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Apple Watch not showing Text Messages when first received

A

aide199

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 29, 2014
90
25
Just received my 42mm Sport Watch and have now set it up and have paired it with my iPhone 6 Plus.

I've had it on my wrist now for about 5 minutes and I received a text message on my phone but it never showed up on my Watch.

If I go into the messages app on the Watch it shows the message, but I wasn't notified about the message when it first arrived in.

Why?
 
aide199 said:
Just received my 42mm Sport Watch and have now set it up and have paired it with my iPhone 6 Plus.

I've had it on my wrist now for about 5 minutes and I received a text message on my phone but it never showed up on my Watch.

If I go into the messages app on the Watch it shows the message, but I wasn't notified about the message when it first arrived in.

Why?
Click to expand...

Were you actively using your iPhone or another device logged into the same messages account at the time the message was received?
 
apunkrockmonk said:
Were you actively using your iPhone or another device logged into the same messages account at the time the message was received?
Click to expand...

This. It makes good sense that Apple wouldn't wake the watch and provide a notification if it thinks you're on another device. Helps preserve battery life on the watch.
 
So if my phone is in; lets say my pocket and switched on but is not active, I'll receive the text notification on my watch but if my iPhone is active I won't see it on my watch?
 
aide199 said:
So if my phone is in; lets say my pocket and switched on but is not active, I'll receive the text notification on my watch but if my iPhone is active I won't see it on my watch?
Click to expand...

This would make sense. If I'm at my computer and I get a text, it shows up on my computer instead of my phone. Same should be true for the watch.
 
apunkrockmonk said:
Were you actively using your iPhone or another device logged into the same messages account at the time the message was received?
Click to expand...

This.

If I'm on my phone, the notification won't show up on my wrist, which makes perfect sense. I don't want to be notified if I'm on my phone already.
 
BDX86 said:
This would make sense. If I'm at my computer and I get a text, it shows up on my computer instead of my phone. Same should be true for the watch.
Click to expand...

I can't agree with that. I just had a message on my iPad and replied to it and 30 seconds later it flashed up on my iPhone
 
apunkrockmonk said:
Were you actively using your iPhone or another device logged into the same messages account at the time the message was received?
Click to expand...

This is a nice feature, usually. But sometimes I forget I left my Messages window open on one of my Macs, and my phone doesn't ding. It usually works very seamlessly though, to the point I take it for granted that whatever I'm using will notify me.

For those of us with tech filled work spaces, KVM switches, and ADHD, it can sometimes be hard to tell what's vying for your attention :)
 
FWIW i am having all kinds of trouble with Messages on the watch today. Basically won't sign into iMessage, keeps saying to enter p/w on phone which i do and i am certain its the right p/w but no iMessages coming through to watch. If i send from the watch i get a failure message 5 mins later, even to non iMessage accounts. I'm sure it'll right itself eventually though.
 
If I'm actively messaging from one device, it will usually delay the notification to the other devices.

This makes sense because there's no need to let my phone know I've received an iMessage, if I'm iMessaging on my Mac.
 
Bazooka-joe said:
I can't agree with that. I just had a message on my iPad and replied to it and 30 seconds later it flashed up on my iPhone
Click to expand...

that shouldn't happen. That never happens for me. If I reply to a text on my macbook, I never see any notification on my phone, & vice versa.
 
sterl320 said:
that shouldn't happen. That never happens for me. If I reply to a text on my macbook, I never see any notification on my phone, & vice versa.
Click to expand...

If I reply to a text on laptop, the notification still comes to my iPhone and iPad, but they don't make a sound. However, if a text comes while I'm not actively in iMessages on my laptop, and I don't switch to iMessages, then phone and iPad ding.

Will the watch ring for FaceTime calls? Right now, I have multiple devices ringing with FaceTime calls and whatever I don't use to answer the call all notify me of a missed call even though I did pick up on another device.
 
Sparkeze said:
If I reply to a text on laptop, the notification still comes to my iPhone and iPad, but they don't make a sound. However, if a text comes while I'm not actively in iMessages on my laptop, and I don't switch to iMessages, then phone and iPad ding.

Will the watch ring for FaceTime calls? Right now, I have multiple devices ringing with FaceTime calls and whatever I don't use to answer the call all notify me of a missed call even though I did pick up on another device.
Click to expand...

if your phone doesn't make a sound, then its not a real notification. the message may go to your phone still, which it should, but its not actively notifying you because you already checked the message.

and yeah that would make sense for your message to notify you on all devices if you don't check the it. Your inanimate objects don't know which device you are nearest to if you don't check the notification, so the only logical thing to happen is for all devices to notify you, to make sure you actually get the message.
 
Been on the phone with support for almost an hour. Same issue no notifications — messages or reminders. I'll let you know the resolution.

UPDATE: Sending me to the Apple Store...

UPDATE: reset the watch and re-pairing with the phone seems to have worked. Just make sure it's on your wrist (not charging) when you test.
 
Last edited:
If you have never used imessage between a phone and ipad to relay then you're going to be lost when using the watch. The watch will get a message notification only after your phone. Unless you've been using your watch actively to respond to messages first then your watch will get all notifications first rather then your phone. It is setup this way so the dominate device your using is the one that notifies you first.
 
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