How to receive and stop iPhone alarms on Apple Watch

Start with the device where you made the alarm

There are three different setups to distinguish. An ordinary alarm created in the iPhone Clock app can send an alert to your watch. An alarm created in the watch’s Alarms app belongs to the watch. A Sleep schedule wake-up alarm has separate schedule and sound controls. Check which one you are changing before adding another alarm for the same time.

Turn on iPhone alarm alerts on your watch

1. On your iPhone, open Clock → Alarms and create or enable an ordinary alarm.
2. Open the Watch app on that iPhone.
3. Choose My Watch → Clock.
4. Turn on Push Alerts from iPhone.

When the iPhone alarm triggers, Apple documents an alert on the watch with controls to snooze or dismiss it. This setting concerns receiving the alarm alert. It does not establish that both devices will play an identical recording at an identical volume.

Why a watch alarm does not appear on the iPhone

Apple explicitly distinguishes the reverse direction. An alarm you create in the watch’s Alarms app does not alert the iPhone when it goes off. If your goal is to manage an iPhone alarm from your wrist, create it on the phone and use the push-alert setting above.

Before deleting a duplicate, note where each alarm was created, its label and its repeat days. Two entries at the same time can make it difficult to tell which one you dismissed.

If you mean your Sleep wake-up alarm

Open the watch’s Sleep app and review the next wake-up alarm. Apple’s watchOS 26 instructions separate its Alarm switch and Sounds & Haptics controls from ordinary alarm alerts. They also describe Break Through Silent Mode for an audible wake-up while Silent Mode is on. That controls sound on the watch; it is not the same setting as Push Alerts from iPhone.

Do not assume the ordinary-alarm steps determine every Sleep wake-up output. Options differ by software version. If you only need tomorrow’s time changed or skipped, use our next wake-up alarm guide. This article does not provide a universal recipe for making every Sleep alarm sound on both devices.

Test the alert before relying on it

While awake, set a clearly labelled temporary iPhone alarm a few minutes ahead. Wear your paired watch as you normally do, keep the phone nearby, and check whether the watch presents the alarm controls. Try dismissing that temporary alarm from the watch and confirm the phone stops. Remove the test alarm afterward.

This is a suggested check, not a physical test we performed. If the alert is absent, record whether it was an ordinary Clock alarm, a Sleep wake-up or a watch-created alarm. Note the iOS and watchOS versions, connection state and whether the watch was locked. Those details help Apple Support investigate without confusing a sound problem with a missing alert.

Use a custom sound on the iPhone

To choose an iPhone sound, open Ringy and complete the access and installation steps for your chosen tone. Our custom alarm sound guide explains selecting an installed sound for a compatible iPhone Clock alarm. Receiving its alert on Apple Watch is not proof that the custom audio was installed on the watch.

For quiet alarms, see iPhone alarm volume controls. For headphones rather than a watch, see where iPhone alarms sound with headphones connected.

Related guides

• Use a custom sound for your phone alarm
• Will my iPhone alarm play through AirPods or the phone speaker?
• Skip your next iPhone wake-up alarm and keep your sleep schedule