Contact support
Email support@wristrelay.com for installation, account, purchase, privacy, or safety help. You do not need an active Wrist Relay account to contact support. Include the build numbers from both devices and the approximate event time when reporting a problem.
Do not include access tokens, notification tokens, private invitation links, or recorded speech.
Install the Apple Watch app
- Open the Watch app on the paired iPhone.
- Select My Watch.
- Scroll to Available Apps.
- Select Install next to Wrist Relay.
- Open Wrist Relay on the Apple Watch and sign in if asked.
- Tap Continue Setup if shown. If microphone access or notifications are off, follow the Watch’s Settings instructions.
Account setup
Sign in directly on iPhone or Apple Watch with Sign in with Apple, or choose the offered paired account. Use the same Wrist Relay account for My Watch and My iPhone. If the apps show different accounts, open Settings → Account and choose Use paired account here, or sign out of that device and sign in to the intended account. Opening an app does not replace its account.
Compare build numbers in Wrist Relay Settings → Devices & Connection. A companion build is the last reported version, not a guarantee that the other device has updated. Open both apps to refresh their reported versions.
Invitations and friend requests
On iPhone, choose Add Friends, select a contact, and send the invitation in Messages. Settings → Invitations & Friends → Create an invitation... opens the same flow. Each invitation is for one person.
The recipient opens the link and chooses Accept invitation. The sender then checks the account shown on the Friends screen and chooses Confirm friend. Talking becomes available only after confirmation. Wrist Relay can notify the sender after acceptance and the recipient after confirmation. These alerts go to iPhone when it is registered, or directly to Apple Watch when no eligible iPhone is registered. You can clear expired invitations from Invitations & Friends; clearing history does not make a link valid again. Alerts are retried for a short window. Installing the app or enabling notifications later may not replay an earlier alert. Open Friends to check progress if a notification is off, delayed or missed.
If an alert could not be sent because no device was registered, setting up notifications can trigger one reminder for friend requests that still need your confirmation. Completed and expired requests are not replayed.
Messages lets you change the recipient, and links can be forwarded. A contact name or photo does not verify who accepted. If the wrong person accepts, use Not the right person? → Send a new invitation…. Choose the intended contact again. Wrist Relay replaces the old link only when the new invitation can be created. If you reach an invitation limit, the old link stays available. Cancelling contact selection leaves the old invitation alone.
Waiting invitations have an options button for Send a new invitation… or Cancel invitation. Either person can cancel an unconfirmed request. Links and pending requests expire seven days after creation; expired items remain visible for another week so you can recover. If cancellation fails, keep the card and try again when online.
With several invitations, Friends shows one Invitations summary. Tap it, or open Settings → Invitations & Friends, to review the list. Requests needing your confirmation appear first. The badge counts only those requests; waiting and expired invitations do not need your immediate attention. Closing the list leaves requests pending.
You can create 15 invitation links per rolling 24 hours with a free account, or 30 with a paid account. You can have up to 20 outstanding invitations at once. Each new link counts, including replacements and links whose Messages composer you cancel. Cancelling or replacing a link does not restore the allowance. Network retries of the same creation count only once. If you reach the rolling 24-hour limit, the app tells you when you can create another. You can still accept, confirm, reject or cancel existing invitations.
For a link that stays in the browser, use Settings → Invitations & Friends → Trouble opening an invitation?, paste the complete link or code, then choose Review invitation. A failed lookup offers a retry. If setup or the app was interrupted, reopen the original message. Watch offers the same link recovery screen; create replacement invitations on iPhone.
Imported contact photos need a separate, optional review in Choose Contact Photo or Settings → Notifications & Privacy → Contact photos. Photo review does not prevent you from talking. Your own photo under Settings → Account → My contact photo is also private to your devices.
Install Wrist Relay
Check Wrist Relay’s release page for download availability. Once the app is available and installed on your iPhone, return to the original invitation message, open its link again, and sign in. The sender confirms your account before you can talk.
Microphone or audio problems
- Open Wrist Relay on the device you want to use.
- Join a conversation in Voice mode. If microphone guidance appears, tap Continue and allow access. If access is off, use the displayed Settings instructions.
- Wait for HOLD TO TALK.
- Hold the talk control and wait for TALKING before speaking.
- Keep holding while you speak, then release to stop. The circle uses your chosen talking colors, so color alone does not indicate readiness.
A voice turn ends automatically after 1 minute 55 seconds, allowing its final audio to finish within two minutes. The app shows TURN ENDED or Turn ended. Hold to talk again. Release the control and hold it again to take another turn. If you use Double Tap, start a new turn with another gesture.
Use the Digital Crown on the Watch conversation screen to change local playback volume. On iPhone, use the system volume controls. On supported Watches, Double Tap can keep voice transmission on; double tap again or tap the talk control to stop. Configure it in Settings → Controls & Shortcuts. Allowing microphone access never starts a transmission by itself.
Local Wi-Fi and internet
Wrist Relay tries a direct local connection over Wi-Fi, Ethernet or USB, then direct internet peer-to-peer where supported. Premium makes your local friend speech free; Free and Plus-only speakers use their own allowance. My Devices stays free locally for everyone, and supported direct internet peer-to-peer uses no minutes. Relay and TURN use your account’s minutes. Usage follows the actual connection and your verified entitlement, not a nearby-device hint or preference. Internet is still required for account setup, invitations and coordinating friend conversations; this is not an offline walkie-talkie mode.
On iPhone, open Wrist Relay Settings → Devices & Connection and tap Enable Local Network if shown. Allow access when Apple asks. This button starts discovery; it does not confirm that permission was granted. Apple Watch has no separate Local Network permission or prompt.
To change the iPhone permission later, open the iPhone Settings app → Privacy & Security → Local Network → Wrist Relay. If Wrist Relay is missing, sign in and keep the app open on Wi-Fi after enabling discovery. The system lists the app after it attempts local network access.
Require local connection in Devices & Connection prevents relay fallback on that device. It applies to the next connection. If either person requires a local connection and a direct connection cannot be made, talking must wait. Leave it off to allow automatic relay fallback. Guest or public Wi-Fi may block connections between devices even when both use the same network name.
On Wi-Fi in Friends is a discovery hint, not proof of an audio connection. Blue means current detection; 1m–4m ago means earlier detection. The badge disappears at five minutes. An active local connection shows Local Wi-Fi for Wi-Fi or Direct LAN for Ethernet or USB. Blue local glyphs and Unlimited appear for Premium friend conversations and for My Devices; Free and Plus-only friend speakers use their own minutes and show Connected. A Premium sender stays free locally even with a non-Premium friend; My Devices stays free locally for every account.
Notifications and Live Activities
On an incoming talk request, choose Mute for 1 hour to stop further requests from that friend. You can also open the friend's options on iPhone, or Settings → Invitations & Friends → the friend on either device, and choose Mute talk invitations for one hour, eight hours, or until you turn it off. Muting withdraws pending requests across your devices, but does not end a conversation you have already joined. You can still invite the friend yourself. The sender sees that you are not taking talk invitations right now. Removing or blocking a friend clears their mute setting.
After an unanswered talk request ends, wait 20 seconds before inviting the same friend again. Repeated unanswered requests are also limited over a rolling hour; the app gives a retry time when that limit is reached. Joined conversations do not count toward the normal unanswered-request limit.
The Wrist Relay friend subtitle identifies a talk request from a confirmed connection in this app. It does not verify the person's real-world identity.
In Wrist Relay Settings → Notifications & Privacy, choose whether conversation notifications are sent to Both, Watch or iPhone. This choice follows your account, but Apple controls presentation. Both does not guarantee that both devices alert. Focus, Silent Mode, alert settings and Scheduled Summary can affect delivery or sound.
Use Notification Settings on iPhone to manage its alerts. For Watch alerts, open the Watch app on your iPhone → My Watch → Notifications → Wrist Relay. Notifications invite you to join; they do not start microphone recording.
Live Activities show ongoing conversation status on the iPhone Lock Screen and supported Watch Smart Stack. Manage them in Wrist Relay Settings → Notifications & Privacy → Live Activities on iPhone; the settings button opens the iPhone app settings. Apple controls their availability and presentation.
Sound, appearance and shortcuts
Settings → Sound & Morse controls radio effects, opening and closing cues, and Morse tones. Your transmit sound is sent with your voice; a listener can follow it or choose a receive effect. Both sides hear the sender's Morse tone unless they choose None in the Morse tone list to mute it on their own devices. Test radio records up to five seconds of your voice locally so you can try every effect for free; the recording is discarded when you leave. Each Morse tone has its own free preview button.
Settings → My Appearance controls your talking colors and waveform. Your talking colors appear to others when you transmit; receiving follows the sender. There is no separate receiving-color selection. LGBTQ+ Rainbow and Original colors are free; Rainbow is the default for new accounts. Flat trace is the free waveform; all other waveform choices belong to Premium.
Settings → Controls & Shortcuts → Default conversation & favorites chooses what Favorite Conversation opens and manages favorites. The default and favorites follow your account. Arrange friend cards from Sort → Edit Custom Order on the friends list. Premium also includes private groups: choose Sort → New Group, enter a name, and select friends. Each person belongs to one group; Favorites stay pinned at the top without duplicates. Use a group’s options to edit its name or people. Edit Custom Order also arranges groups. Deleting a group keeps everyone in Friends. On Apple Watch, pin up to 12 Favorites to keep frequent friends at the top of a long list. On iPhone, use Find a friend to search.
Plans, minutes and purchases
Every plan—Free, Premium one-time purchase, and Plus subscription—allows up to the monthly talk limit shown in Plan & Usage. The meter shows your account's actual usage, remaining allowance and reset date. Minutes measure your plan's metered talking, not reserved capacity or guaranteed delivered audio. Availability, network conditions and proportionate service safeguards can affect access even when minutes remain.
Monthly allowances do not roll over or stack, and restoring a purchase does not reset usage. Metered Morse uses 50% fewer talk minutes: two minutes of sending use one minute of allowance, including pauses within the transmission. Voice uses minutes one-to-one. Receiving, idle or connection time, built-in cues, Premium local friend speech, My Devices local speech, supported direct internet peer-to-peer talking, Echo and Practice do not spend talk minutes. There are no minute-overage charges.
Premium is a one-time feature unlock that includes extra cues and radio effects, additional flag palettes, waveforms beyond Flat trace, favorites, private friend groups and quick access, the option to require a local connection, sending Morse and Practice Morse. Anyone can receive Morse or preview tones and radio effects. Premium is not lifetime server hosting. Its included remote allowance is available only while the relevant service is offered. Plus supplies up to its disclosed monthly limit and renews through Apple until canceled; Premium features are a separate purchase. Check the offer's price, features and maximum allowance before buying.
To restore an eligible purchase, use Restore Purchases while signed into the owning Wrist Relay account and the Apple Account used to buy it. Manage cancellation through Apple subscription settings; deleting an account does not cancel billing. For a missing purchase or service problem, contact support. See the allowance and availability terms and purchase and refund terms.
Diagnostics
Open Settings → Help & Support → Diagnostics. You can turn automatic sending off, send diagnostics now, or export logs on iPhone. Watch can send diagnostics directly or transfer logs to iPhone for export. Delivery may wait for connectivity or the next app launch. Include the approximate event time, both build numbers and the receipt when contacting support.
Diagnostics do not contain speech audio or credentials.
Account and safety
Use Settings → Account on either device to sign out of that device, sign out everywhere, or delete your account. Account deletion applies everywhere and removes associated server data.
During deletion, Continue with Apple verifies your account and removes the app's Apple authorization. If you choose manual removal, also open your Apple account's Sign in with Apple settings, select Wrist Relay and stop using Sign in with Apple for it. Apple's instructions explain where to find this setting. App account deletion does not cancel Apple subscription billing; manage subscriptions separately in Apple settings.
On iPhone, open Settings → Invitations & Friends. On Watch, open Settings → Notifications & Privacy → Invitations & Friends. You can remove, block, or report someone there or from their contact menu. Blocking also ends open sessions between both people.
If immediate danger exists, contact local emergency services. Wrist Relay is not an emergency service.