Can I answer a call on the new Samsung Galaxy Watch and talk and hear through the watch?

[Android Central Question]

I have a Samsung S7 and the new Galaxy Watch 46mm. When the phone rings I answer it on my watch and it diverts it to answer on the phone or on the handsfree in the car! There is a mic symbol which is greyed out but it won't turn on if presses. I was wondering if I could use the watch for the call or not? The greyed out mic maybe for the not yet released version, I am unsure!?

 

[B. Diddy]

I moved this to the Galaxy Watch forum for more specific traffic.

 

[evildigital]

Yes you can make and answer calls directly on the Galaxy Watch.

 

[Lecrae116]

Any reviews on speakerphone quality? I've never owned a smartwatch so I'm not sure what I'm getting myself into. Can anyone enlighten me?

 

[k3m1c6]

speakerphone quality is excellent. my wife and I each have Galaxy watches and I find calling her on her watch is better then when she uses the speakerphone on her s5. I also find answering calls on my Galaxy watch to be clear and no complaints from anyone on the other end.

 

[Lecrae116]

speakerphone quality is excellent. my wife and I each have Galaxy watches and I find calling her on her watch is better then when she uses the speakerphone on her s5. I also find answering calls on my Galaxy watch to be clear and no complaints from anyone on the other end.

What's the difference between bluetooth and wifi connectivity on this watch as far as functionality l?

 

[nofaithineli]

Not too much in practice. WiFi has higher bandwidth and connectivity range. Bluetooth is fine if phone is in reasonable proximity to watch and doesn't require high bandwidth. Spotify, for example, requires WiFi connection to download music offline or even stream to watch. Bluetooth does not work for this.. LTE does but not well. There are probably other cases too I haven't encountered yet. For me, the only reason ever to turn on WiFi is to get Spotify music. I could also see a case for getting connectivity with phone not in proximity if you don't have the LTE version of the watch.

 

[Lecrae116]

Not too much in practice. WiFi has higher bandwidth and connectivity range. Bluetooth is fine if phone is in reasonable proximity to watch and doesn't require high bandwidth. Spotify, for example, requires WiFi connection to download music offline or even stream to watch. Bluetooth does not work for this.. LTE does but not well. There are probably other cases too I haven't encountered yet. For me, the only reason ever to turn on WiFi is to get Spotify music. I could also see a case for getting connectivity with phone not in proximity if you don't have the LTE version of the watch.

So I connect to the watch via hotspot on my s9? Also do I need bluetooth and wifi enabled for full functionality?

 

[nofaithineli]

Typically the watch would be paired to phone with bluetooth and piggy back off the connection of the phone cellular or WiFi. I don't see any reason you'd need connect to a phone hotspot unless it's a quirk like Spotify where it won't work over bluetooth. You typically only need a bluetooth connection between phone and watch and an active cellular/data connection on your phone for full functionality.

 

[Lecrae116]

Typically the watch would be paired to phone with bluetooth and piggy back off the connection of the phone cellular or WiFi. I don't see any reason you'd need connect to a phone hotspot unless it's a quirk like Spotify where it won't work over bluetooth. You typically only need a bluetooth connection between phone and watch and an active cellular/data connection on your phone for full functionality.

So if I'm using bluetooth for watch connection with no wifi enabled on the watch I can't listen to spotify via bluetooth even though my phone has it's own internet?

 

[nofaithineli]

Astonishingly, yes. The Spotify app is in a sorry state. The only way I can get it to work is to disconnect bluetooth and either connect to WiFi network directly from watch OR set to offline and play music downloaded locally to watch OR stream LTE but quality is very poor. I haven't found a way to be able to get Spotify to work at all while connected to phone with bluetooth.

Edit: Just wanted to clarify that I am referring to Spotify app on the WATCH. The PHONE app will continue to function whether or not watch is paired to the phone.

 

[Lecrae116]

Astonishingly, yes. The Spotify app is in a sorry state. The only way I can get it to work is to disconnect bluetooth and either connect to WiFi network directly from watch OR set to offline and play music downloaded locally to watch OR stream LTE but quality is very poor. I haven't found a way to be able to get Spotify to work at all while connected to phone with bluetooth.

So I dont need to be connected to wifi to listen offline?

 

[nofaithineli]

No, only to download tracks. Once music is on watch you can listen without any connections (WiFi, bluetooth, or LTE).

It is worth noting that Spotify cannot shuffle play your library when in offline mode. Another comically bad shortcoming of the app. You'll probably want to create one or more playlists so the shuffle feature works. It will shuffle from within a playlist offline, go figure. I think playlists can hold a few hundred songs.

 

[Peter621022]

Personaly, I think that if you have the BT version of the watch, and you have to piggy back on the Phone connection anyway (meaning you have the Phone nearby) it's more practical to play your music through the Spotify app on your Phone and connect your headset to the Phone.
You can operate the music on your watch with the standard music app on your watch (play, pause, next song, previous song with the buttons on screen, go through the playlist and select other songs with the bezel).

 

[11B1P]

I have a Samsung S7 and the new Galaxy Watch 46mm. When the phone rings I answer it on my watch and it diverts it to answer on the phone or on the handsfree in the car! There is a mic symbol which is greyed out but it won't turn on if presses. I was wondering if I could use the watch for the call or not? The greyed out mic maybe for the not yet released version, I am unsure!?

To get back to the question at hand. Yes you can use the watch for calls. I'm thinking maybe your issue is with the connection to your vehicle? I'm using an GS7 with a Gear S3. I can't help more than this. I always answer calls thru my vehicle, never tried answering a call on my Gear while in my car. Sounds counter-productive. Thru your car, you get the car's speaker vs the watch speaker.

 

[Thebigdealwill]

To get back to the question at hand. Yes you can use the watch for calls. I'm thinking maybe your issue is with the connection to your vehicle? I'm using an GS7 with a Gear S3. I can't help more than this. I always answer calls thru my vehicle, never tried answering a call on my Gear while in my car. Sounds counter-productive. Thru your car, you get the car's speaker vs the watch speaker.

 

[Thebigdealwill]

So has anyone figured out how to make a call on your watch? Same problem. It directs my call to my phone instead of the watch. I have Verizon so I only have the bluetooth model

 

[Stevieyakki]

Just in case anyones still looking for a possible fix as ive been struggling with this and have just resolved it on mine (galaxy watch 46 and s8) . I started a call on the watch, it sent the call to phone so i went on the phone settings and clicked on the bluetooth settin lg which sent it back to my watch. Now all calls i make with the watch stay on the watch. Could someone confirm this as working so i know it wasnt a fluke.

 

[Stevieyakki]

I dont think it was the main settings but the settings that pop up when a call is being made just to clarify

 

[eemix]

I also have this problem.
I'm on my motorbike, i have my phone on pocket, i answer the call on my watch, but it doesn't transfer the call to my bluetooth puds in my helmet.
I did some research, and i found out that it is possible only when the phone is samsung, which isn't mine.
Samsung support in Greece where i live insured me before i bought the galaxy watch, that it was/is possible. Until now i haven't found any solution. I connected buds to my phone, i connected them also in my watch. Calls are transfered only to the speaker of galaxy watch.
Did someone manage to answer through bluetooth headset without samsung phone?
Thank you.