Is your watch loud enough?

[superliu]

Are you able to have a conversation with your Apple watch?

I find the speaker way too quiet. I can be at home in a room by myself and I still can't hold a conversation on the watch because i can't hear the other person. There's no chance if i am outdoor or driving.

I remember the speaker used to be better. I do shower and throw the watch around, I wonder if I cause the speaker to be not as effective somehow.

What's your experience with the speaker or having a phone call on the watch?

 

[Recognition]

I thought my speaker was getting worse but turned out to be a side effect of getting the watch wet. After a night on the charger it was back to normal in the morning.
I even went as far as recording the decibel level of the volume 'click' with an old sound meter...
Before I was getting about 20db at max volume,
The next day it was up to 45db.
(Screen shot of the video I took for my comparison, Max reading was 45db at zero distance)
Anybody else got a sound meter and want to give it a go?

 

[superliu]

I thought my speaker was getting worse but turned out to be a side effect of getting the watch wet. After a night on the charger it was back to normal in the morning.
I even went as far as recording the decibel level of the volume 'click' with an old sound meter...
Before I was getting about 20db at max volume,
The next day it was up to 45db.
(Screen shot of the video I took for my comparison, Max reading was 45db at zero distance)
Anybody else got a sound meter and want to give it a go?

Thank you for that information. I guess no chatting while in the shower (and a while after) then.

 

[iBlazed]

Thank you for that information. I guess no chatting while in the shower (and a while after) then.

It's near impossible to have a conversation on the watch. The speaker is VERY quiet. It would be such a nice feature to use around the house if the speaker were louder. Damn shame. Hopefully it's artificially kept low and the max volume will be increased with a software update.

 

[Tom G.]

No, but then I have a hearing problem. Even my iPhone isn't loud enough on some calls.

But the taptic engine makes up for it. I know I have an incoming call and answer it on my iPhone.

 

[Recognition]

Thank you for that information. I guess no chatting while in the shower (and a while after) then.

I can just about hold a conversation on my watch but it has to be in a quiet place. I wear mywatch only left wrist, so if I place my hand I my right shoulder, it's close enough to my ear to hear well, but I might as well use my phone in that case!

 

[T-Will]

It's pretty quiet, but loud enough to have a quick conversation in a pinch.

 

[Newtons Apple]

Not being Dick Tracey, I have never even use my AW for conversation on the phone. Hard to expect good or louder speaker quality on a tiny water resistant speaker through a pin hole. I still enjoy using my 6+ and did not get the AW to replace it while on the phone.

 

[maflynn]

Tbh, I feel kind of foolish talking into my phone and then putting it to my ear. I have the phone on mute for all the other sounds so I can't say if my speaker is sufficiently loud or not.

 

[Rok73]

No, because I muted it. Taps on the wrist are enough.

 

[Recognition]

Tbh, I feel kind of foolish talking into my phone and then putting it to my ear. I have the phone on mute for all the other sounds so I can't say if my speaker is sufficiently loud or not.

It take it you meant 'watch' instead of 'phone'?!

 

[superliu]

I am not talking about the ringer not being loud enough. and yes the haptics is enough to alert an incoming call - I also have my watch in mute.

A couple of nights ago, I received a phone call while in the basement and my phone was upstairs, I answered it with the AW and I couldn't hear a thing. I had to run upstairs while yelling hold on, hold on, I can't hear you etc etc. Not ideal, no very professional if it was a client. It'd nice to be able to hold a conversation with the watch or at least I can tell who called and tell them i will call them back.

Also my original concern was I find the speaker a lot quieter now then it was when I first got the watch. But Recognition (on the 2nd post) explained why I was getting different volume on the watch. I did shower before receiving that call, so concern is explained

 

[friedmud]

It could definitely be louder.

It works fine in my quiet house when I'm alone... but I can't use it while outside at all... especially in the city.

 

[C7 POWER]

I did shower with mine last night and then about an hour later my wife called and I answered it from the watch, and the the call was not as loud as it normally is, so maybe thats why, But you said yours went back to normal the next day? So maybe the next call I get I will see how it sounds.

I do not shower with mine often, I have done it 3 times, but this was the first time a call came in within hours after the shower.

 

[papbot]

I can hear my wife's conversation on it when she's in a different room of our house talking to one of her friends. I can't make out what the friend's actual words are but I can recognize the voice. I've had no problems talking to my wife on it unless I'm outside near traffic. I do keep the volume at its max but I find it more than adequate.

If it's become more muted perhaps restarting it would resolve this. And yes keep water out of it.