How to Get Apple Watch to Vibrate Only

Tijana Kargovska

Written by Tijana Kargovska Apple Watch

Linkedin Twitter Published 1 year ago / updated 1 year ago - 4 min read

The Apple Watch has numerous amazing features, such as pinging your iPhone, entering and editing workouts, or changing the wallpaper.

Since the Apple Watch can be connected to your iPhone via Bluetooth, the notifications you receive on your phone will automatically be transferred to your smartwatch as well.

When notifications are received on your Apple Watch, they usually make a ringing noise. However, this can be inconvenient at times, since the ringing noise might cause distractions while you’re in a meeting, per se.

Hence, getting the Apple Watch to vibrate only, instead of constantly hearing ringing notifications might be the perfect solution.

In the article below, we’ll teach you how to turn the ringing notifications on your Apple Watch with a step-by-step guide.

How do I turn on the vibration feature on my Apple Watch?

In order to activate the vibration feature, you need to make adjustments to the ‘Haptic Alerts’ feature, and adjust the strength of the vibrations. If the vibrations are not strong enough, you might not notice the notifications coming through.

Turning on ‘Haptic Alerts’ and adjusting the Haptic strength

1. On your Apple Watch, open the ‘Settings’ app.
2. Next, from the ‘Settings’ menu, scroll down and tap ‘Sounds & Haptics’.
3. Locate the ‘Haptics’ feature, and check if the ‘Haptic Alerts’ are activated. If not, toggle the button next to it.
4. Next, under ‘Haptic Alerts’, you’ll be given two options: ‘Default’ and ‘Prominent’. The first one offers lighter vibrations, while the second one offers stronger vibrations.
5. Choose one of the above-mentioned.
6. Scroll up again, and find the ‘Alert Volume’ feature, which is also a haptic setting - the first setting option on the page.
7. You’ll be able to increase or lower the sound based on your liking.

Note: If you usually notice incoming phone calls and messages from your Apple Watch, bear in mind that the vibrations might not be strong enough and you might not notice them.

Turning on only ‘Haptic Alerts’ for calls and alerts

If you make the adjustments listed below, you will set your Apple Watch to stop making ringing noises when you’re receiving calls.

1. On the iPhone that’s paired with your Apple Watch, open the ‘Watch’ app.
2. At the bottom of the screen, tap on ‘My Watch’.
3. Scroll down until you see the ‘Phone’ feature, and tap on it.
4. Make the following adjustments:

• Instead of ‘Mirror my iPhone’, change it to ‘Custom’.
• Under ‘Alerts’, turn off ‘Sound’, but double-check whether ‘Haptic’ is still turned on.
• Under ‘Calls’, turn off ‘Sound’, and turn on ‘Haptic’ if you want the Apple Watch to vibrate.

Note: Turning off ‘Haptic’ under both ‘Alerts’ and ‘Calls’ will technically put your watch in ‘Silent Mode’. You won’t receive any type of buzzing or ringing for calls, notifications, or text messages.

1. In the ‘Watch’ tab, tap on ‘Back’, and open ‘Messages’.
2. Tap on the ‘Custom’ option, and check whether ‘Haptic’ is turned on, while ‘Sound’ is turned off.

Wrapping up

After finishing the steps mentioned above, your Apple Watch will stop making any type of chiming sounds.

If you liked this article, check out How to Change Keyboard to Scribble on Apple Watch 7 and How to Fix: My Apple Watch Won't Turn On.