Has your Apple Watch stopped tapping at the end of a mile or kilometer? Yeah, it can be kinda frustrating when the device doesn’t give those gentle buzzes, especially when you’re counting on them to let you know you’re close to a goal during your workout. Lots of people rely on the haptic feedback to keep moving without constantly glancing at the screen, so when that tap suddenly vanishes, it’s annoying. Sometimes it’s just a matter of settings being a little off, or maybe the feedback is set to a low intensity. But don’t worry—there’s a good shot at fixing it by checking a few settings and preferences. Usually, just tweaking the haptic feedback and workout alerts does the trick, and you’ll be back to feeling those nudges at the right moments.
How to Fix Apple Watch Not Tapping at End of Mile or Kilometer
Fix – 1: Tweak the workout split alerts
This one helps because the split alerts are what control those repeat notifications at set distances—like every mile or kilometer—so if they’re turned off or misconfigured, no wonder your watch stays silent. When this setting is right, it ensures your watch buzzes right on schedule, making workouts simpler and less stressful.
- Open the Workout app on your watch from the app list, not on the phone. Yep, directly on the watch.(Sometimes it’s easier to go straight to the source.)
- Tap the specific outdoor workout routine you do the most, for example, Indoor Run.
- Hit the three-dot menu icon next to it.
- Scroll down to Preferences and select it.
- Look for the Splits section and tap to open it.
- Make sure Split Alert is turned on. If it’s off, your watch won’t alert you at all.
- If it’s already on, but you want to customize the alert distance, tap Distance and change it from the default 1 km/mile to whatever suits you best.
Once you do this, your watch should buzz at those split points, meaning no more missing the cues. Just be aware, sometimes these settings don’t seem to stick initially, and a reboot or re-selection might be necessary. On some setups, it works perfectly on the first try, while on others, it takes a restart to kick in.
Fix – 2: Pump up the haptic feedback level
This fix is about making the taps more noticeable by increasing their intensity. On some watches, the default haptic level is kinda subtle, so you might not feel those gentle buzzes if your sensitivity is low. Setting the feedback to ‘Prominent’ makes sure you don’t miss the alerts during squats, runs, or quick sprints.
- On your watch, head into the Settings app.
- Scroll down and tap on Sounds & Haptics.
- Find the Haptics section and ensure Haptic Alerts are turned on.
- Set the intensity slider to Prominent. Sometimes the defaults are way too soft, and this change makes the buzz more noticeable.
Now, your watch will give more forceful taps, which can make all the difference, especially because, of course, Apple Watch has to make it harder than necessary sometimes by default. The added bonus is you might catch those alerts without checking the watch screen every two seconds.
Quick note:
Fiddling with these settings can feel kinda hit-or-miss. On some watches, the upgrade in haptic strength makes a noticeable difference, while others might still be subtle. It’s worth playing around a bit with the intensity until it feels right. Just be aware that a restart after changing preferences can sometimes help things stick better.
Summary
- Check your workout split alert settings in the Workout app to ensure alerts are turned on and set to your preferred distance.
- Adjust the Haptics intensity in Settings > Sounds & Haptics to make the taps more noticeable.
- Restart your watch if changes don’t seem to take effect immediately.
Wrap-up
Getting your Apple Watch to tap reliably at all the right moments can be a bit of a hassle, but these tweaks usually do the trick. It’s kind of weird that Apple doesn’t make this more straightforward out of the box, but hey, a few settings can fix that. Hopefully, this saves someone a bunch of frustration and keeps those workout alerts coming through loud and clear. Fingers crossed this helps — worked for a bunch of setups so far.