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Apple watch 5 won't route calls to BT Buds w/o iphone near

So, I have done all of the things for trouble shooting. I have an Apple watch 5 that is definitely connected to cellular and Jlabs earbud bluetooth. They are paired and everything and can listen to music through the head phones w/o my iphone near. My question is, are calls supposed to be able to be routed to my earbuds or can they only be taken via watch speaker when no iphone present. I ask because no matter what I do phone calls route through the speaker while everything else works properly. Sorry for the long message I just want to make sure I get an direct answer for my exact question and not trouble shooting answers. Thank you soo much!

Apple Watch Series 5, watchOS 6

Posted on Apr 29, 2020 12:25 PM

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Posted on Apr 30, 2020 3:20 PM

Thank you!

I'm thinking of finding someone with airpods and trying it with those. I am thinking that maybe the two technologies aren't 100% happy with each other. Then I'll just dish some money out for airpods, or i'll bring the watch in to apple. I really want to have full functionality with my watch so I can just ditch my phone completely.

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Apr 30, 2020 3:20 PM in response to Teddy_B

Thank you!

I'm thinking of finding someone with airpods and trying it with those. I am thinking that maybe the two technologies aren't 100% happy with each other. Then I'll just dish some money out for airpods, or i'll bring the watch in to apple. I really want to have full functionality with my watch so I can just ditch my phone completely.

Apr 30, 2020 2:05 PM in response to kevdupuis

Hi there kevdupuis,


Thanks for posting. Using Bluetooth headphones with your Apple Watch is a great idea. If I understand your post correctly, you want to know if you can answer calls and route the audio through your Bluetooth headphones without your iPhone nearby; is that right?


This resource should help. The information below is from the "Answer a call" section of this link: Answer phone calls on Apple Watch


"Answer on your Apple Watch: Tap the Answer button to talk using the built-in microphone and speaker or a Bluetooth device paired with your Apple Watch."


This resource has some related information as well: Connect Apple Watch to Bluetooth headphones or speakers


"Play audio from Apple Watch on Bluetooth headphones or speakers without your iPhone nearby."


Based on this, it sounds like you should be able to do this. Depending on the troubleshooting you already tried, a good next step would be to test using another Bluetooth device. That would tell you if it might be an issue with routing audio, or if it's an issue with the Bluetooth device.


Take care.

Apple watch 5 won't route calls to BT Buds w/o iphone near

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