Not getting stand reminders in watchOS 4? Here's the fix!

Earlier this week, The Iconfactory's Craig Hockenberry noticed something odd after upgrading to watchOS 4:

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His tweet got me thinking about all the stand reminders I've missed since upgrading my Apple Watch. Initially, I'd thought that my lack of regular reminders was somehow part of watchOS 4's intelligent coaching system — that it'd somehow gotten trained on a few weeks of insane non-stop writing where I didn't leave my desk and decided I no longer wanted standing goals in my life. (It would have been a fair assessment.)

But no: It turns out the culprit is something far more reasonable. From what Hockenberry discovered, it looks as though anyone who hasn't yet set wheelchair Activity settings when upgrading from watchOS 3 to watchOS 4 will automatically avoid getting stand reminders until they specifically designate their wheelchair status.

While this bug will hopefully be fixed in a future watchOS update, there's a quick-fix now: I was able to see stand notifications again by adjusting my wheelchair setting from "Not Set" to "No." Now I'm once again dancing around my living room and doing burpees every hour.

How to fix unresponsive stand reminders

  1. Open the Watch app on your iPhone.
  2. Go to the My Watch tab at the bottom of the screen.
  3. Tap the Health option.
  4. Select the Edit button in the upper right corner.

  1. Tap on the Wheelchair setting.
  2. Choose No.
  3. Press Done.Tip: While you don't have to restart your watch after updating settings on your iPhone, it often can't hurt.

Did this fix your stand issue?

Let us know below. (And big thanks to Hockenberry for bringing our attention to this issue — and helping me fix my own stand reminders!)

Serenity Caldwell

Serenity was formerly the Managing Editor at iMore, and now works for Apple. She's been talking, writing about, and tinkering with Apple products since she was old enough to double-click. In her spare time, she sketches, sings, and in her secret superhero life, plays roller derby. Follow her on Twitter @settern.