iPhone 13 Pro will not receive audio notifications from Lock Screen when wearing AppleWatch

[dmfresco]

Ever since I got my iPhone 13 Pro, I have had a really annoying issue that when my phone is on the Lock Screen, I will not get any sound notifications, definitely for Messages, but most of the time also for an app called Haiku, which is connected to the Epic patient portal for the patients/staff at our hospital.

Today, while sipping coffee with my wife (and my AppleWatch charging), I got a SMS message and sound notification on the iPhone. My wife and I were surprised so we found that she could send me an iMessage and I would get the notification. As soon as I put my AppleWatch on my wrist, the iPhone stopped getting audio notifications as before. So to recap:

Wearing AppleWatch + iPhone awake = audio notifications on iPhone & badge on iPhone
Wearing AppleWatch + iPhone on Lock Screen = no audio notifications on iPhone & badge on iPhone
Not Wearing AppleWatch + iPhone on lock screen or awake = audio notifications on iPhone & badge on iPhone

What am I overlooking? Why does my AppleWatch seemingly intercept the notification pickup? I feel the haptic on my AppleWatch but will not get an audio on my iPhone when the Lock Screen is on.

 

[OhMyMy]

Ever since I got my iPhone 13 Pro, I have had a really annoying issue that when my phone is on the Lock Screen, I will not get any sound notifications, definitely for Messages, but most of the time also for an app called Haiku, which is connected to the Epic patient portal for the patients/staff at our hospital.

Today, while sipping coffee with my wife (and my AppleWatch charging), I got a SMS message and sound notification on the iPhone. My wife and I were surprised so we found that she could send me an iMessage and I would get the notification. As soon as I put my AppleWatch on my wrist, the iPhone stopped getting audio notifications as before. So to recap:

Wearing AppleWatch + iPhone awake = audio notifications on iPhone & badge on iPhone
Wearing AppleWatch + iPhone on Lock Screen = no audio notifications on iPhone & badge on iPhone
Not Wearing AppleWatch + iPhone on lock screen or awake = audio notifications on iPhone & badge on iPhone

What am I overlooking? Why does my AppleWatch seemingly intercept the notification pickup? I feel the haptic on my AppleWatch but will not get an audio on my iPhone when the Lock Screen is on.

This behavior might seem odd if you’ve only had the Apple Watch for a short while but it is working as intended.

The Watch takes priority with notifications as long as it’s unlocked and on your wrist. Notifications only work on your iPhone when the Watch is locked or when the iPhone is unlocked and in use.

There’s no point in using the battery on both the devices for the same notification so this is a more efficient implementation of the notification system in Apple devices. Kinda like how when you’re surrounded by multiple Apple devices and you say “Hey Siri” and only one device responds to your request.

 

[BugeyeSTI]

That's the way it works. If your wearing the watch, iPhone will get notifications but no sounds. If you have the watch off the wrist, iPhone notifications work with sounds. If you need the alert noise on the watch, take it off of silent

 

[antiprotest]

Glad everything is working as it should for you.

 

[dmfresco]

That's the way it works. If your wearing the watch, iPhone will get notifications but no sounds. If you have the watch off the wrist, iPhone notifications work with sounds. If you need the alert noise on the watch, take it off of silent

Two things. With my iPhone 12 Pro, running early public betas of iOS 15, it did not work this way. This morning, I have been trying different permutations of the notification settings on my iPhone and AppleWatch. It seems as though, although I am not totally sure yet, that if I send notifications to the AppleWatch notification center, I will get a sound on my phone even on the Lock Screen. I really would like the ability to specify which device has priority for sound/haptic notifications irrespective of the default rule you describe.

 

[OhMyMy]

Two things. With my iPhone 12 Pro, running early public betas of iOS 15, it did not work this way. This morning, I have been trying different permutations of the notification settings on my iPhone and AppleWatch. It seems as though, although I am not totally sure yet, that if I send notifications to the AppleWatch notification center, I will get a sound on my phone even on the Lock Screen. I really would like the ability to specify which device has priority for sound/haptic notifications irrespective of the default rule you describe.

I don’t think Apple would be implementing that choice in any of the future iOS iterations.
You can’t manually send notifications to a specific device. The iOS checks the current state of your devices and lights up a specific device for your notifications at the time per the rules I mentioned in my post. Except a couple posts every few months I haven’t seen much attention to this implementation the last few years. So I highly doubt Apple is even considering making changes to their notification system.

 

[dmfresco]

I don’t think Apple would be implementing that choice in any of the future iOS iterations.
You can’t manually send notifications to a specific device. The iOS checks the current state of your devices and lights up a specific device for your notifications at the time per the rules I mentioned in my post. Except a couple posts every few months I haven’t seen much attention to this implementation the last few years. So I highly doubt Apple is even considering making changes to their notification system.

I suspect everything you say is correct, and it fits with my experience. The thing that puzzles me is that on iPhone 12 Pro, even running public betas of iOS 15, the behavior when paired to my AppleWatch was not like this. Also, I do believe that sending notifications to the AppleWatch Notification Center will let the iPhone play audio notifications. At least it appears to be working for the past few hours on when I have gotten a text.

 

[OhMyMy]

I suspect everything you say is correct, and it fits with my experience. The thing that puzzles me is that on iPhone 12 Pro, even running public betas of iOS 15, the behavior when paired to my AppleWatch was not like this. Also, I do believe that sending notifications to the AppleWatch Notification Center will let the iPhone play audio notifications. At least it appears to be working for the past few hours on when I have gotten a text.

What exactly do you mean by sending notifications to Apple Watch Notification Center,

 

[dmfresco]

In the iOS Watch App, I changed the notification settings to "Send to Notification Center." A few test texts seem to let my iPhone play audio notifications from the Lock Screen. I think I am going to keep the sound on for my AppleWatch now just in case. Before, it was always off.

 

[OhMyMy]

In the iOS Watch App, I changed the notification settings to "Send to Notification Center." A few test texts seem to let my iPhone play audio notifications from the Lock Screen. I think I am going to keep the sound on for my AppleWatch now just in case. Before, it was always off.

I’ve always had them at Mirror iPhone. Don’t need notifications on my iPhone when I’m wearing my Watch as it’s much more comfortable for taking a quick glance at notifications.

Maybe there is a way to send them to both devices. Glad it’s working out for you.