- Tips - New ways to silence your alarm ⏰
- Trivia - Test your Apple Watch knowledge 🧠
- Deep Dive - Discover fixes for common watch complaints ⌚
- Health Challenge Update - Join our March 2026 Challenge! 🏆
- 🤫 Secret ways to silence watch alarms.
- 📱 Find your phone with your watch!
- ⌚ Change the order of your watch faces.
Your Apple Watch lets you customize your daily activity goals based on your own health and schedule. If you want to change your goal, which of these can you do?
🌴Change it for one day
🌴🌴Change it for every day
🌴🌴🌴Pause your goals for one or many days
🌴🌴🌴🌴All of the above
Did you get it right? Scroll down to find out!
A few editions ago, I covered a few of the things I hate about my Apple Watch, including the Noise app, notification sync confusion, Siri ignoring me, and Stand Reminders. You can read that edition of On the Watch here. Today, I have a fresh batch of complaints, along with a few fixes that keep convincing me that all the Apple Watch pros outweigh the handful of cons.
I’m Late Because I Confused Stop & Snooze
Have you ever woken up feeling super refreshed, excited to grab the day by the horns, only to realize that you slept in because you stopped your watch alarm rather than snoozing it? I’ve done this more than once, and although I play a part in it, I mostly blame my watch. Apple has played with a slider to turn off Apple Watch alarms, but a majority of users were unhappy with it because their alarm kept ringing while they fiddled with the tiny touchscreen. I vote that we bring the slider back, or better yet, offer users the option of toggling it on or off. I have really appreciated having a slider on my iPhone. I no longer accidentally stop my alarm, but I do sometimes accidentally snooze, which is a safer mistake to make. The only reliable solution I have found for this is to add a backup alarm or two. It is annoying, but it helps me be on time. Hopefully, Apple will come up with a better solution in the future!
Overwhelmed with Alerts & Notifications
Does your watch ding ding ding or vibrate vibrate vibrate all day long? Mine doesn’t… anymore. Getting too many notifications isn’t just annoying, it can be detrimental to your health, at least according to Dr. Niranjan Hiremath. It makes sense because constantly getting notifications gives me so much anxiety. The fix might take you 10-15 minutes, but it is worth the peace! Open the Watch app on your iPhone, tap on notifications, and go through each app individually to turn off/minimize notifications. If this sounds too overwhelming, wait to get a notification that you wouldn’t want to see again, and disable notifications for that particular app. Both methods result in the same thing—a more peaceful Apple Watch experience!
So Much to Do… On A Teeny Tiny Screen
This complaint is coming from someone with perfect vision (when wearing my contacts) and small hands… but my Apple Watch display is still too small. Sure, I could buy a watch with a bigger screen, but even the 59mm Ultra models have small displays. The solution for me was to learn how to navigate my watch in other ways. Using Siri is a popular way to open apps and launch features. There are three ways to launch Siri, and so many ways to control your watch with your voice. The best way to explore this is by trying each method to see what works best for you. Next, explore gestures—these let you control your watch with just your watch-wearing hand! Finally, it’s not the most convenient, but you can control your watch with your phone. And don’t forget that you can use the Watch app on your iPhone to tweak most, if not all, Apple Watch settings and enable/disable features
Wearing My Watch Gave Me a Nasty Rash
Apologies for the TMI, but I know I’m not the only one who has gotten a rash from their watch or watch band. When it comes to watch bands, it could be an allergy or your band being too tight. But if you’re getting a rash from your actual watch, it is often due to dirt buildup between the watch sensors and your skin. I am particularly sensitive, so I’ve had to get into the habit of cleaning my Apple Watch and watch bands regularly. Be especially careful when moisture gets caught under your watch; this can lead to rashes and even infections. Simply taking off your watch and wiping it with a dry towel/napkin can save you a lot of pain and irritation. As always, we are by no means medical professionals, so if you experience rashes, please see your doctor!
Did I miss your favorite Apple Watch security feature? Email OntheWatch@iphonelife.com and let me know!
All of the above
You can adapt your goals based on daily needs, vacations, illnesses, or your bigger picture health goals at any time. Just tap on your rings in your Activity app, then select Change Goals, and tap the calendar icon for more customization.
The March Challenge is here and if you join now, you can still get credit for all the activity you’ve done since March 4th—as long as you’ve worn your Apple Watch during this time!
The monthly iPhone Life Challenge is a great way to come together as a community and motivate each other to reach our health goals by staying active. We’ll be doing a weekly accountability post for subscribers in our Insider Facebook group. Join to share struggles, trade tips, and support one another on our journeys.
To join the challenge, download the free Challenges app on your iPhone and enter the code KK38 when prompted. Need help? This article explains the steps and tells you more about the app.
Are you enjoying the challenge? Do you have any suggestions for how we can make it even better? Email OnTheWatch@iPhoneLife.com and let me know.
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