Apps Apple Watch contacts not showing Digital Touch as an option

[FCDP]

Has anyone experienced issues with favourite contacts on your Apple Watch who themselves own an Apple Watch, not showing the option to send digital touch messages?

I'm having this issue with one contact where I don't see the option, but on their watch, they do see digital touch as an option for me, but when sent, I don't receive them.

Surely this means the issue is on my end?

 

[bjdraw]

I'd bet there is a problem with iMessage on your phone. Can you confirm you are able to send and receive iMessages?

 

[JBUGGY]

Both AW owners need to have their contact/each other added to "Friends" in the AW app. Once added on both ends the Digital Touch option will show up and then be able to send each other heartbeats, drawings, etc.

If only 1 person has their friend added in AW app, they'll see digital touch option, but the friend on the other end won't be able to see the "digital touch drawing"....so ya both need to be in each others "Friend list" through the AW app on the iPhone.

HTH!🙂

 

[bjdraw]

Both AW owners need to have their contact/each other added to "Friends" in the AW app. Once added on both ends the Digital Touch option will show up and then be able to send each other heartbeats, drawings, etc.

If only 1 person has their friend added in AW app, they'll see digital touch option, but the friend on the other end won't be able to see the "digital touch drawing"....so ya both need to be in each others "Friend list" through the AW app on the iPhone.

HTH!🙂

I haven't experienced this. Upon seeing a friend post on online that they had an watch, I've added them to my friends list on my watch and sent them Touches. I've also had friends send me them without having them on my friends list. Of course without them in my friends list, I can only respond to their's and not send new ones.

 

[JBUGGY]

I haven't experienced this. Upon seeing a friend post on online that they had an watch, I've added them to my friends list on my watch and sent them Touches. I've also had friends send me them without having them on my friends list. Of course without them in my friends list, I can only respond to their's and not send new ones.

Hmm...I figured they both needed to be added on both ends?...because I knew my niece had gotten a AW and wanted to test out. I had the option to send her a digital touch. So I sent her a sketch...and she got the alert, but wasn't able to view the sketch. (I had her added to my friend list at the time, but she hadn't added me).

So once she added me also then we were able to send/receive back/forth.

Hmm, perhaps a bug with how it works for some...?
GL hope it starts working for ya!

 

[FCDP]

I'd bet there is a problem with iMessage on your phone. Can you confirm you are able to send and receive iMessages?

iMessage is enabled, but I have noticed it's been acting wonky recently. I sent a message to a contact recently, and it went through as a text, but their response came through as a separate thread in the messaging app, as an iMessage, but from their icloud account. Very strange.

I haven't experienced this. Upon seeing a friend post on online that they had an watch, I've added them to my friends list on my watch and sent them Touches. I've also had friends send me them without having them on my friends list. Of course without them in my friends list, I can only respond to their's and not send new ones.

You're right, it doesn't seem to be a requirement that both ends need to have each other in their favourites for digital touch to appear as an option. However, right now, I show as a possible recipient of digital touches, but I don't get anything on my end when they're sent.

 

[bjdraw]

iMessage is enabled, but I have noticed it's been acting wonky recently. I sent a message to a contact recently, and it went through as a text, but their response came through as a separate thread in the messaging app, as an iMessage, but from their icloud account. Very strange.

Work out your iMessage problem and I bet you fix your touch problem. Temporarily disable "send as sms" in the Messages settings while you troubleshoot to prevent it from not using iMessage. Might just need to disable and re-enable iMessage on your phone.

 

[NaomiO]

I am having this problem too. My mom's watch came last week and we set it up. My watch came today and I set that up. I am in her friends list and she is in mine. On her watch when I tap on my name the digital touch hand icon does not appear. On my watch under her name the digital touch icon is there but she doesn't receive anything. iMessage is working both ways correctly. I signed out of iCloud, iTunes, turned off face time and iMessage, unpaired both watches and then did a reset network settings on both phones. Then I rest both watches. I then turned on both phones, logged in to wifi, turned Bluetooth on, signed in to iCloud and iTunes, and turned iMessage and FaceTime back on. Once I was signed back in to everything I re-paired the watches and set them up as new watches (vs setting up with the back ups). I called Apple Care and told them everything I've done and they said I pretty much covered everything and they feel that the problem is with my mom's watch and want us to send it in for repair. I'm a little hesitant to do that because the iCloud and iMessages on her phone are working just fine. Additionally, after all of this pairing and unpairing her maps no longer show her current location or directions, and that was working before all this. Oh! Also, I deleted all messages between she and tried sending new text messages everything was fine there. I also deleted me as a contact on her phone and removed myself as a friend in the watch app. Then I readded my information with only my mobile number Apple ID email address and mailing address only. Didn't change anything when I added my new contact to her friends in the watch app.

Has anyone else experienced an Apple watch not detecting other users with watches and therefore not showing the digital touch icon? My dad's watch should be coming in June and he's really excited about being able to send sketches and heartbeat to my mom. He travels a lot for work and wants to send his heartbeat every night 😉 they're silly in love with each other even after 46 years! So, this is something that's really important for me to figure out for them!

 

[bjdraw]

Maybe you just didn't mention it, but did you try disabling Settings>Messages>Send as SMS on both phones and confirm that when you text each other, both show up as blue (iMessage) and not SMS (green bubbles).

If iMessages isn't working correctly on the iPhone, then Digital touch won't on the Watch.

 

[NaomiO]

Yes. I did disable send as SMS and both phones were sending as iMessages. I also turned off wifi to force it through cellular and the messages between we're still iMessage

 

[bjdraw]

Yes. I did disable send as SMS and both phones were sending as iMessages. I also turned off wifi to force it through cellular and the messages between we're still iMessage

I just read on another thread that you should try to log out of iMessage and back in and ensure both an email address and phone number are configured.