What The Red Dot On Your Apple Watch Mean and How Do I Get Rid of It

New Apple Watch users are wondering what the red dot on their Apple Watch is. Even seasoned Apple Watch users get confused with it. Let’s solve the mystery of the little dot today.

What Does the Red Dot on Apple Watch Mean?#

The red dot on top of the watch face means there are unread notifications from your phone. It was quite helpful in getting back promptly to people who had sent messages and to the app notifications when I was far too busy to check.

Although it might always be bothersome as well as occasionally irritating. 

How to Get Rid of the Red Dot on the Apple Watch#

Swipe down from the top of your Apple Watch face to reveal the notification center. This action will completely remove the red dot. 

You can also swipe left and cross to clear individual notifications or scroll all the way to the top and tap ‘Clear All’ in case you have a bunch of notifications that can’t be deleted individually.

If you’re not on the watch face, barring the Home Screen, you will have to touch the top of the screen and then swipe down to reveal the notifications center. You cannot access the notification center when on the Home Screen, which is the screen with all your apps displayed.

If you want to completely disable the red dot on your Apple Watch, there are two ways. 

Do Not Disturb#

1. Tap the side button on your watch to reveal the Control Center.
2. Tap on the ‘moon’ icon, which is the ‘Do Not Disturb’ mode.

This disables notifications when in Do Not Disturb mode, hence, there is no red dot.

Turn Off Notifications#

To completely turn off the red dot, be it in any mode, on your watch

1. Open the Settings on your watch.
2. Tap notifications.
3. Toggle off ‘Notifications Indicator’.

Alternatively, on your iPhone,

1. Open the Watch app.
2. Under the ‘My Watch’ tab, tap ‘Notifications’.
3. Toggle off ‘Notifications Indicator’.

Bear in mind, you will be missing out on important notifications when you turn this setting completely off.

What if there are no notifications and there is still a red dot on your Apple Watch?#

Even when there are no notifications, the red dot still appears in some cases. This can be handled in the following way:

Step 1: Check for updates on your iPhone and update to the latest software, if available.

Settings > General > Software Update > Download and Install

Step 2: Check for updates on your Apple Watch and update to the latest software, if available.

Watch app > General > Software Update > Download and Install

Step 3: Toggle off the Notification Indicator as explained above and close the Watch app.

Step 4: Restart both devices.

Step 5: Re-enable the Notification Indicator.

Step 6: Unpair and re-pair the Apple Watch with your iPhone.

This should help with the red dot that appears even without any unread notifications.

Wrap Up#

The little red dot on the Apple Watch is a mystery to many, but nothing a simple swipe down can’t solve. However, it is a little bit of a workaround if it does’nt go away even when there are no notifications that are unread. 

Although it is a bug that we rarely come across, the above-mentioned steps can set your Apple Watch to normal operation. 

FAQs#