Skip to main content

How to use Tap to Talk with Walkie-Talkie on Apple Watch

Walkie-Talkie is a fun feature that arrived on Apple Watch Series 1 hardware and later with watchOS 5. By default, you need to press and hold the talk button the entire time you’re speaking, but there’s a nice alternative to that. Read on for how to use Tap to Talk with Walkie-Talkie on Apple Watch.

Especially if you like sending longer voice messages via Walkie-Talkie on Apple Watch, tapping and holding the screen the whole time while you’re speaking isn’t very convenient.

Luckily, Apple has another option buried in settings on the Apple Watch app on iPhone called Tap to Talk that allows you to tap once to start recording and tap again when you’d like to send it.

How to use Tap to Talk with Walkie-Talkie on Apple Watch

  1. Open the Apple Watch app on iPhone
  2. Swipe down and tap General
  3. Now tap Accessibility
  4. Swipe down and toggle on Tap to Talk under Walkie-Talkie

Here’s how the process looks:

Read more about the Walkie-Talkie feature on Apple Watch Series 1 and later on Apple’s support document here.

For more help getting the most out of your Apple devices, check out our how to guide as well as the following articles:


Check out 9to5Mac on YouTube for more Apple news:

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

You’re reading 9to5Mac — experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Don’t know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

Manage push notifications

notification icon
We would like to show you notifications for the latest news and updates.
notification icon
You are subscribed to notifications
notification icon
We would like to show you notifications for the latest news and updates.
notification icon
You are subscribed to notifications