.
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To see more details, tap the icons.
See also
Tag: watchOS