How to Silence (Mute) Your Apple Watch

There are many ways to silence your Apple Watch, but it might not be obvious which of these methods you should use and when. 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 that 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 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 select the Silent Mode icon so that the icon is no longer red.

   

How to Use Apple Watch Theater Mode

Your watch’s Theater Mode is designed for activities like the movie theater or formal events where it's a good idea 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 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, 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.

   

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.