Ask Siri

By far the simplest way to set an alarm is to ask Siri in some fashion. Just press and hold the digital crown or say “Hey Siri” after looking at the watch face. You can directly say “Hey Siri, set an alarm for 7am,” or say something along the lines of “Hey Siri, set an alarm to repeat for 7am.” This way, the alarm will always go off every day. Don’t want the alarm bugging you on a weekend? “Hey Siri, set my alarm for weekdays at 7am” will get you all set up.

Use the Alarm App on Apple Watch

Siri is not always an appropriate option, in which case you can use the Watch’s Alarms app. To get started, look at the watch face and press the digital crown.

From your app menu or home screen, tap the alarms app.

You may now switch on any alarm you have previously created. To set a new alarm, however, firmly press on the display to bring up the force touch menu.

Tap “Add Alarm.”

Start by adjusting the hour, highlighted in green. Scroll clockwise to increase time or counterclockwise to decrease. Once the hour is set, tap minutes to set minutes. Also, do not forget to tap either AM or PM. Once you are all finished, just tap “Set.”

The alarm will now show as “On” in the list of alarms.

How to Verify That Your Alarm Will Sound

To verify that your alarm will go off the first time, start by sliding up from the watch face to open up Control Center. If silent mode is on and the watch is not charging, there will be no audible feedback – only haptics. If silent mode is on and the watch is charging, alarms will sound. “Do Not Disturb” mode will not stop your alarm from sounding! Its main feature is to put a stop to general notifications. These settings will be highlighted red and purple respectively if they are on and grey if they are off.

Secondly, navigate to Settings by pressing the Digital Crown and tapping the Settings application.

From this menu, scroll and select “Sounds & Haptics.”

Bring up alert volume anywhere from half-way to full volume. Unlike on iPhone, when the alarm sounds it will gradually raise in volume on its own so there is no worry of being jolted awake. Once again, verify the setting of silent mode.

Nightstand Mode

Apple’s most personal device does not cease to better your day when you take it off your wrist. With an alarm set and nightstand mode enabled, when charging and on its side, Apple Watch will display the date and time in a bold green. In addition, you will see the alarm time and battery charge. When it’s time to wake up, use the the side button to dismiss your alarm (or the crown to snooze).

Happy napping! Image credit: Apple Newsroom