iPhone Alarm Sound Not Working When I Wear my Watch

My alarm clock displayed, but did not ring, on my new Iphone15. I found out alarm had been set with the Health app, on my new AppleWatch. I had never used Heath on any device. I cancelled the alarm in the Health app, set the alarm on my Iphone (through “CLOCK”) and now it rings, on just my Iphone15, which is what I want

I spent about an hour on the phone with an Apple rep who could not figure out how to get the alarm to ring on my Iphone.

It seems like there might be a setting or configuration causing this issue with your iPhone alarm when your Apple Watch is worn and not charging. Here are a few troubleshooting steps you can try to resolve the problem:

1. Check Do Not Disturb and Silent Mode: Make sure that neither your iPhone nor your Apple Watch is in Do Not Disturb mode or Silent mode. Check the settings on both devices to ensure that they are not set to silence notifications and alarms.

• • On iPhone: Swipe down from the top-right corner of the screen to open Control Center. If the crescent moon icon is lit, Do Not Disturb is enabled. Tap the moon icon to disable it. Also, check the side switch on your iPhone; if it's showing an orange dot, the device is in Silent mode. Toggle the side switch to turn off Silent mode.
  • On Apple Watch: Swipe up from the watch face to open the Control Center. If the crescent moon icon is present, tap it to disable Do Not Disturb.

1. Check Alarm Sound Settings: Verify that the sound for your iPhone's alarm is set correctly. Go to "Settings" > "Sounds & Haptics" on your iPhone and ensure that the "Ringer and Alerts" volume is turned up and not muted. Also, confirm that you have selected an audible sound for your alarm.
2. Check iPhone and Watch Connection: Ensure that your iPhone and Apple Watch are properly connected and paired. If they are disconnected or not paired correctly, it could lead to notification issues. Try unpairing and re-pairing your Apple Watch to your iPhone.
3. Check iPhone Audio Output: Sometimes, the iPhone may redirect audio output to other devices, causing the alarm sound to be silent. Make sure your iPhone's audio output is set to the phone's speaker. You can check this by playing some music and ensuring that it is coming from the iPhone's speakers.
4. Restart Devices: Try restarting both your iPhone and Apple Watch. Sometimes, a simple restart can help resolve temporary software glitches that might be affecting the alarm sound.
5. Update Software: Ensure that both your iPhone and Apple Watch have the latest software updates installed. Software updates often include bug fixes and improvements that could resolve issues like this.

If the problem persists after trying the above steps, it's best to contact Apple Support for further assistance. They can provide more in-depth troubleshooting and help you resolve the specific issue with your devices.

anneon wrote:

Spent almost an hour on phone with Apple yesterday---on my IPhone15 Pro there is no sound when the alarm Yesterday goes off if I am wearing my AppleWatch 9 and it is turned on. I finally was told there is currently no way I can get the alarm on my IPhone to ring if my AppleWatch is turned on.

I use my IPhone for many reasons, but got the AppleWatch so it would call 911 or let me call someone for assistance in case of a fall/stroke/etc.--I intended to wear it constantly, except for charging at the breakfast table (someone my age fell recently, was very badly injured and credits her AppleWatch with saving her life)--aside from that, and the time of day, I want all other functions available on the Apple Watch turned off.

Apple used to make great products---I hope there will soon be an update so I can have full use of my IPhone and limit my Apple Watch use to "only" protecting me in case of a severe health event. (I believe that I will gradually learn more uses for the Apple Watch, but right now I want to keep it simple. Many years ago I wrote programs in machine language for an IBM7094 computer--that was much more simple than adding and removing settings on my AppleWatch.)

Since the Apple Watch first appeared Apple has taken the position that if you are wearing the watch and have wrist detection enabled then alerts will appear only on the watch, unless the iPhone is unlocked. This is considered a feature, as it deals with complaints like “Why am I getting alerts from TWO devices? HOW ANNOYING! Apple, what were you thinking?"

sarahfelldown wrote:

“No, it has always been this way.”

It hasn’t. At some point in the recent past, the phone would sound the alarm and the watch would tap my wrist. I could end or snooze the alarm from either device. And what we’re saying is now, the phone isn’t sounding the alarm. We’re only getting taps on the watch.

If your watch is locked, that is what happens.

etownAndy wrote:

Are you saying the expected behavior is if I’m wearing my my watch to bed my morning alarms won’t sound?

The alarms will sound on your watch. They will not sound on the phone. That's expected behavior.

You can kind of trick things into having the alarm sound on the phone. Before going to sleep, take your watch off and then put it back on but do not unlock it. Make sure that, if you have your phone set to unlock the watch, you don't play with your phone (or turn that feature off). As the watch is locked, notifications will sound on the phone, not the watch.

Try this, it’s worked for me after having the same issue.

1. ensure you watch and iPhone are fully updated.
2. Open up Apple Watch app on your iPhone
3. tap my watch, tap clock, then turn OFF “push alerts from iPhone”
4. then set alarm for 1 minutes time and see if it works whilst wearing the watch.

Spent almost an hour on phone with Apple yesterday---on my IPhone15 Pro there is no sound when the alarm Yesterday goes off if I am wearing my AppleWatch 9 and it is turned on. I finally was told there is currently no way I can get the alarm on my IPhone to ring if my AppleWatch is turned on.

I use my IPhone for many reasons, but got the AppleWatch so it would call 911 or let me call someone for assistance in case of a fall/stroke/etc.--I intended to wear it constantly, except for charging at the breakfast table (someone my age fell recently, was very badly injured and credits her AppleWatch with saving her life)--aside from that, and the time of day, I want all other functions available on the Apple Watch turned off.

Apple used to make great products---I hope there will soon be an update so I can have full use of my IPhone and limit my Apple Watch use to "only" protecting me in case of a severe health event. (I believe that I will gradually learn more uses for the Apple Watch, but right now I want to keep it simple. Many years ago I wrote programs in machine language for an IBM7094 computer--that was much more simple than adding and removing settings on my AppleWatch.)

jmalpass wrote:

I sleep with my Apple Watch on and my iPhone alarm does not make a sound when it goes off. The phone and the watch both vibrate, but no sound. If my watch is on the charger, it works.

If you are wearing the watch, and it's in Sleep mode, that's expected behavior.

etownAndy wrote:

Thats the thing though. For myself and at leats one other person who's responded, the watch doesn't go off either.

I would suggest deleting and re-adding the sleep schedule in Health. Also, unpair and re-pair the watch.

I recently bought an Apple Watch and had the same issue happen. I have been trying different things to test what works and what doesn’t, and here is what I am trying for the next time my alarm goes off. I will reply with an update and report back how it goes!

In my iPhone settings, I go settings > focus > sleep and then from there I can edit what apps and people I can receive notifications from. I had no notifications on anything going through while sleep mode is on. When I click on the apps section, I ensure it is set to “allow notifications from” and then I tap “alarm” when I go to add the notification. I am hoping this helps! Updates to come.

Just go to the Watch app then to NOTIFICATIONS, scroll down to MIRROR IPHONE ALERTS FROM and turn off your alarm clock app. Worked for me!

This may be “expected behavior” but it is a significant change from iOS 16.x. Now when I wear my Apple Watch to bed to track sleep, my Wake alarm (which used to make a sound on my iPhone) no longer makes any sound. Instead, my watch vibrates. (I keep my watch silenced all the time.) Please modify the settings to give the user the choice: Wake alarm on phone, on watch, or both. FWIW, I love and use the new horizontal display. (iPhone 14 Pro)

You are going to make me oversleep after conditioning me to use Apple Sleep and Wake!

Yea, this wasn’t a setting requested. Not sure why they took it upon themselves to add it. It’s now a nuisance. Now I have to decide do I wear my watch to bed and run the risk of oversleeping if I’m that tired because the watch alarm is nowhere as loud as the phone. Apple please fix this!

“No, it has always been this way.”

It hasn’t. At some point in the recent past, the phone would sound the alarm and the watch would tap my wrist. I could end or snooze the alarm from either device. And what we’re saying is now, the phone isn’t sounding the alarm. We’re only getting taps on the watch.

aviduser wrote:

This may be “expected behavior” but it is a significant change from iOS 16.x.

No, it has always been this way.

You are going to make me oversleep after conditioning me to use Apple Sleep and Wake!

It is hardly my responsibility to make sure you, an adult, get up on time. I don't even know you so how could I make sure you got up on time?