The Apple Watch is designed to be a proactive health and fitness companion. One of its most well-known features is the Stand Reminder. If the watch’s internal accelerometers detect that you have been sitting completely still for the first 50 minutes of an hour, it will tap your wrist and display a notification urging you to “Time to stand!” for one minute to close your blue Activity Ring.
While this is an excellent feature for office workers trying to avoid a sedentary lifestyle, it can be highly annoying in certain situations. If you are on a long-haul flight, sitting in a dark cinema, or recovering from an injury where standing is not possible, the repetitive buzzing every single hour becomes incredibly frustrating. You can disable this specific notification without turning off your overall fitness tracking.
Disabling Stand Reminders via the iPhone App
Because manipulating small menus on the watch face can be difficult, the easiest way to disable this feature is through the dedicated Watch app on your paired iPhone.
- Unlock your iPhone and open the Watch app (the icon is a black square with a side-profile of the Apple Watch).
- Ensure you are on the My Watch tab (located in the bottom-left corner of the screen).
- Scroll down the main list of settings until you find Activity and tap on it.
- Look for the section labelled Stand Reminders.
- Tap the green toggle switch next to it to turn it Off (the switch will turn grey).
Disabling Stand Reminders Directly on the Watch
If your iPhone is not nearby, or you are already in the cinema and just felt the buzz, you can disable the reminder directly from your wrist.
- Press the Digital Crown (the circular dial on the side of the watch) once to view your app grid or list.
- Find and tap the Settings app (the gear icon).
- Scroll down the list of settings (you can use your finger or turn the Digital Crown) and tap on Activity.
- Look for Stand Reminders.
- Tap the toggle switch to turn it Off.
Disabling this notification does not stop the Apple Watch from tracking your movement. If you do happen to stand up and walk around, you will still earn credit toward your blue Stand Ring; the watch simply will no longer annoy you to do so.