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cannot turn off apple headphone notifications on watch

I run my Apple watch through bluetooth devices. Some have their own volume controls, so that even when I'm listening to something at very low volume, I am notified that my headphone volume for the past week has endangered me. Others are placed in a different room, so although the sound reaching me is low, it exceeds the specification to which the Apple watch subscribes. According to web posts, this notification cannot be turned off in certain locations (I'm in Colorado) because of regulations. Something should be done to obviate this problem. Is anyone at Apple working on it?

Apple Watch SE

Posted on Feb 27, 2023 6:47 PM

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Posted on Feb 28, 2023 1:21 PM

I would start on the iPhone first

Settings, Accessibility, Audio Visual, turn off Headphone Notifications.

Then do the same in Watch app, My Watch, Accessibility, turn off Headphone Notifications.

Then in the Watch itself, Settings, Bluetooth tap the (i) next to the paired device, then Device Type, then set Speaker.


This should work in every country, the reports of it being impossible to turn off come from about 3 years ago (when you couldnt!).

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Feb 28, 2023 1:21 PM in response to Louis.com

I would start on the iPhone first

Settings, Accessibility, Audio Visual, turn off Headphone Notifications.

Then do the same in Watch app, My Watch, Accessibility, turn off Headphone Notifications.

Then in the Watch itself, Settings, Bluetooth tap the (i) next to the paired device, then Device Type, then set Speaker.


This should work in every country, the reports of it being impossible to turn off come from about 3 years ago (when you couldnt!).

Feb 27, 2023 8:35 PM in response to Pilerman

Thank you for the quick response. I do think this is a result of my geographic location—otherwise it doesn't make sense that your instructions (which echo some things I've read on apple support) are not actionable.

  1. There is no "Noise" menu item when I do this: 'Open the Watch app on your paired iPhone. > Scroll down to and click on "Noise"' .
  2. And when I do this on the iPhone in the Health app, "Click on "Headphone Audio Levels" the iPhone "Headphone Notifications" is greyed out but "Off" and the Watch "Headphone Notifications" is greyed out but "On"

Feb 27, 2023 7:27 PM in response to Louis.com

Are you sure that you can't turn it off?

Open the Watch app on your paired iPhone.

Scroll down to and click on "Noise".

Turn the "Environmental Sound Measurements" off if it's currently on.


Next, open the Health app on your paired iPhone.

Click on "Browse" in the lower right corner of the screen.

Click on "Hearing".

Click on "Headphone Audio Levels"

Scroll to the very bottom of the screen and then click on "Headphone Notifications".

On the next screen, you can turn On and Off notifications for the Watch and/or the iPhone.


Feb 28, 2023 5:53 AM in response to Louis.com

That just strikes me as odd because we live in the "Land of the free, home of the brave".


I'm going to continue to follow this post so that I can learn more about this. Hopefully someone will come along with the answers.

If not, maybe you could try to reach out to Apple support and get a fast and definitive answer. There are links at the top and bottom of this page.

Feb 28, 2023 1:31 PM in response to LD150

Hello. I've followed your advice. The iPhone > Accessibility ... Headphone Notifications was already off, but I turned the same notifications off on the Watch, and next I assigned even my headphones "speaker" status. If I've protected my hearing nearly perfectly for over 60 years, I do not need a device to remind me.

Thank you!

Feb 28, 2023 1:35 PM in response to Louis.com

That's what everyone said back then! We all blamed it on the European Union, but now it can be turned off who cares!

The Speaker device type setting and the Accessibility setting both do the same job but may as well do both.

This is what we in England call "Belt and Braces" (and for the Americans, Belt & Suspenders?)

cannot turn off apple headphone notifications on watch

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