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
- An Apple Watch
- WatchOS 3.2 or later
The Short Version
- Press the side button
- Tap the Theater Mode icon
- Select Theater Mode
How to set up Theater Mode on Apple Watch to avoid distractions at work
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Step
1Press the side button on your Apple Watch
This will open the Control Center.
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Step
2Tap the Theater Mode icon
This is the icon that looks like two masks overlapping.
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Step
3You 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.
