Support
The fastest way to report a bug or ask for help is GitHub Issues. Everything is handled in the open.
Why does it pause after an hour?
Apple limits how long any app may keep running in the background to one hour. When Silent Bell reaches that limit it pauses and plays a distinct descending pattern, and a note appears on your watch: Silent Bell paused. Tap Resume to start a new session. One tap starts the next hour.
This is a platform limit, not a fault, and no app can avoid it while behaving the way Silent Bell does.
How do I hide the dot and the Smart Stack card?
While a session is running, watchOS shows a small indicator at the top of the screen and a Silent Bell card in the Smart Stack. That is the system telling you an app is running in the background — Silent Bell does not create it and cannot switch it off.
You can turn it off yourself:
- On the watch: Settings → Smart Stack → Live Activities, and turn it off for Silent Bell (or off entirely).
This is purely cosmetic. Taps and the session itself are unaffected.
I'm not feeling any taps
- Check the app says Active — not Paused or Stopped.
- Taps are random. At one tap per hour there can be a long wait; try a higher rate to confirm it is working.
- Check Settings → Sounds & Haptics and raise the haptic strength, or turn on Prominent Haptics.
- Make sure the watch is snug against your wrist.
Does it work in Do Not Disturb or a Focus?
Yes. The taps are not notifications, so no Focus mode can silence them. The one exception is the paused note at the end of a session — that is a notification, so a Focus may hold it back. You will still feel the descending pattern.
Do I need my iPhone?
No. Silent Bell runs entirely on the watch. Your phone can be in another room, or off.
Does it ever make a sound?
Never. There is no audio in the app at all.
How do I get a refund?
Silent Bell is a one-time $4.99 purchase with no trial, so if it turns out not to suit you, ask Apple for your money back. Apple handles every App Store refund directly — the developer is not involved and has no way to issue one.
- Go to reportaproblem.apple.com and sign in with the Apple Account you bought it with.
- Find Silent Bell in your purchase history.
- Choose Request a refund, pick a reason, and submit.
You can start the same request on your iPhone: App Store → your photo → Purchased, tap the app, then Report a Problem.
Apple decides the outcome, usually within a few days. There is a deadline for requests and it varies by country, so it is worth asking sooner rather than later.
If the reason is something broken rather than something disappointing, open an issue first — a fix may be quicker, and you can always ask for the refund afterwards.
Anything else
Open an issue on GitHub and it will be read.