Apple Watches are incredibly helpful, but come sometimes cause some confusions and frustrations for those who use them. A lot of this can stem from the alarm feature included on your Apple Watch.
Users often struggle to be woken up by their Apple Watch alarms and sometimes, the alarm does not even work at all through this watch. While there are a couple of different reasons as to why this could be happening, there are also some simple solutions you can easily try.
Table of Contents
Why Isn’t My Apple Watch Alarm Working
1. You’re Not Settings Up Your Alarm Properly
The reason that your Apple Watch may not be waking you up or just not working at all is that you are not setting it up properly. Technology can be very confusing and Apple Watch’s are yet another new device designed to make your life easier, but can still be very difcult to fgure out.
Whether it be your Apple Watch is not properly connected to your iPhone and you use your iPhone to set the alarm, or you set the alarm for P.M. instead of A.M. on accident, or maybe you just forgot to turn the alarm on after you set it, it is very easy to not properly set up your alarm on your Apple Watch.
If it is not set up properly, this could absolutely explain why it is not waking you up or working at all.
2. Silent Mode is On
If Silent Mode has been turned on on your Apple Watch or your iPhone, this could easily explain why you are not walking up to your alarm or why it is not working at all.
If Silent Mode is turned on and you rely on your Apple Watch’s alarm sound to wake you up, Silent Mode being on will make it so that there is no sound and your alarm will not wake you up.
This can be a very tricky setting to keep track of because there is a Silent Mode on your Apple Watch itself and there is a Silent Mode on your iPhone as well. If either of these devices has Silent Mode on, your alarm on your Apple Watch will not wake you up or it might not even work at all.
3. Volume is Down
If you use your Apple Watch to wake you up and it is not waking you up as you are unable to hear it, the volume might be turned down too low for you to hear.
Turning up the volume may allow you to fnally hear your alarm going off on your Apple Watch and waking you up.
There is also a setting that you can choose to use that will have your Apple Watch vibrate as the alarm goes off as well. This is another precaution you can take to help make your Apple watch wake you up if it has not been doing so in the past.
4. Software Bug
One reason your alarm on your Apple watch is not working or waking you up is because your watch or Apple might be experiencing a bug. Apple services a billion people, there are sadly going to be some bumps along the road for many users.
We understand how annoying it can be to rely on your Apple Watch to wake you up and it fails to do just that, but bugs are sadly unavoidable. Various industries and apps alike fall prey to the vicious bugs that circulate the technology systems.
Your frustration is heard and understood, but all you can do is sit tight until the bug works its way out or system developers are able to tackle the issue for you. As soon as the software bug is gone, your Apple Watch might get back to working and fnally wake you up.
5. Speakers Damaged
On your Apple Watch, there are speakers built into the software of your watch. If you have recently dropped your Apple Watch, gotten water on your Apple Watch, or really just had a malfunction of the software on your Apple Watch, the speakers could have received damage because of any of these reasons.
If the speakers are damaged and you use your Apple Watch as an alarm every morning, there is a good chance this is why you are not waking up to your alarm or your alarm is not working at all.
The speakers inside of your Apple Watch are what are responsible for playing the sound you picked for your alarm and waking you up. If the speakers are not working due to damage, you will not be able to hear your alarm on your Apple Watch and it might not wake you up.
6. You’ve Used Hey Siri to Set the Alarm and It Didn’t Work
Apple offers the service or Siri on most of its devices, the Apple Watch included. If you decided to use Siri to set up your alarm on your Apple Watch, Siri may have malfunctioned and that is why you did not wake up to your alarm or it did not work at all.
Siri is a very helpful inclusion that Apple created, but just like the rest of technology, does not alway perform exactly how we want it to. There are quite a couple reasons as to why Siri may not have worked as well.
Siri may have heard you wrong, or even just set it for the wrong time. Additionally, Siri relies on a strong and stable internet connection to work.
If you are experiencing any internet or Wi-Fi problems, Siri will not work properly and could easily cause your alarm on your Apple Watch to not wake you or or work at all.
Apple Watch Alarm Not Working? Try These Fixes
1. Disable Silent Mode
If Silent Mode has been turned on on your Apple Watch or your iPhone, this could easily explain why you are not walking up to your alarm or why it is not working at all.
To turn Silent Mode off on your Apple Watch, scroll up from the bottom of the screen when your Apple Watch is locked. This will bring you to your widget page.
You will then see an icon of a bell. If the bell is red with a line through it, Silent Mode is on. All you have to do is tap the icon and it will turn gray. This will turn Silent Mode off and make it so that you can hear your Apple Watch’s alarm.
2. Turn Up Volume Fully
You also need to make sure that your volume is fully turned up on your Apple Watch so any alarms you use on it wake you up and work for you.
To do this:
1. Open up the Settings app on your Apple Watch.
2. Now, go to Sounds and Haptics.
3. You will then see a volume option. Click on this and use your digital crown button to turn your volume all the way up.
This will help your alarm be louder on your Apple Watch and hopefully wake you up fnally.
3. Max Out the Haptic Strength Slider
Maxing out the Haptic Strength slider will turn your alarm volume all the way up on your Apple Watch so that your alarm will work and wake you up. This is a very easy thing to do.
1. Go to Settings and then click on Sounds and Haptics.
2. You will now see a heading saying Ringer and Alerts with a slider. Push this slider all the way to right and it will be turned all the way up, allowing you to hopefully wake up the next time your Apple Watch is used as your alarm.
4. Wear Apple Watch While Sleeping
If you are using your Apple Watch as an alarm and it has not been waking you up or working at all, try sleeping in your Apple Watch to fx this issue. There is a vibrating feature that comes with your Apple Watch so that when an alarm goes, your watch vibrates and helps wake you up.
If you are not sleeping with your watch on, you will not feel this vibration and that may be why you are not waking up or the alarm is not working in general for you.
5. Enable Listen for Hey Siri
If you are using Siri to set your alarms on your Apple Watch and they are not waking you up or they just are not working in general, it may be because Siri is not hearing you when you do this.
Enabling the Hey Siri feature onto your Apple Watch will help this and anytime you say Hey Siri, your Apple Watch will hear it and Siri will work for you.
To enable this feature:
1. Go to the Settings app on your Apple Watch.
2. Next, tap on Siri. Now, you will see Hey Siri and click On.
3. You will then be able to choose when it works from Always On or Control With Silent Mode or Headphones Only. You should probably choose Always On so you can make sure Siri hears all the alarms you are setting on your Apple Watch so that they actually work as well as wake you up.
6. Set Multiple Alarms
Another way to try and make sure your Apple Watch alarm is waking you up and actually working is by setting multiple alarms on your Apple Watch.
To do this:
1. Go to the Alarm app on your Apple Watch.
2. Once there, scroll down to the bottom of the screen and select Add Alarm.
3. Select the time you want and then choose either A.M. or P.M. from the top of your screen and select Add Alarm.
4. Add as many as you would like, but keep in mind, the more you add the more likely it is that one of them will work and wake you up fnally.
By doing this, you should be able to wake up to one of your Apple Watch’s alarms as well as one of them should work for you ofcially.
7. Set the Same Alarm on Your iPhone
You can also set the same alarm on your iPhone that was not waking you up or working at all on your Apple Watch.
To do this,
1. Go to the Clock app on your iPhone.
2. Once there, select Alarm from the bottom of the screen.
3. You can now click the addition sign in the upper right corner of your screen to add an alarm.
4. Once you have the alarm set to whatever time you need it to be set to, click on Save.
If your iPhone is connected to your Apple Watch, this alarm will play on both your iPhone and your Apple Watch. Having it go off on both of these devices will hopefully fnally wake you up as well as simply just work for you.
8. Connect Apple Watch to Bluetooth Speaker
You can also use a bluetooth speaker to play your alarm from your Apple Watch if your alarm through your watch has not been waking you up or working at all.
To do this:
1. Go to Bluetooth from the Settings on your iPhone.
2. Now, make sure that you are connected to your Apple Watch.
3. Then, connect your iPhone to the bluetooth speaker you are wanting to connect your Apple Watch to.
4. Do this by scrolling down to the bottom of the Bluetooth page where it says Pair New Device.
5. Connect your iPhone to your bluetooth speaker and this will also connect your Apple Watch to it.
6. Then, set your alarm on your Apple Watch. Make sure the volume is all the way up so you can hear the alarm when it goes off.
It will now play through the bluetooth speaker you are connected to and hopefully work for you fnally as well as actually wake you up.
9. Use Headphones
Another way you can try to make sure you are waking up to the alarm on your Apple Watch and it is working for you is by using headphones. You can use wireless or wired headphones for this process.
Since it is an alarm, you will be sleeping in these headphones so just make sure they are comfortable. Now, just double check that your headphones are properly connected to your iPhone through the cord or through bluetooth.
Next, make sure your volume is turned all the way up on your iPhone and your Apple Watch. Then, once you fall asleep and your alarm goes off, it will be played through your headphones and hopefully work fully for you and fnally wake you up.
10. Restart Apple Watch
Another way to try and solve your issues with your Apple Watch’s alarm not waking you up or working at all is by restarting your Apple Watch. This can easily be done by holding down the side button and the digital watch crown button on your Apple Watch.
These are the only two buttons located on your watch and are on the same side as each other. Hold these buttons down, at the same time, for ten seconds at least. Once you see the Apple Logo appear on your Apple Watch screen, you can let go of the buttons and your Apple Watch will begin to restart.
Once it is restarted and powered back up, you may now be able to wake up to your alarm on your Apple Watch and it might just work properly for you.
11. Update Apple Watch
Your Apple Watch may also be running on an old system and in need of an update which will potentially allow you to fnally have your Apple Watch alarm wake you or even just work in general.
To see if you need to update your Apple Watch:
1. Open up the Watch app on your iPhone and then go to General which may require a little bit of scrolling.
2. Once there, the second button will say Software Update.
3. Click on the and your Apple Watch will automatically check to see if an update is needed.
4. If there is on update, just tap Update Now and your phone will need a little time to update. Additionally, there will be an option that says Automatic Update.
Make sure that is set to on and this will save you from any future problems dealing with an outdated IOS System on your Apple Watch.
This will also save you time as it will download the software updates overnight so that you are not without access to your Apple Watch as it is updating.
Additionally, your Apple Watch will need to be plugged into its charger and connected to a stable internet connection in order to update.
12. Reset All Settings Apple Watch
If you have not been able to fx your Apple Watch’s issues with the alarm not waking you up or working at all, resetting all of the settings on your Apple Watch may just be your solution.
This is done through your iPhone, so grab your iPhone and
1. Go to the Watch app.
2. Make sure you are on the My Watch page, seen on the bottom left side of the screen.
3. Once there, click on General and then scroll all the way down to the bottom of the screen.
4. You will now see an option that says Reset, it is the very last option on the page. Now, you will be brought to the Reset page that has a couple of different choices.
5. Click on Erase Apple Watch Content and Settings. You will have to then click confrm and your Apple Watch will reset.
Once it resets, you will have to connect it back with your iPhone and then, hopefully, your Apple Watch’s alarm will wake you up and work for you fnally.
13. Tell Someone to Wake You Up
The best way to fix this problem and make sure that you are waking up on time is to not use your Apple Watch if the alarm has not been waking you up or working at all is by using an actual person to wake you up.
Make sure this person is reliable and wakes up on time consistently. If they are also relying on any sort of Apple Watch alarm, maybe fnd someone else to use since you had so many issues with the Apple Watch alarm on your own.
This will make sure you are not needing your Apple Watch alarm to wake you up when it has not been in the past or it has just not been working in general for you.
14. Contact Apple
Another option to try and solve your issues with your Apple Watch’s alarm not waking you up or working at all is to directly contact Apple Support. There are quite a few ways to go about contacting them.
To start, simply just go to Support.Apple.com. You will now see multiple options for how you can go about reaching out. The first is by Support by Phone. This one will give you your local Apple Support number and allow you to either call or text a representative in the area. The other option says Get Support Anywhere.
This will bring you to the app store where you can download their support app, or you can just go to the app store on your own and search for Apple Support.
The app will be another way for you to directly contact customer service and have them solve your Apple Watch alarm issues for you. This will also give you details on where your nearest Apple store is and the hours of operation if they cannot solve the problem for you.