The Apple Watch allows you to view and interact with notifications from your iPhone right on your wrist. This includes notifications from popular social media apps like Facebook. With just a few taps, you can easily set up your Apple Watch to display Facebook notifications.
Requirements for Facebook Notifications on Apple Watch
To get Facebook notifications on your Apple Watch, you’ll need:
- An Apple Watch Series 1 or later
- The latest version of WatchOS installed on your Apple Watch
- The latest version of the Facebook app installed on your paired iPhone
- Your Apple Watch and iPhone need to be within close proximity of each other
- Notifications enabled for the Facebook app on your iPhone
As long as your Apple Watch meets these requirements, you’re ready to start receiving Facebook notifications on your wrist!
How to Enable Facebook Notifications on Apple Watch
Enabling Facebook notifications on your Apple Watch only takes a few minutes.
Here are the steps:
- Open the Watch app on your iPhone.
- Tap on Notifications.
- Locate Facebook in the app list and make sure it is enabled.
- Tap on the Facebook app.
- Toggle on “Mirror iPhone Alerts”.
And that’s it! Facebook will now send notifications to your Apple Watch whenever you get them on your iPhone.
Customizing Facebook Notifications on Apple Watch
If you find Facebook notifications overwhelming on your Apple Watch, you can customize them:
- Filter specific notifications – In the Watch app, tap on Facebook, then toggle off the types of notifications you don’t need to see on your Watch, like News Feed updates.
- Mute notifications – Open the Watch app and swipe left on the Facebook notification settings. Tap on “Mute” to suppress notifications on your Watch.
- Disable alerts – For total silence from Facebook on your Watch, turn off “Mirror iPhone Alerts” in the Facebook notification settings.
You can easily re-enable Facebook notifications at any time by revisiting the steps above.
Interacting with Facebook Notifications on Apple Watch
Once Facebook notifications are enabled, here are some ways you can view and interact with them right from your wrist:
- View notifications – Raise your wrist or tap on the screen to see new Facebook notifications.
- Expand notifications – Rotate the Digital Crown or swipe down on a notification to expand it and see more details.
- Clear notifications – Swipe left on a Facebook notification and tap Clear to remove it from your Watch.
- Open the Facebook app – Tap on a Facebook notification to open the Facebook app on your iPhone for further details and options.
For notifications with actions like Likes or Comments, force press on the notification to access those options directly from your Watch.
Replying to Facebook Messages
You can also reply to Facebook Messenger messages directly from notifications on your Apple Watch:
- When a Messenger notification appears, force press on the notification.
- Tap “Reply”.
- You can select a quick reply like “Thanks!”, use animated emojis, or tap to dictate a message.
- Tap “Send” to send your reply message.
Replying to Facebook messages on your Watch helps you respond quickly without needing to grab your iPhone.
Facebook Notifications When Your iPhone Isn’t Nearby
Even if your iPhone isn’t nearby, you can still receive Facebook notifications on your Apple Watch using Wi-Fi or cellular connectivity. Here’s how:
- Make sure both devices are signed into the same iCloud account.
- Enable Wi-Fi calling on your iPhone.
- If your Apple Watch has cellular, make sure there is an active plan.
- Keep Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and/or cellular active on both devices.
As long as everything is setup properly and your Apple Watch has an internet connection, you’ll get Facebook alerts even when separated from your iPhone.
Troubleshooting Facebook Notifications on Apple Watch
If you’ve enabled Facebook notifications in your Apple Watch settings but still aren’t seeing them on your wrist, here are some troubleshooting tips:
- Check iPhone notifications – Facebook notifications need to be enabled in Settings > Notifications on your iPhone first.
- Update Facebook app – Make sure you have the latest version of the Facebook app installed on your iPhone.
- Restart devices – Sometimes a quick restart of the iPhone and Apple Watch can resolve app issues.
- Unpair & repair – As a last resort, unpair then repair your Apple Watch to your iPhone to refresh all settings.
Following these troubleshooting steps should get Facebook notifications reliably delivering to your Apple Watch again.
Customizing Notification Settings on iPhone
While you can customize Facebook notification settings directly on the Apple Watch, you can also manage your notifications in the Facebook app settings on your iPhone:
- Open the Facebook app on your iPhone.
- Tap the More tab.
- Go to Settings & Privacy > Notifications.
- Here you can enable/disable notification types.
- Tap a notification type to customize those specific alerts.
Tweaking these settings on your iPhone will reflect on your Apple Watch as well, since Facebook notifications are mirrored.
Using Notification Summary on Apple Watch
If you find yourself being inundated with Facebook notifications on your Apple Watch, use the Notification Summary feature:
- Open the Watch app on iPhone > Notifications > Facebook.
- Enable “Notification Summary”.
- Adjust the summary frequency as desired.
This bundles all Facebook notifications into a summary that delivers to your Apple Watch at set intervals, rather than having them come through individually.
Conclusion
Receiving Facebook notifications on your Apple Watch makes it easier to stay on top of your messages, friend requests, posts, and other alerts from the social network without having to constantly check your iPhone. With a few quick settings adjustments, you can enable and customize Facebook alerts to display directly on your wrist via your paired Apple Watch. So if you frequently use Facebook on iOS, be sure to take advantage of its integration with Apple Watch for at-a-glance access to your notifications.
| Notification Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Mentions | When someone tags or mentions you in a post or comment |
| Reactions | When someone reacts to your posts or comments |
| Comments | When someone comments on your posts |
| Messages | When you receive a new Facebook Messenger message |
| Friend Requests | When someone sends you a friend request |
| Events | Notifications about upcoming events you’re invited to |
| Pages | Updates from Pages you manage as an admin |
| Groups | Updates in Facebook Groups you’ve joined |
| Birthdays | Reminders for friends’ birthdays |
| Live Videos | When friends go live or premire a new video |
| Sales | Alerts about items you have for sale on Facebook Marketplace |