Watch overrides audible notification alerts on iPhone

The temporary work-around for my email notifications is to turn off email notifications for Mail in the Apple Watch App.

Then on my Mac in Mail Preferences, set a rule that sends a text message to me when any VIP email arrives.

That way my iPhone still vibrates and plays an audible sound when mail comes in and my watch notifies me whenever an important email comes in.

Add me to this list. It is a poor idea from apple to prevent the phone alerting. I want both to make audible alerts for similar reasons. We should have the choice on how the alerts happen. Personally I don't always hear or feel the watch (most of the time I do) but mostly I still want to hear my custom tones from the phone. This way I know who a message is from even without having to look at my watch.

So can someone clarify – are there any alerts which are supposed to sound on both the phone and the watch? If I get an incoming phone call, that rings both my iPhone and Apple Watch. I get it that texts will now only ping the Watch.

But what about other apps? Which way is Mail supposed to work? What about Reminders? What about third party apps? How are they supposed to work?

Martin

When you have Wrist Detection enabled (on your iPhone in the Apple Watch app: My Watch > General > Wrist Detection):

If your iPhone is unlocked, you'll receive notifications on your iPhone instead of on your Apple Watch.

If your iPhone is locked or asleep and your Apple Watch is unlocked and on your wrist, you'll receive notifications on your Apple Watch.

You can also customise notification settings per app: Apple Watch App > My Watch > Notifications

About notifications on your Apple Watch - Apple Support

By the way, when you have not been able to find an answer by searching the Communities, it is generally best (and considered good forum etiquette) to ask your own, new question in a separate thread. This will also help others (who have the same question in the future) to more easily find an answer that solves that specific question.

Thanks, but I think you've slightly misunderstood, and I believe my question was germane to the original post.

The discussion is by people are puzzled and annoyed that alerts only come through on one device. A text will either sound on the iPhone or ping on the Watch, depending on various criteria.

But phone calls don't work like this – they always make a noise on both the iPhone and the Watch. So it appears to me that some apps only alert on one device, some alert on both. Are there any others which alert both devices? If so, which? Mail? Reminders? Third-party apps? Is there any way to tell?

MST

I am unaware of any other apps (besides Phone) that, by default, alert audibly on both devices regardless of Wrist Detection settings.

How Notifications behave can vary, depending upon your settings. Without Wrist Detection enabled, all notifications will go to both devices. With it enabled (and with the watch unlocked and on your wrist), they will behave as outlined in my previous reply.

Incoming phone calls will always ring on both devices by default. However, these can also behave differently depending on your settings or connected devices. For example:

- You can set the Ringer to silent on your iPhone (by using the switch on the side).

- You can set one, the other or both devices to Do Not Disturb.

- You may have a Bluetooth headset connected to one device or the other.

- You can customise settings for your watch: Apple Watch app > My Watch > Notifications > Phone > Choose Custom > under Ringtone, disable Sound and/or Haptic.

I appreciate why you consider your question to be germane to this thread. Whilst it does also concern alerts and notifications (as many questions do), it is nevertheless different and so merits a separate thread. Replies here should be answers to the OP's question (which is already marked as solved).

• OP's question: "I want to receive notification alerts from all apps on both my watch and iPhone all of the time. Is there a configuration option for this?"
• Yours: "besides the Phone app, are there any other Apple or third party apps that always alert both devices by default?"

Thanks – both for answering my question and for putting me straight on etiquette. MST

Hi, I am one of those who want audible notifications to go to both the watch and the iPhone. So disabling wrist detection will allow this to happen but are there are any side effects to doing this? I don't want to lose features due to wrist detection being disabled. I just wish Apple had thought to give us the choice here. I can understand watch only alerting being good because they are more discrete but I am rarely in an environment which calls for this. On rare occasion I don't feel the haptic feedback or hear the watch's feint ping so would prefer the iPhone alerted too. Increase my chance of being aware of something coming through.

As has been pointed out earlier in this thread, the best thing to do is to log it with Apple at http://www.apple.com/feedback/ so that they know to change it in a future version of the Watch OS. The more people who do this, the stronger the message we're sending to them. MST

Scottyboy99 wrote:

Hi, I am one of those who want audible notifications to go to both the watch and the iPhone. So disabling wrist detection will allow this to happen but are there are any side effects to doing this? I don't want to lose features due to wrist detection being disabled.

Hi

With Wrist Detection disabled, you will not be able to use either Activate on Wrist Raise or Apple Pay. You will also not be able to unlock the watch just once (ie when you place it on your wrist) or have it automatically lock upon removal.

You're welcome!

Sadly, watchOS 2 is here and this is still a major problem . I just submitted more feedback to beg for these options, and I hope more of you do the same. It's time to rile up the angry mob!

You can turn off wrist detection and it will go to your watch and phone. The downside is when you take the watch off, it is not pass lock protected, plus it will not count you as standing up on activity. So if that does not bother you, it will go to your watch and phone at the same time.

this is a terrible idea, why does apple never give us choices and always trys to make the decisions for us

Nickbowers01 wrote:

this is a terrible idea, why does apple never give us choices and always trys to make the decisions for us

Because that's they way they do things and, to date, it's been remarkably successful for them.