How to make a phone call on an Apple Watch

2 min read · 7 steps · Updated 2 October 2026

Short answer

Open the Phone app on the watch. Turn the Digital Crown to reach your favourites or tap Contacts, then tap a name. To dial a number, tap the keypad button at the top right, enter the number and tap the call button. You speak and listen through the watch.

The watch makes calls through your iPhone when the phone is nearby, over Wi-Fi when it is not, and on its own on models with a mobile plan. The microphone and speaker in the watch are good enough for a short call, and Bluetooth headphones work too.

These steps are for recent versions of watchOS. The pictures are simplified diagrams of the watch screen, not screenshots.

Step by step

  1. AppsMailMapsMessagesPhone

    Open the Phone app

    Press the Digital Crown and tap the green Phone icon.

  2. Call a favourite or a contact

    Turn the Digital Crown down to see your favourites and tap one. Or tap Contacts, scroll to a name and tap it. Recent calls are listed in the same app.

  3. Dial a number

    Tap the keypad button at the top right, enter the number and tap the call button.

  4. Or ask Siri

    Raise your wrist and say, for example, Call Anna mobile.

  5. During the call

    Turn the Digital Crown to change the volume. Tap the More Options button for the keypad, for example to enter an extension or a code for a telephone menu.

  6. Move the call to the iPhone

    Unlock the iPhone and tap the green indicator at the top of its screen. The call continues on the phone.

  7. Call without the iPhone nearby

    A watch without a mobile plan can still call over Wi-Fi, if your provider supports it. On the iPhone, open Settings, Cellular (or Mobile Service), Wi-Fi Calling, turn on Wi-Fi Calling on This iPhone and Add Wi-Fi Calling For Other Devices.

Good to know

For emergency calls, Apple advises using the mobile network where possible, because it gives the emergency services a more accurate location than Wi-Fi.

To call several people, start in Messages: open a conversation, tap the picture at the top, choose FaceTime Audio, and add people with More Options.

Headphones make calls private: how to connect Bluetooth headphones to an Apple Watch.

A watch with its own plan: how to set up mobile service on an Apple Watch. In an emergency: how to use Emergency SOS on an Apple Watch.

In short: Phone app, favourites or Contacts, or keypad button and number. Digital Crown for volume, More Options for the keypad during a call.

Sources
  • Apple Support: Make phone calls on Apple Watch

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