Android Wear is super handy for getting quick info without pulling out your phone. Notifications, calls, appointments, and everything else will push directly to your wrist, making life easier. But if those notifications stop showing up, it can be really annoying.
RELATED: How to Block Notifications from Specific Apps on Android Wear
What to Do If App Notifications Aren’t Syncing
If you’re having issues with Wear not receiving notifications from apps, there’s a good chance either notification access hasn’t been granted, or it somehow got disabled. So that’s the first setting I’d check.
If You’re Having an Issue with All Notifications
I’m using a Google Pixel here, so your interface may vary depending on the manufacturer of your phone. These settings should be in similar locations, though.
To get started, pull down the notification shade and tap the gear icon. From there, scroll down to Apps.
In the Apps menu, tap the gear icon. On Samsung Devices, you’ll hit the three-dot menu button in the top right.
On stock Android, scroll all the way down to the bottom and select “Special Access.” On Samsung devices, just choose “Special Access” from the menu.
In the Special Access menu, select “Notification Access,” then look for Android Wear. Make sure it’s toggled on. If not, that’s your issue. If it is, we’ll have to keep looking.
If Only Specific Apps Aren’t Working
If you’re getting notifications from some apps but not others, things get a little bit trickier, because there isn’t a clear-cut fix. That said, the first thing I’d do is make sure all available apps are synced to your watch.
To do this, open the Wear app, then tap the gear icon in the upper right corner.
Tap on your watch under the Device Settings section.
Tap on “Resync Apps” at the bottom of the list, which should re-push all available apps to the watch. Hopefully that will fix your issue.
What to Do if System App Notification Aren’t Syncing
For a while, my watch stopped vibrating/ringing when I got a phone call, which was really irritating. All other notifications were coming through just fine, so I had to do some digging to figure this one out.
Turns out, the issue was with the Android Wear app privileges. If certain notifications are coming through, but things like calendar, phone calls, SMS messages, and the like aren’t coming through, this is where I’d look.
First, pull down the notification shade, then tap the gear icon. From there, scroll down to “Apps.”
In the Apps menu, find Android Wear and tap on it.
Tap on “Permissions.
In this menu, you’ll want to make sure every option is enabled in order to get those notifications sent to your watch. In my scenario above, the Phone permission had gotten unchecked somehow (or perhaps I didn’t approve it when switching phones, I can’t be sure), which is why phone calls weren’t coming through. Makes sense.
How to Get Audio Notifications on Your Watch
Lastly, let’s talk about audio notifications. It’s worth noting that only certain watches have speakers and support this feature, but if yours does, then it’s a pretty neat thing to have enabled.
The thing is, this is handled on the watch side, not the phone. So go ahead and jump into your watch’s Settings menu by pulling down the shade and swiping over till you get to “Settings.”
Tap into this menu, then scroll down to “Sound.”
There are a handful of options here, like Media Volume, Alarm Volume, Ring Volume, and ringtone.
Tweak and choose to your heart’s desire.
Fixing Android Wear notifications really isn’t all that difficult—knowing where to look is the key here. But now that you know, you’re basically a Wear notification master. Use this new power for good, young grasshopper.
