The Hourly Interruptions
The Apple Watch includes an accessibility feature called “Chimes.” When enabled, the watch will utilize its internal speaker to emit a loud bird chirp or a bell sound at the top of every single hour, or it will vibrate your wrist on the half-hour. While this was designed to help users keep track of the passing day without having to look at the screen, it is incredibly annoying if you are in a quiet office, a classroom, or a movie theater. If your watch has started spontaneously chirping like a bird every 60 minutes, you must disable the hourly schedule.
How to Turn Off the Chimes Feature
You can completely silence the hourly notifications via the Accessibility settings.
- Open the Settings app directly on your Apple Watch (the grey gear icon).
- Scroll down the main list and tap on Accessibility.
- Scroll down to the section labeled “Hearing.”
- Tap on Chimes.
- Look for the master toggle switch at the top labeled Chimes.
- Toggle this switch to the Off position (the green background will disappear).
A Silent Schedule
The change takes effect immediately. The Apple Watch will instantly delete the hourly alert schedule from its internal memory. When the clock strikes noon (and every hour thereafter), the watch will remain perfectly silent and still, ensuring you are never embarrassed by a random bird sound during a quiet meeting.