You can easily turn your Apple Watch into an alarm clock thanks to the Night clock mode (Nightstand). In this tip, we explain how to switch this on at night and how to operate the Watch in this position.
Most people charge their Apple Watch overnight. Your watch is therefore immediately ready to use the next morning, but it also has another advantage. You can use the Apple Watch as an alarm clock thanks to the Night clock mode ( Nightstand ). How do you use this Apple Watch night clock, what can you do with it and how do you set an alarm clock? We explain it in this tip.
Enable Night Clock Mode
Night clock mode is automatically turned on. Thanks to Night Clock Mode, your watch shows the time with large green numbers, so you can see exactly what time it is at night. A knock on the bedside table (or any other vibration) is all it takes to activate the screen, without having to touch your watch or press any buttons.
Night Clock Mode is automatically activated as soon as you attach the Apple Watch to the charger. This works both horizontally (with the Digital Crown pointing up) and vertically. As a result, all Apple Watch holders work with Nightstand. If Nightstand doesn’t work for you, you may need to enable it separately.
How to enable night clock mode on the Apple Watch:
- On your Apple Watch, go to the Settings app.
- Scroll down and select General.
- Here it says Night Clock Mode, tap this option and toggle it on or off.
Using nightstand: knocking on the bedside table
The handy thing about the Night Clock mode is that the screen does not stay on all night. The screen is only activated with a small tap on your bedside table. So you don’t have to touch the screen of your Apple Watch, because a vibration from the surface is enough. If you prefer to tap on the screen or use the buttons to turn on the screen, that’s also possible. After a few seconds, the screen of your Apple Watch will automatically turn off.
In night clock mode, a green circle appears in the corner of the screen to indicate how much charge it is. When the circle is full, you know that the Apple Watch is fully charged. Would you rather see a percentage? Then tap this circle. The percentage appears briefly on the screen, so you can check how far it is with charging. Unfortunately, you cannot set the night clock mode in such a way that the percentage is always visible.
To get the Apple Watch out of Night Clock Mode again, all you have to do is pull it off the charger. The screen automatically switches back to your set watch face, so all you have to do is put it on. Adjusting settings is therefore not necessary.
Alarm Clock on Apple Watch in Night Clock Mode (Nightstand)
If you also use the Apple Watch as an alarm clock, it also works in combination with Nightstand. You can set the alarm via the Alarm Clock app on your Apple Watch. You can also ask Siri to set an alarm for you.
To adjust alarm settings, tap a set alarm in the Alarm Clock app on Apple Watch. You can then adjust the days, set a label or switch the snooze option on or off. Once the alarm goes off in Night Clock Mode, the screen will gradually become brighter. This already happens five minutes before the alarm goes off.
The numbers on the screen turn yellow and the alarm sound gets louder and louder. To turn off the alarm, press the side button, but tapping the screen is also enough. To snooze, press the Digital Crown once. After nine minutes, the alarm will go off again.