Apple Watch not vibrating? 8 fixes for texts, calls and alerts

Your phone buzzes with a text, but your wrist stays quiet. Or the watch shows the alert on its screen and does nothing else. It is easy to blame a broken Taptic Engine, which is the part that makes the tap, but in most cases it is a setting.

Apple Watch decides what to do with an alert in several steps. Your iPhone, the watch, the Focus and each app can all say no. The fixes below follow that chain, from the quick checks to the repair. Most people solve it in the first three steps.

Why would an Apple Watch stop vibrating?

• Haptics are off. The Haptics setting can be Off, Default or Prominent.
• A Focus or Do Not Disturb is on. These keep alerts from sounding or lighting up the screen.
• Your iPhone is awake and unlocked. Alerts usually go to the phone you are using, and not to the watch.
• App notification settings. An app can be set to custom or off for the watch.
• A loose fit. A haptic tap is hard to feel on a loose band.
• A connection problem. The watch and iPhone are not talking.
• Hardware. A failed Taptic Engine is the rarest cause.

Fix 1: Turn Haptic Alerts on

This is where Apple points first. On the watch, open Settings › Sounds & Haptics › Haptics. You will see three choices, Off, Default and Prominent. Prominent adds an extra tap that pre-announces some of your other haptic alerts, which helps if you miss the normal tap.

You can also do this from the iPhone. Open the Apple Watch app, tap My Watch and then Sounds & Haptics. The same options appear there.

Fix 2: Turn off Do Not Disturb and Focus

Press the side button to open Control Center on the watch. Look at the Do Not Disturb button, and at the Focus icon at the top. Apple says Do Not Disturb keeps calls and alerts, except alarms, from sounding or lighting up the screen. A Focus that you set up for work or sleep can do the same, and it can run on a schedule you forgot.

• Tap the icon and turn the Focus off.
• Check your iPhone too. A Focus on the iPhone can share to the watch.
• If you want a Focus but still want some alerts, set the people and apps that are allowed through.

Our guide to Do Not Disturb on iPhone explains how the Focus rules work.

Fix 3: Remember that Silent Mode is not the problem

Many people turn on Silent Mode and then think it killed the haptics. It did not. Apple says that when you turn on Silent Mode from Control Center, you can still receive haptic notifications. Silent Mode only stops the sound. If the watch is quiet and does not buzz, look for something other than Silent Mode.

Fix 4: Lock your iPhone and test again

In general, your watch gets an alert when your iPhone is locked or asleep. If the iPhone is awake and unlocked, the alert shows on the phone, and the watch stays still. That is on purpose, so you do not get the same alert twice.

If your watch stays quiet only when you are using your phone, there is nothing to fix. To test, lock the iPhone and set it down. Ask someone to text you, or send a text from another device. The watch should buzz within a few seconds.

Fix 5: Check the notification setting for the app

If the watch does not vibrate for one app, such as Messages, Mail or WhatsApp, but does for others, the app is the problem. On your iPhone, open the Apple Watch app and tap My Watch › Notifications. Tap the app and look at the choices.

• Mirror my iPhone: the watch copies the iPhone's alert settings. If the iPhone is set to no sound or banners, the watch can be quiet.
• Custom: the watch has its own settings. Check that Allow Notifications is on, and that the alert style is not set to None.
• Off: no alerts come to the watch at all. Switch to Mirror or Custom.

Also open Settings › Notifications on the iPhone and check the app there. An app that is silenced on the iPhone can be silent on the watch too.

Fix 6: Wear it snug and check the connection

The Taptic Engine taps against your wrist. If the band is loose, the watch can be buzzing and you cannot feel it. Wear it so it is snug but comfortable, and move it a little higher on the wrist, above the bone. Take off bands or covers that add padding.

Then check the link to your iPhone. Open Control Center on the watch and look at the connection icon. A red iPhone symbol means the watch cannot reach the phone, so it cannot pass on alerts. Turn Bluetooth and Wi-Fi on for both, and bring them close together. If they will not connect, see our guide to an Apple Watch that will not connect.

Fix 7: Restart the watch and the iPhone

Restart both. On the watch, hold the side button, tap the power icon and drag the Power Off slider, then wait 30 seconds and hold the side button to turn it on. Restart the iPhone too. Then install updates: Settings › General › Software Update on the iPhone, and the Watch app › General › Software Update for the watch. A small bug in watchOS can break haptics, and an update often repairs it.

Fix 8: Reset or repair the watch

If you have tried everything and the watch never taps for any alert, an alarm or a timer, the Taptic Engine may have failed. A good test is to start a timer for a few seconds on the watch. If you do not feel the tap at the end, the haptics are not working at all.

• Try a full reset first. Our guide to resetting an Apple Watch shows how to unpair and set it up again.
• If it still does not tap, book service with Apple or an authorized provider.
• Check your coverage before you pay. Our guide on whether AppleCare is worth it explains what it covers.

Which fix helps with which symptom?

• No vibration for anything: check Haptics, Focus and the fit, then restart.
• No vibration only for texts: check the Messages notification setting and whether your iPhone is unlocked.
• No vibration only for calls: check Focus rules and the phone's call settings.
• Vibrates, but only sometimes: look at the connection and the fit of the band.
• Never vibrates, even for a timer: reset, then service.

How to keep the haptics working

• Leave Haptics on Default or Prominent.
• Check your Focus schedules now and then, especially after a trip or a time change.
• Keep the watch and iPhone updated.
• Wear the watch snug, and keep the back of it clean.
• Restart the watch if it has been behaving oddly for a few days.