Making FaceTime calls on your Apple Watch might not seem like something you would do, especially considering there’s no camera built into it (yet anyway). But FaceTime does more than video calls – it can make crystal clear audio calls over the internet, too. And your Apple Watch has a high quality speaker and a microphone.
Or, even better, why not make calls using AirPods and Apple Watch? However you decide to do it, making a FaceTime audio call on your Apple Watch is super easy.
Just like making FaceTime audio calls from a Mac, iPhone or iPad, there are a couple of different ways to start a FaceTime call on an Apple Watch. The easiest is to use Siri, but you can also tap your way through the built-in Phone app as well. And, of course, we’re going to show how both methods work.
How to Make a FaceTime Audio Call on Apple Watch Using Siri
Siri isn’t always great at everything, but it is very good at making calls for you. Here’s how it works with Apple Watch:
- Say “Hey Siri” or if you’re using Raise To Speak, raise your watch to your mouth. You can also press and hold the Digital Crown, too.
- Say “FaceTime” and then the name of the person you’re trying to call.
- The full command could be something like “Hey Siri, FaceTime Mom”.
Siri will then initiate the call using either the built-in speaker or any Bluetooth audio devices that are paired at the time. Like AirPods, AirPods Pro, or any other headphones.
How to Make a FaceTime Audio Call from Apple Watch Using the Phone app
You can use the Phone app to make FaceTime calls on your Apple Watch if you prefer to go this route too. The call will be the same, it’s only the method to initiate the call which is different.
- Press the Digital Crown to see all of the apps installed on your Apple Watch.
- Tap the Phone app’s icon.
- Tap “Contacts”.
- Tap on the contact that you want to call.
- Tap the phone icon followed by “FaceTime Audio”.
A FaceTime Audio call will then be started, and you can talk and chat away until your heart is content.
Again, any headphones that are connected via Bluetooth at the time will be used to make the call.
The Apple Watch’s microphone and speaker will be used if no audio device is connected, so if you don’t use AirPods or another wireless audio solution than you can simply talk through the Watch.
It probably goes without saying, but obviously Apple Watch will need an internet connection to be able to make a FaceTime call. That means if the Apple Watch is a cellular model, or if Apple Watch is paired to an iPhone that has cellular service it will work fine, and if Apple Watch is on a wi-fi network it will also make the call too. But if the Apple Watch is not near a paired device, on wi-fi, or doesn’t have it’s own cellular capability, you won’t be able to initiate a call from watchOS of course.
Do you make FaceTime calls from Apple Watch? What do you think of this feature? Do you have any handy tips or tricks for making FaceTime calls on Apple Watch? Let us know your tips, experiences, and thoughts with using FaceTime chat from Apple Watch in the comments.
