Here’s a quick guide on how to use Walkie Talkie on Apple Watch
- Locate the Walkie Talkie App: On your Apple Watch’s home screen, look for the Walkie Talkie app icon. It resembles an orange walkie talkie handset. If you don’t see it, you may need to add it to your app layout.
- Add Walkie Talkie to App Layout (if needed): If the Walkie Talkie app is not visible, you can add it by pressing the Digital Crown on your Apple Watch to access the app grid. Look for the “App Library” icon (a series of dots), tap it, and scroll through the apps until you find Walkie Talkie. Press and hold the app icon, then tap “Add to My Watch.”
- Launch the Walkie Talkie App: Once you’ve located the Walkie Talkie app, tap on its icon to launch it. The app will open, and you’ll see a list of your contacts who also have Walkie Talkie enabled.
- Connect with a Contact: Swipe left or right to find the person you want to connect with. Note that both you and the person you want to contact must have each other listed as friends in the Walkie Talkie app.
- Establish Communication: To initiate communication, tap on the person’s name in the Walkie Talkie app. Then, press and hold the talk button (yellow icon) to speak your message. Release the button when you’re finished speaking.
- Receiving and Responding: When someone sends you a message, you’ll receive a notification and hear a chime. Raise your wrist to wake your Apple Watch, and then press and hold the talk button to listen to their message. Release the button to respond.
- Adjust Availability Status: You can set your availability status to “Available” or “Unavailable” in the Walkie Talkie app. When you’re set as “Unavailable,” contacts won’t be able to connect with you using Walkie Talkie.
- Ending a Conversation: To end a conversation, simply tap the “X” button in the Walkie Talkie app, or lower your wrist to let the screen automatically turn off.
There was a time, long before the invention of mobile phones, that the walkie-talkies ruled the field of wireless audio communication.
Though largely obsolete, the contributions they made to smooth and wireless communications can never be downplayed. They still remain relevant in our time.
Not many gadgets though and equipped to enable the walkie-talkie experiences.
Luckily, one company still cherishes the values that the walkie-talkie brought about. It has reincarnated the device albeit in a different way.
We now want to show you how the walkie-talkie has been reinvented and by what company.
What is the Apple Watch Walkie Talkie app?
The Walkie-Walkie app is produced by Apple Incorporated. There are a bunch of walkie-talkie apps we recommend. It debuted in the watchOS 5 updates and has continued on to the watchOS 6. The app is available for free download in the Apple app store.
In a nutshell, it is structured to imitate the old-fashioned and largely obsolete walkie-talkie.
It achieves this end primarily by letting you talk in real-time to someone on the other end using your watch. Unlike normal cellphones and smartphones, this walkie-talkie app can only accommodate one frequency per time.
This means you have to wait for the person at the other end of the line to finish speaking before you respond.
What do I need to use the Apple Watch Walkie-Talkie?
You need to fulfill the following preconditions to be able to use the Apple watch walkie talkie:
Suitable device
Your friend, whom you intend to communicate with, and you must both have the suitable device for this purpose. An Apple Watch Series 1 or later version alongside the watchOS 5.3 or later versions would be suitable. They are the ones that have the bare minimum technical specifications required for the role.
Walkie talkie app
After obtaining the right piece of equipment, you now need to download the walkie-talkie app on your phone and activate it. The app is available for free download from the Apple app store. Uploading it, your friend and you must both set the app on your phones.
Internet and cellular connectivity
The app relays the audio signals via the internet. Considering that the Apple gadgets rely on cellular networks to access the internet, the two of you must hence have access to a strong internet and cellular connectivity in your area. 4G internet connectivity is the one that is most recommended for the job.
Select countries
As of now, the service is unavailable in quite a number of countries. You hence have to be certain that it is provided for in the country where you live in.
As of now, it is only available in the United States and a dozen countries, predominantly in Europe and North America.
Necessary knowhow
It may seem obvious but you need the necessary know-how to operate the gadget and make the call. The knowledge spans the download of the app, its installation, and finally juggling your way through to finally making the call. Gaining this knowledge is not so tough if you have basic computer literacy skills.
How To Use The Walkie-Talkie on your Apple Watch
To use the walkie talkie on your Apple Watch, you need to follow the steps below:
- Start by opening the walkie talkie app on your Apple watch
- Tap the friend you would want to talk to
- Touch and hold the talk button, then speak something
- You will see ‘connecting’ on your screen
- Wait for the walkie talkie to fully connect
- After the walkie talkie is fully connected, your friend shall hear your voice and speak back to you
- Converse with your friend for the longest duration of time while still holding the talk button
- Let go of the talk button as soon as you are through with speaking to your friend
- If need be, change the volume by turning the digital crown up
How to add Walkie-Talkie contacts
You will of course have to add contacts to your phone book. To do so, follow the steps below:
- Open the yellow and black walkie talkie on your Apple watch
- Press the yellow “+” sign
- Choose an appropriate contact from the ensuing list
- Wait for your contact to accept or decline the invitation (here’s what to do if you are not getting a Walkie Talkie invite)
- The contact you select shall stay gray in color and labeled ‘invited’ until your friend accepts it
- As soon as the invite accepts it, the contact shall turn yellow
- You shall now be able to communicate with him
How to turn Walkie-Talkie on and off
a.) On
Follow these steps to turn the walkie talkie on:
- Open the chat you would wish to access
- Get to the chat settings that are located right at the top corner of the screen
- Choose “Enable Walkie Talkie”
- Select “Yes”
- If you so wish, you may convert the chat to a ‘Default Chat’ to make it easily available when you need to respond to it later without necessarily opening the app.
b.) Off
To turn the walkie talkie off, follow these steps:
- Get to the walkie talkie app
- You will see your contacts who also have the walkie talkie app installed on their phone
- Swipe the screen downwards so that you may get to the “Available” card
- Hit the toggle to switch off the walkie-talkie
- Alternatively, get to the walkie talkie app on your Apple watch
- Scroll to the top right side of the screen
- Turn off the Walkie-Talkie
How to remove Walkie-Talkie contacts on the iPhone
To remove the walkie talkie contacts on your iPhone, the steps here below may certainly be of help:
- Open the Apple Watch app on your iPhone
- Tap the walkie talkie app
- Then get to edit
- Close it with the minus (-) button
- Conclude by tapping ‘Remove’ to eliminate the app from your iPhone
If all you want is to eliminate just one contact rather than the whole app from your iPhone, these steps will be of help to you:
- Open the walkie talkie app on your iPhone
- Search for the specific contact you would wish to remove
- Swipe that contact to the left
- Tap the ‘delete’ button thereafter
Alternatively:
- Access your Apple watch
- Get to the walkie talkie app
- Narrow to the specific contact you would wish to eliminate
- Swipe that contact to the left and the large X icon to eliminate it
Alternatively:
- Simply scroll up to the top portion of the app
- Flip the ‘Available’ switch to off
- This disables the feature completely
Accessing Walkie-Talkie Quickly
At times, it could be that you just do not have the luxury of time to access and utilize the walkie-talkie. If and when this arises, you have to access the walkie-talkie quickly. Following these steps will surely help you to achieve this end well:
- See to it that the person you intend to talk to has set up and is ready to communicate via FaceTime audio calls.
- Click the walkie talkie app on your Apple watch application screen
- The app is a yellow circle that contains a small walkie talkie inscribed in it
- Click the plus (+) button once while in the walkie talkie to select the person from the contact list you would wish to chat with
- Tap on the contact of interest to send out an invitation to the person you would wish to chat with
- The invitation shall be labeled ‘invited’ until such a time that it shall be accepted
- As soon as your contact has turned yellow, you are now connected and can now chat.
- To chat, press the ‘talk’ button and hold on to it throughout the period of conversation
Adjusting Walkie-Talkie Volume
Of course, in the process of chatting with your contact, you will need to up the volume from time to time to make the voice a little bit audible. To increase the volume of the walkie talkie, follow the steps outlined and explained below:
- Press the up and down button as you converse with your friend
- This ups the volume of the conversation as you speak
To turn off the beep volume, follow the steps outlined and explained hereunder:
- Turn off the walkie talkie
- Press the up and power buttons to activate the walkie talkie
- This turns off the beep volume
- You may adjust this volume if you so wish by turning the digital crown when the machine is in the walkie talkie mode
Using Walkie-Talkie with AirPods or Bluetooth Headphones
a.) AirPods
AirPods are small wireless Bluetooth earbuds that are manufactured by Apple. If you wish to use them alongside the walkie-talkie, you need to follow the steps below:
- Activate the Bluetooth functionality of your Apple smartwatch and of your earbuds
- Establish a wireless connection between these two using the included protocols and passwords
- Insert the AirPod in your ears
- Select the walkie talkie app on your Apple smartwatch
- Choose the friend whom you would wish to converse with
- Touch and hold the talk button, then speak something
- You will see ‘connecting’ on your screen
- Wait for the walkie talkie to fully connect
- After your associate picks the call, speak to him to spark the conversation
- You should hear the sounds in your ears
b.) Bluetooth headphones
For use alongside the Bluetooth headphones, you may have to follow the steps outlined and belabored below:
- Go to your phone’s settings
- Turn on the Bluetooth
- Pair your gadget with the Bluetooth headset
- Get to the app and activate the walkie talkie mode
- Choose the friend whom you would wish to converse with
- Touch and hold the talk button, then speak something
- You will see ‘connecting’ on your screen
- Wait for the walkie talkie to fully connect
- Converse with him a soon as the system is up and running
If yours is an Android gadget, follow the steps and procedures outlined and explained here below:
- Go to the settings of your Android phone
- Then, proceed to preferences
- After that, toggle on Bluetooth
- Choose from available devices
- Pair your Bluetooth headset with that device
- Now get to the walkie talkie app
- Activate it so that it may be ready for the purpose of making calls
- Touch and hold the talk button
- Wait for your associate to similarly pick the call on his end
- Converse with him as soon as he is ready
Interested in Samsung watches? Learn whether Samsung Watch and Apple Watch can communicate via Walkie Talkie?
Conclusion
We have come a long way, have we not? The kinds of deep insights we have showcased above are definitely sufficient to get you started out on the matter. As you may see, we have tried to be as simple and straightforward with the issue as can be.
All that is left for you now is to implement the provisions you have received from us. Just read in between the lines to get to do the job well. Are you still stuck? Do you need us to be of further help to you? Kindly let us hear from you. We are always eager to help the readers of our posts.