The Apple Watch makes a terrific bedside clock and wake-up device. In this article, you’ll learn about the Apple Watch’s alarm feature, including the iOS 12 Bedtime mode, troubleshooting techniques, and more.
How to Set up Apple Watch Alarms
Ready to set the Watch to wake you up at a specific time? Let’s get started.
First, tap on the Apple Watch Digital Crown to go into Apps.
Tap on the Alarm app.
On this Alarm app main screen, you’ll see a list of active and inactive alarm times you have already established. Tap Add Alarm to add a new one.
Change the hour and minutes using the Digital Crown to match the time you’d like to use as an alarm time. Be sure to select AM or PM.
Tap Set.
Back on the main Alarm app screen, notice your new alarm time is active.
The alarm time will now show whenever your Apple Watch is in Night Stand mode.
A hassle-free way to set up the alarm on your Apple Watch is to use Siri. In doing so, you don’t have to open the Alarm app and set the alarms manually. Instead, ask Siri to “Wake me up at” or “Set Alarm for” and specify your time. You can also say “Set Repeating Alarm for 7 PM” to set up an alarm that repeats daily.
This action will set up the alarm on your Apple Watch. Similarly, you can also use Siri to remove all your alerts by saying “Clear All Alarms.”
Editing and Deleting Alarm Times
You can change alarm times and whether you wish to repeat them from the main Alarm app screen.
From here, tap of the alarm time.
On this screen, you can change the time, repeat it Every Day, Weekdays, Weekends, or days of the week, add a label, or delete the alarm.
From this same screen, you can also disable the snooze functionality. In doing so, you won’t be able to snooze the alarm when it rings.
When the snooze feature is active, you can turn off your alarm just by tapping Snooze on your Apple Watch display. In several minutes, the alarm will sound again. You can also push the Digital Crown to snooze the alarm.
What is NightStand Mode?
When you turn your Apple Watch on its side, and it’s connected to the charger, you’ll enter NightStand mode. During this time, you’ll see the time and date displayed, not the Apple Watch face.
If you are having issues with this function, go into your Apple Watch apps and select the Settings app. Select General > NightStand Mode and make sure it’s turned ON. If it isn’t, toggle it ON.
How to Set the Same Alarms on Both Apple Watch and iPhone
To see the same alarms on both iPhone and Apple Watch:
Set the alarm on your iPhone in the iOS Clock app.
Open the Apple Watch app on your iPhone.
Tap the My Watch tab and select Clock.
Turn on Push Alerts from iPhone on this screen.
The Apple Watch will alert you when an alarm goes off so you can snooze or dismiss the alarm. You aren’t alerted on your iPhone when your Apple Watch alarms go off.
Apple Watch Alarms not working, Here are some tips
The best way to address alarm problems on your Apple Watch is to restart both the wearable device and your iPhone. Be sure to restart the iPhone before the Apple Watch.
On Apple Watch, press and hold the side button to bring up the Power Off slider. Slide your finger from left to right on the Power Off slider to restart your watch.
You can also toggle the Silent Mode ON and OFF a few times to see if that resolves the issue. When Silent Mode is enabled on Apple Watch, both alarms and timers are muted unless the wearable device is on the charger and connected to power. Use your finger to scroll up from the bottom of your Apple Watch to see the Control Panel. A bell icon represents silent Mode.
Apple Watch Alarms not working after updating to iOS 13
Several users have reported that their Apple Watch alarm notifications are not working following updating their iPhone to iOS 13. Apple watch doesn’t ring for the alarms that have been set up on the iPhone.
Here is one setting that you should definitely check and make sure if you are having this issue.
Open the Watch app on your iPhone
Tap on My Watch tab at the bottom of the screen
Next, Tap on Clock
Enable ‘Push Alerts from iPhone’
This setting helps the Apple Watch to alert you on the timers and alarms that you have setup on your iPhone.
No Vibrations During Alarms
One of the issues you may experience with your Apple Watch alarm has to do with the device’s haptic mode. When active, this mode allows your wearable device to vibrate during alarms.
To check whether this feature is in the ON position:
Open the Apple Watch app on your iPhone and tap Sound & Haptics.
Turn the Haptic Alerts toggle to the ON position.
Next:
On your Apple Watch, go into the Settings app.
Tap Sounds & Haptics.
Toggle ON Haptic Alerts.
Scroll down and select the Prominent setting. In doing so, you’ll receive an additional haptic tap to pre-announce alerts.
Alarms Set via Hey Siri Not working on Apple Watch
This is one of those random problems that can occur without reason or rationale. Try setting up an alarm on your Apple Watch by saying ‘ Hey Siri set an alarm for 6 am called yoga time’. If your hey Siri has been set up on your Apple Watch, you should see the response ‘OK I’ve set your alarm..’ which is how it should behave.
The problem is that it shows you the right message but sometimes the Alarm is simply inactive. You can check all your alarms on the watch and you may see this.
Many users have reported this issue. There isn’t a straight cut solution to this issue. The only advice that we received from Apple Support was to unpair/re-pair your Apple Watch and see if this issue goes away.
Toggling Hey Siri setting on the watch helps.
What we have found is that sometimes the Hey Siri works better when it is reset on your Apple Watch. This is just not for the alarm function but also for other functions that require invoking ‘Hey Siri’ on your watch.
On your watch, tap on Settings > Siri
Under Ask Siri,switch off ‘Listen for Hey Siri’
Turn off your Apple Watch
Restart your Apple Watch
Enable ‘Listen for Hey Siri’
Now check if you are still having issues with setting up alarms via the ‘Hey Siri’ function.
Alarms not going off on Apple Watch or iPhone
Have you ever been in a situation when you know that the alarm is set up and is active on your iPhone and Watch but it never turns on at the set time.
You have gone over the various settings such as volume control, mute, do-not-disturb et al as described in the earlier sections but still have the issue.
One workaround that seems to be working for many users is to first delete all your alarms from your Apple Watch and iPhone.
Use ‘Hey Siri delete all my alarms’ and confirm when you see the message.
Delete all alarms and confirm
Set up your alarms again but this time also add in a proxy. By that we mean if you have an alarm set for 7 am. Set another alarm for 7:01 am. When the time interval between two alarms is close, it appears that your iPhone or Watch somehow triggers the alarms.
Again, this is not the best solution by any means but the workaround seems to be working for some users.
Tip for Deep Sleepers – If you sleep deep, sometimes you may miss the alarms. The alarms have a specific time limit on the Apple Watch. If you are looking for an app that requires you to take an action before the alarm turns off, check out Alarmy and see if that helps your issue.
Apple Watch Alarms Questions and Answers
Here are some frequently asked questions about alarms on Apple Watch and the answers.
How Long Does the Watch Alarm Last?
Your alarm will continue to ring on your Apple Watch until you turn it off or hit the Snooze button.
Does the Apple Watch Alarm Make Sound or Just Vibrate?
This depends on your setting. By default, you’ll hear a sound and a feel a vibration each time the alarm goes off. However, when turning on Silent mode, you’ll only feel the vibration.
To turn on Silent mode, scroll up from the Apple Watch face. Tap the bell icon representing the setting.
Does the Watch Alarm Work Without an iPhone?
Yes, you don’t need to have your iPhone with you for the alarm to work on your Apple Watch.
How Do You Make the Apple Watch Alarm Sound Louder?
To make the sound of your alarm louder (or softer), go into the Settings app on your Watch. Tap Sounds & Haptics and change the Alert Volume up or down.
What About Bedtime Mode?
If you’re using Bedtime mode on your iPhone, the alarm is also reflected on Apple Watch, assuming your wearable device is unlocked.
When in Doubt
If you run into a problem with the alarms on your Apple Watch, your best bet is to first reboot your wearable device and iPhone. From there, follow the troubleshoot techniques mentioned here.
I have an Iwatch 4 and I somehow deleted the alarm app from the watch. I don’t know how I did it or how to get it back on the watch. Can someone help me ?? Please!
I have an apple 3 watch and I need to set more than one alarm during the night. After I have them set and go to bed only the first alarm works the rest do not work. I am using this for medical needs and would like to figure this out. I noticed this morning that all three alarms were turned off but I didn’t turn the second 2 alarms off.
Any idea why my iWatch with cellular capability will ring when in the charger and in nightstand
Mode? It doesn’t seem to happen all the time….or maybe it does and I just don’t get a lot of middle of the night calls? Is there a way to turn off getting calls on the iWatch while it is in nightstand Mode?
You can set-up Do Not Disturb Mode on your Watch or your iPhone during the hours you do not want any calls to come through.
First, set-up Do Not Disturb on your iPhone via Settings > Do Not Disturb
Set up a scheduled time
Open the Apple Watch app from your iPhone
Scroll down and tap on General
Tap on Do Not Disturb
Toggle Mirror iPhone to On
You can also set it up on your watch manually:
Swipe up Control Center on your watch
Tap on the Do Not Disturb button
Choose a duration for Do Not Disturb
Please download the new Arlo app–the legacy app discontinued being supported as of 9/30/2019, so it’s likely that you need to install that new Arlo app which is optimized for iOS 13 and iPadOS.
Check if there is an app update for Arlo for iOS 13 support. I also see that Arlo has a new app out (as of September 2019), so you may need to install that new app instead of using the legacy app. According to Arlo, that legacy app ceased being supported as of September 30, 2019–users should instead use the new app for continued support and updates.
Yes, you can set up multiple alarms on an Apple Watch and as long as the watch is on your body (not on the charger or sitting on a table), it will vibrate for each alarm.
Finally, if you are interested in the feature of calling 911 for a detected fall, only Apple Watch Series 4 and above offer this.
Apple Watches are expensive and you must have an iPhone to pair them with.
All Apple refurbished units come with the same warranty as new units and you can also purchase Apple Care for the same price as a new unit–so there really aren’t any downsides other than it’s not out of the box new.
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!! I thought my watch was broken (it didn’t make any sound for timers or alarms) and it made me sad, but then i looked at this site, did what it said, and it worked! THANKS SO MUCH!
I have several recurring alarms synced on my watch and phone that are all labeled with the purpose of the alarm and yet there is one alarm that recurs daily without a label. I would like to delete it but can’t find it. Any ideas for deleting it would be most welcome. Thank you.
How do I get my iwatch to ring for the phone?
I have an Iwatch 4 and I somehow deleted the alarm app from the watch. I don’t know how I did it or how to get it back on the watch. Can someone help me ?? Please!
I have an apple 3 watch and I need to set more than one alarm during the night. After I have them set and go to bed only the first alarm works the rest do not work. I am using this for medical needs and would like to figure this out. I noticed this morning that all three alarms were turned off but I didn’t turn the second 2 alarms off.
Any idea why my iWatch with cellular capability will ring when in the charger and in nightstand
Mode? It doesn’t seem to happen all the time….or maybe it does and I just don’t get a lot of middle of the night calls? Is there a way to turn off getting calls on the iWatch while it is in nightstand Mode?
Hi Jean,
You can set-up Do Not Disturb Mode on your Watch or your iPhone during the hours you do not want any calls to come through.
First, set-up Do Not Disturb on your iPhone via Settings > Do Not Disturb
Set up a scheduled time
Open the Apple Watch app from your iPhone
Scroll down and tap on General
Tap on Do Not Disturb
Toggle Mirror iPhone to On
You can also set it up on your watch manually:
Swipe up Control Center on your watch
Tap on the Do Not Disturb button
Choose a duration for Do Not Disturb
Since the update of my phone to the IOS 13 my Apple Watch does not alert of alarms or Arlo.
Hi Rick,
Please download the new Arlo app–the legacy app discontinued being supported as of 9/30/2019, so it’s likely that you need to install that new Arlo app which is optimized for iOS 13 and iPadOS.
Liz
Since I updated to IOS 13 my apple watch does not sync for the alarms or for Arlo security cameras.
I have checked to make sure my phone is still showing all notifications to my Apple Watch and so far those items listed are not working.
Please fix these issues.
Hi Richard,
Check if there is an app update for Arlo for iOS 13 support. I also see that Arlo has a new app out (as of September 2019), so you may need to install that new app instead of using the legacy app. According to Arlo, that legacy app ceased being supported as of September 30, 2019–users should instead use the new app for continued support and updates.
Liz
I just want to know more.
My neighbor has an apple watch she can talk to.
She said a neighbor who has one fell on her stairs and her watch called 911. Nice.
Can these watches have multiple alarms set for times to take medicines?
If so, do they have the ability to vibrate? I have too often to do so.
If so, are they very costly? Thank you.
Hi Maureen,
Yes, you can set up multiple alarms on an Apple Watch and as long as the watch is on your body (not on the charger or sitting on a table), it will vibrate for each alarm.
Finally, if you are interested in the feature of calling 911 for a detected fall, only Apple Watch Series 4 and above offer this.
Apple Watches are expensive and you must have an iPhone to pair them with.
To save some money, consider purchasing a refurbished Apple Watch Series 4 from Apple directly.
All Apple refurbished units come with the same warranty as new units and you can also purchase Apple Care for the same price as a new unit–so there really aren’t any downsides other than it’s not out of the box new.
Hope this helps.
Liz
I have an Apple Watch but all the alarms on my I phone 8 don’t ring on my watch just some of them?
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!! I thought my watch was broken (it didn’t make any sound for timers or alarms) and it made me sad, but then i looked at this site, did what it said, and it worked! THANKS SO MUCH!
I have several recurring alarms synced on my watch and phone that are all labeled with the purpose of the alarm and yet there is one alarm that recurs daily without a label. I would like to delete it but can’t find it. Any ideas for deleting it would be most welcome. Thank you.