Was ‘Cover to Mute’ removed at some point?

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Level 1

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Was ‘Cover to Mute’ removed at some point?

I have an Apple watch series 3 LTE. I was reading that I can turn the display off by covering it with my palm for three seconds. Also, this same process can be used for ‘cover to mute’. My watch will not do this at all. It completely ignores me I cover it with my palm.

After doing a fair amount of research I can only find posts up to 2016 that mention this feature. Some people even had an issue where the watch would completely restart if they did this.

My theory is this ‘cover to mute’ feature must have been removed sometime in late 2016 (possibly with WatchOS 3), since no one has talked about it since. Is this theory true?

Thanks for your help.

WATCH SERIES 3 (GPS + CELL) (SS) 42MM, watchOS 4.2.3

Posted on Mar 19, 2018 1:01 PM

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Answer 1

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ChrisJ4203

Level 10

236,309 points

Mar 19, 2018 1:05 PM in response to jessemooney

No, your theory is incorrect. From this page of the Apple Watch User Guide. http://help.apple.com/watch/#/apde978ebff5

Tip: When you get a notification, you can quickly mute Apple Watch by resting the palm of your hand on the watch display for at least three seconds. You’ll feel a tap to confirm that mute is on. Make sure you turn on Cover to Mute in the Apple Watch app on iPhone—tap My Watch, then go to Sounds & Haptics.

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Answer 2

Stewie3G

Level 2

368 points

Mar 20, 2018 9:35 AM in response to jessemooney

Good morning.

The feature is still there and still working great for me. It has to be turned on though.

On your phone, launch the Watch App. Go to My Watch tab / Sounds and Haptic / Cover to Mute; switch on/off.

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Answer 3

jessemooney Author

Level 1

23 points

Mar 19, 2018 6:00 PM in response to ChrisJ4203

I figured out what I was doing wrong, apparently I have to actually touch the entire screen with my palm for it to work. I thought that it worked by just covering it from the light without actually touching it.

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Answer 4

jessemooney Author

Level 1

23 points

Mar 19, 2018 3:58 PM in response to ChrisJ4203

What about covering the screen to turn the screen off? As mentioned in this 2015 article;

1. Cover the screen to turn it off

Perhaps my favorite secret agent move, you can turn off a lit Apple Watch screen by just cupping it with your palm. This is different from the Cover to Mute option, which (when enabled) allows you to silence the Watch by cupping your hand over the face; even when it's turned off, you can still turn off the Watch's screen with your hand. It's also a great way to save battery life on your device!

I cannot get this to work no matter what I do. Is there a setting or is my watch faulty? I already have 'cover to mute' enabled.

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Answer 5

ChrisJ4203

Level 10

236,309 points

Mar 19, 2018 5:23 PM in response to jessemooney

I've not experienced any problems with it. I just tried it by lifting my wrist, and then putting my hand over the screen for 3 seconds, and lifted it, and the screen was already blanked. You have to hold your hand over the watch for a short period of time for it to happen. I am not aware of any additional setting for the screen to dim when putting your hand over it.

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Answer 6

ChrisJ4203

Level 10

236,309 points

Mar 20, 2018 8:07 AM in response to jessemooney

I'm glad you were able to figure things out. I guess I wasn't clear on how to cover the screen, but it doesn't matter now. Enjoy your device.

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Was ‘Cover to Mute’ removed at some point?

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