I have an iPhone 12 (CH/A, China mainland model) and an Apple Watch Series 6 (LL/A model) paired together. As most people know, FaceTime Audio is disabled on the China Mainland iPhones as Apple has to comply with government rules.
What I noticed: when I sign out of FaceTime on my other Apple devices (so the Watch is the only “answering” option besides the phone), and someone calls me on FaceTime Audio, the call comes through — first via the Watch, but afterward my iPhone starts showing FaceTime Audio as available for that same contact, and calls seem to go through on the phone itself too.
I haven’t fully proved whether the iPhone is actually doing this independently, or whether the Watch is still carrying the call in the background while the phone just displays it. So I can’t really prove if I actually bypassed China’s restrictions.
If anyone else has a China-model iPhone + a non-China Apple Watch, curious if you can replicate this. Steps:
1. Sign out of FaceTime on any other Apple ID-linked devices except your iPhone + Watch
2. Have someone FaceTime Audio call you
3. Answer on the Watch
4. Check if FaceTime Audio becomes available for that contact on the iPhone directly afterward
5. Try calling out from the iPhone alone (Watch in airplane mode) to confirm it’s not just relaying
I would love to know if this is repeatable or if I’m just seeing a random glitch. Thank you
What I noticed: when I sign out of FaceTime on my other Apple devices (so the Watch is the only “answering” option besides the phone), and someone calls me on FaceTime Audio, the call comes through — first via the Watch, but afterward my iPhone starts showing FaceTime Audio as available for that same contact, and calls seem to go through on the phone itself too.
I haven’t fully proved whether the iPhone is actually doing this independently, or whether the Watch is still carrying the call in the background while the phone just displays it. So I can’t really prove if I actually bypassed China’s restrictions.
If anyone else has a China-model iPhone + a non-China Apple Watch, curious if you can replicate this. Steps:
1. Sign out of FaceTime on any other Apple ID-linked devices except your iPhone + Watch
2. Have someone FaceTime Audio call you
3. Answer on the Watch
4. Check if FaceTime Audio becomes available for that contact on the iPhone directly afterward
5. Try calling out from the iPhone alone (Watch in airplane mode) to confirm it’s not just relaying
I would love to know if this is repeatable or if I’m just seeing a random glitch. Thank you