Do Not Disturb on Apple Watch: A Complete Guide

Managing Notifications with Do Not Disturb on Your Apple Watch

When engaged in activities like meetings, movie screenings, or performances, you can easily prevent interruptions from Apple Watch notifications. Similar to the "Do Not Disturb" function available on your iPhone, this feature can also be activated directly on your watch.

By default, the "Do Not Disturb" setting on your Apple Watch is synchronized with your iPhone. Consequently, altering the status on one device will automatically reflect the change on the other. However, it’s possible to decouple this mirroring if you desire independent control over notifications on each device.

Enabling Do Not Disturb on Your Apple Watch

First, ensure the watch face is visible. If not, press the digital crown to return to it. Then, swipe upwards from the bottom edge of the watch face to access the glances.

Swipe to the right until the "Settings" glance, which is typically the last one, is displayed. Tap the crescent moon icon to activate "Do Not Disturb".

With recent interface updates, the quick settings are no longer presented on cards. Instead of swiping, scroll down the glances until you locate the Do Not Disturb icon, as illustrated below.

A confirmation message will briefly appear, indicating that "Do Not Disturb" is now active, and the icon’s background will turn purple.

Press the digital crown again to return to the watch face. A crescent moon icon will then be visible at the top of the clock face, confirming that "Do Not Disturb" is enabled.

Disabling Mirrored Settings for Independent Control

As mentioned, enabling "Do Not Disturb" on your watch also activates it on your paired iPhone due to the default mirroring. To manage these settings independently, you must disable this mirroring feature.

When "Do Not Disturb" is active on your iPhone, a crescent moon icon will appear on the right side of the status bar.

To adjust the mirroring setting, locate and tap the "Watch" icon on your iPhone’s home screen.

On the left-hand side of the screen, tap "General".

Subsequently, on the right side of the screen, tap "Do Not Disturb".

If the "Mirror iPhone" setting is currently enabled, the slider button will be displayed in green and white.

To disable mirroring, tap the slider button. The circle within the button will move to the left, and the button’s color will change to black and white.

With the "Mirror iPhone" setting disabled, the "Do Not Disturb" status will need to be configured separately on each device. Any scheduled "Do Not Disturb" periods set on your iPhone will no longer automatically apply to your Apple Watch. To re-establish the link between your watch and phone, simply re-enable the "Mirror iPhone" setting.

Important Note: Your Apple Watch will not display any notifications while it is removed from your wrist, regardless of the "Do Not Disturb" setting.

Additional methods for silencing, managing, and concealing notifications are also available on your Apple Watch.