Apple Watch is a great extension of the iPhone as it allows the user to read messages, track health and activity, and receive other notifications right on their wrists. However, Apple Watch uses haptic vibrations with audio clues to make sure that you are aware of the incoming notification.

Haptic feedback can be a great way to never miss out on an update from your iPhone if your routine involves you being on the move or being in a noisy environment. That being said, not everyone feels comfortable with the vibratory feedback.

Thankfully, you can easily turn off the haptic feedback on your Apple Watch right from the Settings app on your watch or from the ‘Watch’ app on your paired iPhone.

For your ease of convenience, we are going to showcase the process on both devices.

Turn off the Haptics from the Apple Watch

Turning off the haptics from the Settings app is a straightforward process and all it requires is a couple of taps from your side.

First, press the Crown/ Home button on your Apple Watch to reach the home screen if you are not already present there.

After that, navigate the App grid or scroll down the App list to locate and tap on the ‘Settings’ icon to proceed.

Then, on the ‘Settings’ screen, scroll down till you locate the ‘Sounds and Haptics’ tile and tap on it to continue.

To turn off the haptic feedback only for notifications, locate the ‘Haptic Alerts’ tile present under the ‘Haptics’ section and tap on the following toggle switch to bring it to the ‘Off’ position.

That’s it. The haptics for notifications have been turned off on your Apple Watch. To enable the haptics, simply turn on the toggle again. You can also select ‘Prominent’ instead of ‘Default’ to add extra emphasis to your alerts.

However, in case you wish to turn off the haptic feedback for the Crown as well as the system controls, head on to the next step.

Now, first, locate the ‘Crown Haptics’ tile and tap on the following toggle switch to bring it to the ‘Off’ position. After that, locate the ‘System Haptics’ tile and tap on the following toggle switch to bring it to the Off position to completely turn off the haptic feedback on your Apple Watch.

Turn Off the Haptic Feedback from the Paired iPhone

In case you do not like to navigate the Settings menu on a tiny screen, you can also disable the haptic feedback of your Apple Watch using your paired iPhone.

To do so, first, launch the ‘Watch’ app, either from the home screen or the app library of your iPhone.

After that, make sure you have selected the ‘My Watch’ tab from the bottom section of the screen to continue.

Next, scroll down to locate and tap on the ‘Sound & Haptics’ tile.

Now, on the ‘Sound & Haptics’ screen, locate the ‘Haptic Alerts’ tile present under the ‘Haptics’ section and tap on the following toggle switch present at the far right edge of the tile to bring it to the ‘Off’ position.

And that’s it; you have successfully turned off haptic feedback for notifications on your Apple Watch. However, the haptic feedback of the Watch Crown and System controls is still active. If you wish to turn them off as well, head to the next step.

Locate the ‘Crown Haptics’ field and tap on the toggle switch present on the far right edge of it to bring it to the ‘Off’ position. Next, on the same page, find the ‘System Haptics’ field and tap on the toggle switch present on the far right edge of it to bring it to the ‘Off’ position.

That’s it, you have successfully turned off all haptics on your Apple Watch.

Turn Off Haptic Feedback for a Specific App

You can also turn off sound and haptic feedback temporarily for a particular app in case you do not wish to turn it off system-wide. The only catch to this method is that you should have received a notification on your watch from the app that you wish to mute temporarily.

To do so, first, swipe downwards from the lock screen of your Apple Watch to reveal the list of received notifications.

After that, swipe left on the notification of the app that you wish to mute.

Then, from the revealed options, tap on the ‘ellipsis’ (three-horizontal dots) icon to proceed. This will bring an overlay menu to your screen.

Now, from the overlay menu, tap on the desired duration for the mute option to mute the notifications for the app for a specific time. After the specified time has elapsed, you will start receiving notifications from the app on your watch as usual.


How to Mute the Watch Using Gestures

Many times you find yourself in a situation where audible notifications might disturb the decorum of the ambiance. And in today’s digital age, notifications and phone calls are never-ending.

If you ever find yourself in such a situation and your Apple Watch starts to blare a notification or worse, a call, quickly cover the watch face and hold the position. You will receive haptic feedback as a confirmation that your Apple Watch has now been muted. All the notifications will be received silently on your Apple Watch now.

Now, the only catch is that you will have to manually unmute the Apple Watch.

To unmute the Apple Watch manually, first, swipe up from the bottom of the watch face to bring up the Control Centre.

Then, locate the ‘Bell’ icon on the control center and tap on it. This will restore the normal notification settings on your Apple Watch.


That’s it, people. Now you can easily turn the haptics on your Apple Watch on/ off and even mute it in a jiffy with a simple gesture if the situation arises.