14 DAY TRIAL // One of the changes that watchOS implemented on the Apple Watch is the possibility of the animated characters, namely Minnie and Mickey Mouse, to speak the time when the display is tapped.
And while this feature is quite a hit among children, we’ve seen a lot of grown-up buyers who actually love having the time announced by Minnie or Mickey, but for some reason, this feature doesn’t work on their devices.
If you’re a long-time user who participated in Apple’s beta programs, you probably know that similar issues were experienced in the first beta versions of watchOS 3, when some users reported that neither Minnie nor Mickey spoke the time on their devices.
The issue was fixed in the final version, or at least that’s what it seemed at first, but now we’re seeing more and more users complaining about the same issue. So if Minnie and Mickey Mouse do nothing when tapping the Apple Watch face, here’s what you need to know.
Before we start…
First and foremost, you need to make sure that the option to speak the time is enabled. To check its status, open the Watch app and navigate to My Watch > Sounds & Haptics > Tap to Speak Time.
Then, your Apple Watch must not be in silent mode. On the Watch face, swipe up and disable Silent mode if it’s turned on. Also, the iPhone needs to be connected to Wi-Fi the first time you set the Mickey or Minnie Mouse face - this appears to be quite a critical thing, as we’ve seen plenty of reports claiming that the feature fails to work on 3G or 4G data connection.
If this is the first time you set up the Mickey or Minnie Mouse face, you must wait up to 10 minutes after setting the face and connecting the iPhone to Wi-Fi.
Troubleshooting
Fixing the bug that prevents the Apple Watch from speaking the time comes down to just a few simple steps, which you should try in the order below (make sure you try to see if speaking the time works correctly after running each of the steps):
#1 – Apple Watch reboot. For some reason, it turns out that rebooting the Watch actually fixes the problem in some cases, which means it’s just an operating system glitch that goes away at reboot. This is clearly the easiest way to address the problem, although it does take a few minutes to restart the Watch.
#2 – Soft reset. This can be done easily without losing anything, such as data and settings. All you have to do is hold down the side button and the Digital Crown at the same time for at least 10 seconds until the Apple logo appears. Once the logo shows up, just let the buttons go and let the device complete the loading process.
#3 – Unpair and pair the Watch again. Launch the Watch app, go to your watch, tap the small “i” icon, and tap the option that says “Unpair Apple Watch.” To pair it again, simply launch the Watch app and follow the initial process of setting up the device.
#4 – Complete reset. If nothing works, your only option is to perform a full reset of the device. Open the Settings app on the Apple Watch, go to General, scroll down to Reset and tap the option that says “Erase all Content and Settings.” You need to pair the Watch again when the process comes to an end.
Step #4 is pretty much the most extreme option and obviously takes more time, but it should fix almost any issue that you might be having with the Apple Watch. If you have another workaround that helped you fix the Apple Watch faces not speaking the time, make sure you share it with the other readers by posting it in the comment box below.