Disable notifications in three places: the watch itself, the iPhone it pairs with, and individual apps
Apple Watch notifications come from your iPhone, so you can silence them at the watch, at the phone, or for specific apps — depending on how much control you want. The fastest route is the watch's built-in Do Not Disturb mode, which mutes everything when ready. If you want to keep some notifications but block others, you'll adjust settings on your iPhone instead. Most people use a combination: Do Not Disturb during workouts or sleep, and app-by-app rules for the rest of the day.
The watch and phone don't always stay in sync on notification settings, so if you turn something off on the watch and it still comes through, check your iPhone settings too. This guide covers all three places you can control them.
Key Takeaways
- Do Not Disturb on the Apple Watch silences all notifications when ready and is the fastest way to stop them during workouts or sleep.
- To block notifications from specific apps, go to the Watch app on your iPhone, tap Notifications, and turn off the apps you don't want to hear from.
- Mirror iPhone notifications to your watch, or let the watch show different apps than your phone — the choice is yours in the Watch app settings.
- The watch and iPhone don't always sync notification settings, so check both if a notification still comes through after you've turned it off.
Turn on Do Not Disturb to silence everything at once
Do Not Disturb is the quickest way to stop all notifications on your watch. Swipe up from the bottom of the watch face to open Control Center, then tap the crescent moon icon. The icon will turn white, and your watch will stop buzzing and lighting up for calls, messages, and app alerts. Your phone will still receive notifications — they just won't reach your wrist.
Do Not Disturb stays on until you turn it off manually or until a scheduled time ends. If you set a recurring schedule in the Watch app on your iPhone (under Do Not Disturb), the watch will turn it on and off automatically at those times. This is useful if you want notifications silenced during your sleep hours or during every workout.
One thing to know: Do Not Disturb does not block calls from your Favorites list. If someone is marked as a favorite contact on your iPhone, they can still reach you even when Do Not Disturb is on. To block everything including calls, use Theater Mode instead (the theater masks icon in Control Center), but Theater Mode also turns off cellular and Bluetooth, so your watch won't receive anything at all.
Block specific apps from sending notifications
If you want to keep notifications from some apps but silence others, use the Watch app on your iPhone. Open the Watch app, tap Notifications, then scroll through the list of apps. Each app has a toggle next to it. Turn the toggle off for any app you don't want to hear from on your watch.
You can also customize how each app notifies you. Tap an app name to see options like Alert Style (banner, alert, or none), Sound, and Haptic (the vibration pattern). Some apps let you choose whether notifications appear on the watch at all, or only on the iPhone. If an app is not in the Notifications list, it either doesn't send notifications or it's not installed on your watch.
Changes you make in the Watch app take a few seconds to sync to your watch. If a notification still comes through after you've turned it off, force-close the Watch app on your iPhone and open it again to refresh the sync.
Choose whether your watch mirrors your iPhone's notification settings
By default, your Apple Watch shows notifications from the same apps your iPhone does. But you can change this so your watch has its own notification list separate from your phone. Open the Watch app on your iPhone, go to Notifications, and scroll to the bottom. You'll see "Mirror my iPhone" with a toggle.
If Mirror my iPhone is on, turning off an app's notifications on your iPhone also turns them off on your watch. If it's off, you can silence an app on your phone but still get notifications on your watch, or vice versa. Most people leave it on because it's simpler — one setting controls both devices. But if you want your watch to be quieter than your phone (or noisier), turn off Mirror my iPhone and customize each device separately.
Silence notifications during workouts
If you use your Apple Watch to track workouts, you probably don't want notifications interrupting you mid-exercise. The easiest way is to turn on Do Not Disturb before you start. Swipe up to Control Center and tap the crescent moon icon, then start your workout.
Alternatively, you can set Do Not Disturb to turn on automatically during workouts. Open the Watch app on your iPhone, go to Do Not Disturb, and turn on "During Workouts." Now whenever you open the Workout app on your watch, Do Not Disturb will set up automatically and turn off when you end the workout.
Turn off notifications while sleeping
Sleep Focus is a built-in mode that silences notifications during your sleep schedule. Open the Watch app on your iPhone, tap Focus, then tap Sleep. Turn on Sleep Focus and set your sleep schedule. Your watch will silence notifications during those hours and dim the screen so it doesn't light up your bedroom.
Sleep Focus is gentler than Do Not Disturb — it still allows calls from your Favorites list to come through in case of emergency. If you want complete silence including calls, use Do Not Disturb instead. You can set Do Not Disturb to a schedule the same way: open the Watch app, go to Do Not Disturb, and turn on "Scheduled."
Check notification settings if they're not working
If you've turned off notifications but they're still coming through, the watch and iPhone settings may be out of sync. First, check the Watch app on your iPhone to confirm the app is actually turned off in Notifications. Then check your iPhone's own notification settings: open Settings on your iPhone, go to Notifications, and look for the app there. If it's on in your iPhone settings, notifications may still reach your watch even if you've turned them off in the Watch app.
If an app is off in both places and notifications still appear, try restarting your watch. Hold the side button until you see the power-off slider, swipe to power off, wait a few seconds, then hold the side button again to turn it back on. You can also unpair and re-pair your watch in the Watch app, though this is a longer process and should only be necessary if the problem persists.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will turning off notifications on my watch also turn them off on my iPhone?
Only if Mirror my iPhone is turned on in the Watch app. If Mirror my iPhone is on, the settings match. If it's off, you can have different notification settings on each device. Check the Watch app on your iPhone under Notifications to see which mode you're in.
Can I silence notifications from one app but not others?
Yes. Open the Watch app on your iPhone, tap Notifications, and toggle off the apps you don't want to hear from. The apps you leave toggled on will still send notifications to your watch.
Does Do Not Disturb block calls?
Do Not Disturb blocks most calls, but calls from people in your Favorites list will still come through. If you need to block all calls and notifications, use Theater Mode instead, but be aware that Theater Mode also disconnects your watch from cellular and Bluetooth.
How do I stop notifications during sleep without turning off my watch?
Use Sleep Focus instead of Do Not Disturb. Open the Watch app on your iPhone, tap Focus, then Sleep, and set your sleep schedule. Sleep Focus silences notifications during those hours but still allows emergency calls from Favorites.
My notifications are still coming through even though I turned them off. What should I do?
Check both your Watch app settings on your iPhone and your iPhone's own notification settings for that app — both need to be off. If they are, restart your watch by holding the side button until the power-off slider appears, then swipe to power off and turn it back on.