There’s nothing as frustrating as waking up late because your Apple Watch alarm is not working. The outcome is that you’ll more than likely run late for nearly everything.
But why is your Apple Watch alarm not going off in the first place?
In my experience, the alarm won’t go off because the watch is in silent mode, there’s no alarm set, or the set alarm is off. It’s also possible the theater mode is active, the watchOS is not up to date, or the watch has a system glitch.
In this troubleshooting guide, I’ll show you exactly how to fix all these problems, so you never have to feel frustrated by your Apple Watch alarm again.
Let’s get started.
Why is My Apple Watch Alarm Not Working?
If the alarm is not going off on your Apple Watch, it could be because of one or more of the following reasons:
| Probable Cause | Possible Solution | |
| 1. | The Apple Watch is in silent mode. | Turn off the silent mode. |
| 2. | You haven’t set an alarm yet. | Ensure you have an alarm set. |
| 3. | The alarm is set but toggled off. | Check if the alarm you’ve set to go off is actually active. |
| 4. | WatchOS firmware is not up to date. | Update your Apple Watch’s watchOS to the latest version. |
| 5. | Your Apple Watch is in theater mode. | You should deactivate the theater mode to get the alarm to work. |
| 6. | The watch has a system glitch. | Restart your Apple Watch. |
How to Fix Alarm Not Working on Apple Watch
Here’s what you should do if you’re currently having an issue with your Apple Watch’s alarm:
1. Make Sure You Set an Actual Alarm to Go Off
Here’s what I’m thinking:
The real reason why there’s no alarm sound from your Apple Watch is that you don’t actually have one set to go off at any given point in time.
And I don’t see the point of trying to troubleshoot a problem that doesn’t even exist in the first place.
The first step to get an alarm to go off on your Apple Watch is to ensure you set one. Be sure to check my guide to set an alarm on Apple Watch if you don’t already know how to get this done.
2. Activate the Alarms You Want to Go Off
Setting an alarm on your Apple Watch is a half the problem solved. The final step is to ensure you activate the alarm or alarms that you want to go off.
To enable an alarm or a set thereof on your smartwatch:
- Go to the main menu.
- Tap on the alarm icon, where you’ll see a list of alarms you have set.
- Identify the alarms you would like to set.
- Toggle the alarm switch to activate.
And that’s it. Your alarm should not ring when the time to do so comes.
However, if you already have alarms set but they won’t go off on your Apple Watch, the next troubleshooting tip should help.
3. Deactivate Silent Mode on Your Apple Watch
If the alarm is not going off on your Apple Watch, it’s probably because you have the silent mode activated on the smartwatch.
To be clear:
The silent mode is an incredibly useful feature that can help boost your productivity at work or at school. By disabling sound and vibrations, the mode keeps you from looking at your watch all the time, especially if you’re the type of person that easily gets distracted by notifications.
But, the silent mode also keeps the alarm from vibrating, even if you have a series of alarms set to go off at given time intervals.
You need to turn off the silent mode to start getting alarm notifications on your Apple Watch. To do this:
- Press the Digital Crown to wake the Apple Watch screen.
- Swipe up from the bottom of the screen to open the control menu.
- Tap the silent mode icon (often represented in the form of a bell with a small line running diagonally).
- Press the Digital Crown again to go back to the watch face.
And that’s it. Your alarm should go off at the right timing now that the silent mode is off on your Apple smartwatch.
4. Deactivate Theater Mode on Your Apple Watch
My Apple Watch Series 6 has a theater mode feature, and I have to admit that it’s an incredibly useful function built into the watch.
From a productivity standpoint, the theater mode mutes sounds and vibrations from system, alarms, and notifications, so you can focus on your work undisturbed.
If you have haptic vibrations working on your Apple Watch, you can still get alarm vibrations even with the theater mode active.
However, if you don’t have that as a function enabled on your watch, you will need to turn off the theater mode to get your alarms to work.
To do this:
- Tap the screen or press the Digital Crown to wake up the display.
- Swipe the screen up to open the quick access panel.
- Tap the theater mode icon (represented by two merging masks) to turn it off.
And that’s it.
Now your Apple Watch alarms should go off at the exact time when you set them.
5. Restart Your Apple Watch
I’ve had times when alarms wouldn’t ring on my Apple Watch Series 6 because of system glitches, which is one of the most common Apple Watch problems.
Cached memory, outdated firmware, and conflicting apps can contribute to system glitches. However, it most cases, the problem arises from staying for too long without restarting the Apple Watch.
System glitches on Apple Watch are easy to fix. Just restart the smartwatch, after which it should resume working the way it should.
To restart the Apple Watch:
- Press and hold the side button until you see the sliders.
- Tap the power icon and drag it to the right to turn off the watch.
- Hold down the side button again until you see the Apple logo.
And that’s it.
Every alarm you’ve set on the Apple Watch should go off at the right time.
6. Update watchOS to the Latest Version
The last thing I would like you to do is to update the watchOS if there’s a new version to install to your Apple Watch.
Remember, obsolete operating system often has bugs, security loopholes, app incompatibilities, and performance issues. Some pre-installed apps, such as alarm, don’t even work because of the obsolete firmware.
Updating the watchOS to the latest version should fix all these problems, including the alarm not going off on the Apple Watch.
To update the operating system:
- Launch the Apple Watch app on your paired iPhone.
- Tap My Watch.
- Tap General and then software updates.
- Select install (if firmware updates are available).
- Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the updates.
Before you check for an Apple Watch firmware update, ensure your Apple Watch is at least 50% charged.
Final Thoughts
The Apple Watch alarm is such an incredible tool built to help you get up in the morning without making a loud sound.
I’ve personally found my Series 6’s alarm helpful in instances where I would have been otherwise late, especially if I went to bed late and extremely exhausted.
Given how useful the continuous vibration is, the alarm not going off on your Apple Watch is not doubt serious concern. Yet given how easy it is to troubleshoot this issue, it should take you no more than 5 minutes to fix the alarm and get it to work again.
