How to Use Walkie-Talkie to Talk on Apple Watch to Talk to Friends & Family

The Apple Watch supports a fun feature called Walkie-Talkie, which, much like the name implies, allows for instant communication with just about anyone else with an Apple Watch.

Talking to people on a phone call is so year 2000 and sending iMessages doesn’t have that immediacy that a conversation sometimes needs. The Walkie-Talkie feature on your Apple Watch is a much better solution – and it’ll make you feel like you’re a kid talking with your friends on real walkie-talkies, too.

The feature works in much the same way as a traditional walkie-talkie would, too. Sending a voice message to someone, once set up, is as simple as tapping and holding on a button and speaking. It’s like push-to-talk phone calls, if you will. And it can be great.

There are, of course, a couple of things you’ll need if you want to use Walkie-Talkie, though. Both parties will need to have an Apple Watch running watchOS or later and they’ll need to have a data connection, too. That could be via a cellular Apple Watch or a paired iPhones – it doesn’t matter so long as the watch can reach the internet.

Assuming you have those things squared away, here’s how you can start using Walkie-Talkie on your Apple Watch.

Setting up Walkie-Talkie on Apple Watch

First, we’ll need to select a friend and have them confirm that you can use the feature with them. Not everyone will want to allow you to instantly drop in on them almost unannounced, so keep that in mind.

1. Press the Digital Crown on the side of your Apple Watch and then tap the Walkie-Talkie app to open it.
2. Tap the name of the person that you want to start using Walkie-Talkie with. Anyone who already has the feature configured will appear as a suggested contact, too.
3. Press the yellow “+” button to add someone to your Walkie-Talkie list.

How to Send Messages Using Walkie-Talkie on Apple Watch

Once everything’s set up, sending a message to someone is quick and easy.

1. Press the Digital Crown on the side of your Apple Watch and then tap the Walkie-Talkie app to open it.
2. Tap the name of the person that you’d like to speak with.
3. Tap and hold on the big yellow “TALK” button and speak. Let go when you’re finished speaking. The other person won’t be able to respond if you don’t.

How to Stop People From Reaching You Using Walkie-Talkie

There will understandably be times where you don’t want anyone to be able to reach you via Walkie-Talkie. There are a few ways to prevent incoming messages.

• Enable Do Not Disturb mode.
• Enable Theater Mode.
• Manually disable Walkie-Talkie.

The last option is the only way to disable Walkie-Talkie without impacting other functionality. Here’s how to do it.

1. Press the Digital Crown on the side of your Apple Watch and then tap the Walkie-Talkie app to open it.
2. Scroll to the very top of our contacts list.
3. Switch “Available” to the “Off” position.

Walkie-Talkie is just one of the various ways you can use your Apple Watch to communicate with people. You can make phone calls – like Dick Tracey! – and iMessage is always available, too. You won’t even need to have an iPhone nearby if you’re using an Apple Watch with an active cellular connection, too.

If you’re still not totally sure how the feature works, the video embedded below from Apple provides a nice overview of the feature.

What do you think of Walkie-Talkie for Apple Watch? Do you use it? Share your experiences and thoughts in the comments.