The Accidental Silence
The Apple Watch features a gesture control called “Cover to Mute.” If the watch is ringing, alarming, or playing audio, you can instantly silence it by firmly placing the palm of your opposite hand completely over the glass screen for three seconds. While this is a highly convenient way to quickly kill an alarm during a meeting, the gesture is very easily triggered by accident. If you cross your arms tightly, sleep with your hand resting over your opposite wrist, or wear heavy winter gloves, the watch will register the pressure, assume you covered it, and silently mute an alarm you desperately needed to hear. You must disable the pressure sensor.
How to Turn Off the Cover to Mute Gesture
You can permanently strip the watch of its ability to mute via palm pressure using the Sound settings.
- Open the Settings app directly on your Apple Watch (the grey gear icon).
- Scroll down the main list and tap on Sounds & Haptics.
- Scroll down until you locate the master toggle switch labeled Cover to Mute.
- Toggle this switch to the Off position (the green background will disappear).
Reliable Alarms
The change is instantaneous. The Apple Watch will completely sever the connection between the physical pressure on the glass display and the internal audio controller. You can now cross your arms aggressively or accidentally cover the watch with a heavy jacket, and the alarm will continue to ring at maximum volume. To silence an incoming call or alarm, you must now explicitly tap the mute icon on the screen or press the Digital Crown.