What is the red and green dot on an Apple Watch?

Apple made the Apple Watch to be convenient for users. It keeps you connected to your iPhone even when it is not close by. With all these amazing features fixed into a small screen, there might be some buttons and symbols that might be confusing to you. The common sign that confuses most Apple Watch users is the red and green dot that appears on their watch. So what is the red and green dot on an Apple watch?

This article will answer your question and provide more information about the topic. Keep reading to find out.

What is the red dot on an Apple Watch?

The red dot on an Apple watch indicates unread notifications or messages. This notification indicator on the Apple watch is similar to the badge notification at the top of an iPhone app icon. This feature is handy, so you know when there is an unread or unopened notification.

These indicators on your Apple Watch make it much easier to tell if there’s an unread notification on your iPhone, especially when you are not close to your phone. However, this can distract people who want to focus as they’ll be tempted to see what it is about.

How the red dot on your Apple Watch works

When your iPhone is unlocked, it is assumed that your phone is in your hands, so the notifications will appear on them. However, when your iPhone is locked or asleep, it is assumed you are not with it at the moment, so the notifications go to your Apple Watch automatically, which causes a red dot to appear. In essence, the Apple Watch makes your notifications easily reachable on your wrist.

If you want to remove the red dot from showing on your Apple Watch when notifications come in, you can turn it off from either your Apple Watch or your iPhone by doing the following:

• Unlock your Apple Watch and press the digital crown by the side of the watch.
• Go directly to the settings app and click on the notification.
• You’ll notice a switch next to the notifications indicator
• Toggle the switch to turn it off.
• Exit the settings app by pressing the digital crown.

How to turn off the red dot of the Apple Watch from your iPhone

• Go to your iPhone and open the Watch app.
• Go to notifications.
• You’ll notice a switch next to the notifications indicator.
• Toggle the switch to turn it off.

How to turn off the red dot for some apps on your Apple Watch

You can turn off notifications for some apps you find disturbing so you don’t get to see the red dots when a message comes in on those apps. To turn off the red dot for some apps on your Apple Watch:

• Unlock your Apple Watch and press the digital crown by the side of the watch.
• Swipe down only from the top of your Apple watch face to show the notification center.
• Go to the notification received from the desired app you wish to turn off.
• Swipe left on it and tap on the three dots button that appears.

You will see some options depending on the app. You might see Mute for 1 Hour, Mute for Today, Add to a summary, Turn off Time Sensitive, and Turn off. Select Turn off.

What is the green dot on an Apple Watch?

In some Apple watches, the green dot means exactly the same thing as the red dot, which is an unread notification. But if your Apple Watch is updated, it means you have missed calls. So if you are not with your phone and have a missed call, then a blinking green dot on your Apple watch will notify you.

How to get rid of the green dot

You may assume that the green dot will disappear once you’ve handled your missed calls. Well, that’s not always the case, as it depends on the model of your Apple Watch.

One way to get rid of the green dot is to clear the recent calls on your iPhone. This should make the dot disappear.

If the green dot keeps showing after that, you may have to restart your Apple Watch. While restarting your watch, ensure all the notifications on your iPhone are cleared to avoid the green dot from popping up again.

Can I get rid of the green dot permanently?

No, you can’t permanently get rid of the green dot on your Apple watch. Once your iPhone is close to your connected Apple watch, and there are notifications, the green dot appears. The only way to deal with this green dot on your Apple watch is to clear the call notifications on your phone.

How to see the notifications on my Apple Watch

To see the notification on your Apple Watch:

• Unlock your Apple watch by turning the Digital Crown.
• Swipe down on the face of your watch.
• The notifications will be there.

If you notice more than one notification, you can scroll through them and select the one that interests you the most.

How to clear the notifications on my Apple Watch

To clear the notifications on your Apple Watch:

• Unlock your Apple Watch by turning the Digital Crown.
• Swipe down on the face of your watch.
• There will be a Clear All button at the top of the screen.
• Click on the button, and all notifications will be cleared.

Other Status icons and symbols on Apple Watch

Apart from the red and green dot that shows on your Apple watch when you have a notification, there are other lighting signs that you may wonder what they mean

 . These lighting signs are explained below:

Green lighting symbol: means your Apple Watch is charging.

Red lighting: indicates that your watch is running out of battery and needs to be plugged in.

Orange lighting symbol: means airplane mode is on, and wireless/cell features won’t work until the setting is turned off.

Purple Moon: means that the Do Not Disturb feature is on. Calls and alerts won’t ring out loud or light up your screen. The alarm will ring out even when DND is activated.

Theater symbol: means silent mode is one, and also, your watch face will remain dark until you press a button, turn the Digital crown or tap the screen.

Wifi: This sign shows that your watch is connected to a wifi network instead of your iPhone.

X: This sign shows that your Apple Watch has lost its connection to the cellular network.

Water drop icon: means that your Apple watch won’t respond to taps on the screen until the water lock feature has been removed by holding the Digital crown

 .

Inverted arrow sign: indicates that an app has recently requested your location. Click on it to find out.

Padlock: means that your Apple Watch is locked. Enter your passcode to unlock.

Bed: indicates that sleep mode is activated.

Running icon: this appears when you are working out.

Frequently Asked Questions about the red and green dots on an Apple Watch

Q. Will the red dot appear when I am in focus mode?

A. It depends on the apps and their settings. Even in focus mode, time-sensitive notifications will appear, leaving a red dot. Also, when activating your Focus mode, you select some profiles you want active. Active profiles can leave the red dot once a notification comes in.

Q. Can I change the color of notifications on Apple Watch?

No, you can’t change the color. For instance, Apple configured the red dot for unread notifications without making room for color change.

Q.  Why does the red dot on my Apple Watch keep showing?

A. If the red dot keeps showing, it means there is a notification you haven’t handled.

Wrap up

You sometimes notice a red and green dot when you use an Apple Watch. These indicators are for different types of notifications.

If you have questions concerning this article, kindly inform us in the comment section below. Thanks for reading.

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