How to Silence Your Apple Watch

Take a break from notifications by putting your watch on silent

By
Dave Johnson
Dave Johnson
Writer
Dave Johnson has been writing about tech since 1990. He's the author of over 2 dozen books and his writing has appeared in Wired, PCWorld, Business Insider, and many other publications.
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Dave Johnson
Updated January 02, 2020

There are many ways to silence your Apple Watch. And though Apple gives you so many ways to do so, it might not be obvious which one you should use. Here are the various ways to silence an Apple Watch and when each one works best.

How to Mute Your Apple Watch With Silent Mode

Silent Mode does exactly what it sounds like. It silences the watch so all alerts, alarms, and push notifications are muted. Haptic feedback is still active, though, so you will get notification using vibrations. 

  1. On the Apple Watch, swipe up from the bottom of the screen to reveal the Apple Watch's Control Center.

  2. Tap the Silent Mode icon, which looks like a bell. When it turns red, Silent Mode is enabled.

    If you forget to start Silent Mode and an alarm or some other notification begins, you can cup your hand over the watch display for about three seconds until you feel a haptic buzz. This will silence the alarm and automatically put the Apple Watch in Silent Mode until you turn it back off.

  3. To turn Silent Mode off (which will allow sound again), swipe up and tap the Silent Mode icon so the icon is no longer red.

    The Apple Watch being placed in Silent Mode

How to Use Apple Watch Theater Mode

Your watch’s Theater Mode is designed for activities like the movie theater or formal events in which you want to keep your watch both dark and quiet. When you turn on Theater Mode, it enables Silent Mode, dims the screen, and prevents the watch from waking when you raise it to your wrist.

  1. On the Apple Watch, swipe up from the bottom of the screen to reveal the Control Center.

  2. Tap the Theater Mode icon, which looks like a pair of theater masks.

  3. If this is the first time you’ve used Theater Mode, you’ll see a screen that explains the mode. At the top of it, tap Theater Mode.

  4. Theater mode now turns off your Apple Watch display and silences all sounds until you turn it off.

  5. To turn off Theater Mode, tap the screen or press the Digital Crown or Side Button to wake the screen, then swipe up and tap the Theater Mode icon again to disable it.

    The Apple Watch placed in Theater Mode.

How to Use Apple Watch Do Not Disturb Mode

Do Not Disturb is the third and final way to silence your Apple Watch. When Do Not Disturb is enabled, it keeps all incoming alerts and notifications from sounding or lighting up the screen (with the exception of heart rate notifications and alarms, which still sound normally).

To enable Do Not Disturb directly from the Apple Watch, swipe up and tap the Do Not Disturb icon in the Control Center, but the Apple Watch will automatically enter Do Not Disturb mode when your iPhone is set to Do Not Disturb.