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How to set up Theater Mode on Apple Watch to avoid distractions at work
In This Article
Theater Mode – or Cinema Mode – is a handy Apple Watch feature designed to limit disturbances when you’re at the cinema or watching a theatre show, but did you know it can also be used to avoid distractions at work?
Theater Mode prevents your watch screen from lighting up and drawing attention when you raise your wrist. It also halts any annoying alerts by switching on silent mode and makes your Walkie-Talkie status unavailable. That doesn’t mean you can’t receive messages, but they’ll come through a lot quieter as haptic notifications.
Keep reading to learn how to use Theater Mode on your Apple Watch.
What you’ll need
The Short Version
How to set up Theater Mode on Apple Watch to avoid distractions at work
Step1
Press the side button on your Apple Watch
This will open the Control Center.
Step2
Tap the Theater Mode icon
This is the icon that looks like two masks overlapping.
Step3
You should receive a notification that Theater Mode/Cinema Mode is on
The notification will disappear after a second but the icon will turn and remain orange as long as Theater Mode is on.
Troubleshooting
To turn off Theater Mode, wake your Apple Watch by tapping the display, pressing the Digital Crown or side button, or turning the Digital Crown. Then, just follow the steps above and tap the Theater Mode icon again to switch it off.
Theater Mode switches on silent mode but you’ll still be able to receive haptic notifications on your wrist, making it a great choice for the office where you might be expecting important calls and emails. If you want to turn off haptic notifications too, you’ll need to use Do Not Disturb.
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Hannah joined Trusted Reviews as a staff writer in 2019 after graduating with a degree in English from Royal Holloway, University of London. She’s also worked and studied in the US, holding positions …
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Founded in 2003, Trusted Reviews exists to give our readers thorough, unbiased and independent advice on what to buy.
Today, we have millions of users a month from around the world, and assess more than 1,000 products a year.
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
