The Audio Annoyance
Apple Watch includes a feature called “Chimes,” designed to emulate classic mechanical grandfather clocks. If enabled, the watch will utilize its internal speaker to play a specific audio clip—such as the sound of a bell or birds chirping—at the exact top of every hour (or half hour). While this can be a helpful auditory cue for managing your schedule, it is incredibly jarring if you work in a quiet office environment or frequently attend meetings. Having a flock of digital birds suddenly chirp from your wrist at 2:00 PM is both startling and unprofessional. You must disable the hourly audio trigger.
How to Turn Off Hourly Chimes
You can permanently mute the hourly audio alerts via the Clock settings.
- Open the Settings app directly on your Apple Watch (the grey gear icon).
- Scroll down the main list and tap on Clock.
- Scroll down to the section containing the audio alerts.
- Locate the master toggle switch labeled Chimes.
- Toggle this switch to the Off position (the green background will disappear).
A Silent Schedule
The change is instantaneous. The Apple Watch will completely sever the internal clock from the audio engine. The watch will pass the top of the hour completely silently. You can still set manual alarms or timers if you need auditory reminders, but the watch will never again automatically chirp or ring just because the hour changed.