Want to have a quick chat with a friend but do not have your iPhone handy, even though you have your Apple Watch on your wrist? You could try going through the struggle of typing a message out on your tiny Apple Watch display, but if your friend also has an Apple Watch, your communication woes might just vanish with a tap.  

how to walkie talkie on apple watch

If you have an Apple Watch, you can actually send your friends Apple Watch voice messages with a quick tap. Your Apple Watch does not even need to have LTE support; just a simple Internet connection would do. As the name suggests, Walkie Talkie is a feature that turns your Apple Watch into a Walkie-Talkie quite literally and allows you to send voice messages by holding down a button in the Walkie Talkie app on your Apple watch. You do not have to download an app; the feature is preinstalled on the Apple Watch.

What is the Walkie-Talkie app on Apple Watch?

The Walkie-Talkie app on the Apple Watch is a quick and easy way to communicate with someone one-on-one. It’s like an iconic communication device connected via Bluetooth on your wrist. The app only works on the Apple Watch Series 1 and above, and it’s a way to talk quickly with someone in a crowd or for other quick chats. The app requires watchOS 5.3 and above and an iPhone with FaceTime set up on the connected phone so that you can have calls and talk to people over your Watch App. If you’re using the Walkie-Talkie app without an iPhone, it will work from a Wi-Fi or cellular connection in supported countries.

How to Setup Walkie-Talkie app on Apple Watch

Once you have the software and hardware basics in place, using the Walkie-Talkie feature on your Apple Watch is a piece of cake. All you have to do is follow these simple steps, and in no time, you will be tango-charlie-ing with your friends. 

Step 1: Open the Walkie-Talkie app on your Apple Watch:

setup walkie talkie apple watch

If you have updated your Apple Watch, you will get the Walkie-Talkie app on the device. You have to press the crown on your Apple Watch now, go to the menu, and open the Walkie-Talkie app on Apple Watch. 

Step 2: Tap on the “+” icon:

add friends to walkie-talkie

After you open the app, you will find a tiny, yellow “+” icon t Tap on the plus icon to add friends. Once you have sent an invitation to a friend, you have to wait for them to accept your Walkie-Talkie invite. The contact will remain grey until they accept your invitation. Once they accept your invitation, it will turn yellow, which means you will be able to talk to them instantly. 

Step 3: Select contact:

talk on walkie-talkie

From the list of friends on your Walkie-Talkie app, you now have to tap on the one you would like to connect to. The app will first check their availability. If available, you will get a big yellow icon on your Apple Watch saying, “Hold and Talk,” and that’s all you have to do pretty much. 

Step 4: Hold and talk:

hold and talk

Hold down the big yellow icon and talk into the Apple Watch while holding it down. Once you release the button, your voice note will be sent to your contact. 

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Don’t see the yellow TALK icon in the menu? That’s probably because you haven’t set up the FaceTime app on your iPhone yet. A functioning FaceTime app is required for walkie-talkie to work seamlessly.

Step 5: Move the crown to increase or decrease volume: 

While using the Walkie-Talkie application, if you need to increase or decrease volume, all you have to do is move the digital crown in the clockwise and anti-clockwise direction. The volume will increase or decrease accordingly. 

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How to Use the Walkie-Talkie App

Walkie-Talkie is a great way to communicate with others quickly and easily. Open the Walkie-Talkie app on your Apple Watch to start a conversation. The first time you use Walkie-Talkie, the other person will have to give permission for the conversation to proceed. Devices recognized as trusted will allow unilateral conversations where one person can talk, and the other can listen. Haptic buzzing is used as an indicator that a walkie-talkie conversation is waiting for you.

walkie-talkie-apple-watch

To use Walkie-Talkie, touch the large “Touch & Hold to Talk” button and say your message. When you let go of the button, the other person should hear it on their own watch.

As we mentioned earlier, use the Digital Crown to change volume levels during the playback of messages sent from another watch.

If the person you’re trying to call doesn’t answer, they’ll get a missed call notification on their iPhone. You can also access Walkie-Talkie directly from your watch face by adding it as a complication.

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Answering and Silencing a Walkie-Talkie Call

The watch vibrates and plays an alert sound when you receive a Walkie-Talkie call. To answer the call, just lift your wrist to your mouth and speak.

If you don’t want to be disturbed by a Walkie-Talkie call, you can turn off the “Available” mode on a Walkie-Talkie call. Turning your Apple Watch to Theater mode or Do Not Disturb mode will prevent you from being able to receive a Walkie-Talkie call.

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The best way to answer a walkie-talkie is by lifting up your arm and bringing it close to your mouth so that it picks up your voice better.

How to Turn Walkie-Talkie off and on

turn off walkie talkie

Once connected, you will be able to send voice messages to your contact, and they will be able to send voice messages at any time. However, an abrupt, loud voice message can be a bit embarrassing in a formal setting. In such situations, you also have the option to turn the app off. All you have to do is open the app and turn the toggle next to the Walkie-Talkie button. To turn it back on again, you simply have to tap on the toggle again, and it will turn green, indicating the app is on.  

How to remove a friend from Walkie-Talkie

remove a friend from walkie-talkie

If you have added a contact that you now wish to remove from your Walkie-Talkie App, you can do that easily by following these simple steps: 

Open the Walkie-Talkie app on your Apple Watch. It will show you a list of all the contacts you have on your app. 

Select the contact you wish to delete and swipe from right to left. 

You will now find a big red “X” next to your contact’s name, tap on it, and the contact will get deleted from your list. You can do the same from the Apple Watch app on your iPhone.

How to make the most of the walkie-talkie feature on the Apple Watch?

apple watch walkie-talkie

The Walkie-Talkie feature on the Apple Watch is a great way to quickly communicate with other people who also have an Apple Watch. It’s especially useful if you need to have a short, private conversation with someone.

The Walkie-Talkie feature works in much the same way as a traditional walkie-talkie would. Both parties need to be connected to the internet and have an Apple Watch in order for it to work.

Walkie-Talkies are ideal for short conversations, so don’t try to use them for long conversations like you would on a phone call. Also, remember that the person you’re talking to will also be able to hear any sound that’s going on around you.

That’s it! We hope this guide has helped you to get started with using Walkie-Talkie on your Apple Watch. Make sure you also check the FAQ section below for some additional notes and troubleshooting tips. Feel free to leave a comment if you have more questions or any feedback to share.

FAQs on Apple Watch Walkie-Talkie Feature

Apple released the Walkie-Talkie app in 2019, and it was quickly pulled after they found out that it was vulnerable to hacking. The good news is that they have patched up the vulnerabilities before anyone could exploit them. The Walkie-Talkie app is now available to download on the Apple Watch. Make sure you have watchOS 5.3 and above.

The Apple Watch Walkie-Talkie app uses Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or a cellular connection to function. There is no limit on the range of the app, as long as you have an Internet connection. You must have FaceTime enabled and cellular data allowed on your device to make a call. If you are in the woods, the Apple Watch Walkie-Talkie may not work because there is no cell tower nearby. Due to cellular limitations, some users have had difficulty using it in remote or rural areas.

There are a few reasons why you might not be able to add people to the Walkie-Talkie app on your Apple Watch. One possibility is that you don't have their contact information saved on your phone. Another reason could be that they are not using an Apple Watch with the latest software update.

If you can't find someone in your contacts, make sure their name and number are entered correctly into your phone's contact list. Also, make sure they have the latest version of watchOS installed on their Apple Watch. If they don't, suggest that they upgrade to the most recent software so they can use Walkie-Talkie with you.

Walkie-talkies have been around for a long time, and the Apple Watch has its own Walkie-Talkie app.

  • The Walkie-Talkie app has an unlimited range as long as you have a cellular or Wi-Fi connection. You can use it to communicate with other people who also have an Apple Watch and the Walkie-Talkie app installed.
  • The main benefit of using the Walkie-Talkie app on your Apple Watch is that you don't need to be near your iPhone in order to communicate with someone else. This can be really useful when you're out hiking, camping, or just walking around town and want to quickly send a message to a friend.

Yes, you can use the walkie-talkie on the Apple Watch without a cellular/LTE model. Walkie-Talkie works over an internet connection. If you don't have a cellular connection for the Apple Watch, you'll need to use a Wi-Fi connection and have your iPhone nearby - just like you did for data transfer before.

The Walkie-Talkie app has essentially unlimited range since it uses WiFi and/or a cellular connection. You just need to ensure both/all the watches are running watchOS 5.3 or later, and have an Internet connection (cellular/WiFi). Also, if one of the watches isn't a cellular variant, it needs to be connected to an iPhone running iOS 11 or later for walkie-talkie to work.

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