If you charge your Apple Watch overnight, it can do a second job on the nightstand. With Nightstand Mode turned on, the watch shows the time, date, charging status and your next alarm while it sits on its charger. This guide follows Apple's Apple Watch User Guide, step by step.
What Nightstand Mode shows
According to Apple, when your Apple Watch is connected to its charger with Nightstand Mode on, it displays:
- Charging status
- The current time and date
- The time of any alarm you've set
Apple describes it as a way to "set up Apple Watch as a nightstand clock with alarm."
Step 1: Turn on Nightstand Mode
- Go to the Settings app on your Apple Watch.
- Tap General.
- Tap Nightstand Mode, then turn on Nightstand Mode.
That's the whole setup. The next time you put the watch on its charger, Nightstand Mode takes over.
Step 2: Set an alarm in the Alarms app
Nightstand Mode is most useful with an alarm, because Apple notes that an alarm set in the Alarms app "gently wakes you with a unique alarm sound" when the watch is in Nightstand Mode.
- Open the Alarms app on your Apple Watch.
- Tap the Add Alarm button.
- Tap AM or PM, then tap the hours or minutes.
- Turn the Digital Crown to adjust, then tap the checkmark.
Tap the alarm time later to change the time, repeat days, label, snooze and snooze duration.
Step 3: Put the watch on its charger
Connect the watch to its charger facing up, with Nightstand Mode on. To check the time during the night, Apple says you can tap the display or lightly nudge your Apple Watch. Even nudging or tapping the table might work.
Step 4: Stop or snooze the alarm
When the alarm sounds in the morning:
- Press the side button to turn it off.
- Press the Digital Crown to snooze.
Apple's alarm help page lists these two controls specifically for Nightstand Mode, which makes them easy to remember half asleep: side button for off, crown for a few more minutes.
Tips for a better bedside setup
- Pick a stable spot. Because a light nudge of the table can show the time, a steady surface keeps you in control of when the screen lights up.
- Put the watch where you can see it. Facing up on the charger, within reach, so a tap is all it takes.
- Keep alarms simple. One weekday alarm and one weekend alarm, each labeled, beats a list of half-remembered ones.
- Turn it off if you prefer. If you don't want the bedside view, go back to Settings > General > Nightstand Mode and switch it off.
Troubleshooting
- Nightstand view doesn't appear: check that Nightstand Mode is turned on in Settings > General, and that the watch is actually charging.
- No alarm time shown: Nightstand Mode only shows alarms you've set. Add one in the Alarms app.
- The display is dark: tap the screen or nudge the watch to see the time.
- Want no snooze at all: in the Alarms app, tap the alarm and turn off Snooze.
- Alarm snoozed when you meant to stop it: the Digital Crown snoozes; press the side button instead to turn it off.
A sample routine
- Evening: set tomorrow's alarm in the Alarms app.
- Bedtime: put the watch on its charger, facing up.
- Night: tap the screen if you want to check the time.
- Morning: press the side button to stop the alarm, then take the watch off the charger and put it on.
Going further with WatchLux
Once the watch is off the charger and back on, the face is what you look at all day. WatchLux, the app I built, has over 750 faces on both watchOS and Wear OS, and you add them to your Apple Watch with the same Watch app you already use. All artwork is created with generative AI tools.
WatchLux is free to download and preview; subscription unlocks the full catalog and removes ads.
My team specializes in advanced generative AI art and video, and WatchLux and ScreenLux are where we apply it to the watch and the phone.
- iPhone and Apple Watch: WatchLux on the App Store
Source: Apple Support, "Add an alarm on Apple Watch": https://support.apple.com/guide/watch/alarms-apd27ce65478/watchos
Sean McCue, Founder, WatchLux and ScreenLux
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