DirectTalk 2

Connectivity

• Ensure that you have Wi-Fi enabled within system settings to connect to devices. Internet or Wi-Fi connection is not necessary, the app just needs to access the Wi-Fi radio.

• Ensure you have Microphone and Local Network access allowed to use the app. For best background use, also allow access to send Notifications.

• Ensure all devices are on the same channel and secret (if set).

• The app will automatically decide the protocols to use to directly connect to the other device.

  • When operating over peer-to-peer connections, good performance is maintained when all devices are in a 10 meter range. Otherwise, you will be warned if your audio message does not seem to be transmitting correctly. When this happens, audio may cut in and out, and you might experience delays or repeated failing connections.

  • To operate over WLAN connections, ensure all devices are connected to the same Wi-Fi network or Wi-Fi networks sharing the same Local Area Network. The app should automatically use wireless LAN, as long as the Wi-Fi access points and routers do not block Bonjour discovery (multicast DNS) and inter-device communication.

• If you’re experiencing connectivity issues despite verifying all of the above, try restarting the app or your device.

Audio Activation and Controls

• Traditional Push-to-Talk (PTT) mode is supported and is the default. Hold down the microphone button to transmit, and release to stop.

• Hands-free usage is supported via Voice Activated transmission, a.k.a. voice-operated exchange (VOX). Voice Isolation is recommended. Configure the microphone to use this activation and processing mode in settings or via the quick toggles available on the homepage.

• Raise to Speak activates the microphone when your phone is raised to your ear, and deactivates when it is lowered. You can feel a haptic feedback whenever the microphone is toggled.

• Earphone/headphone/earbud buttons to control the walkie talkie is supported, as long as you allow usage of the system call UI on iOS or iPadOS 17 and later, and that the OS supports your hardware for native microphone control. Currently, this is only verified with various models of Apple AirPods. Check your system settings to see the number of presses required. These buttons may only toggle the microphone on and off and do not support Push-to-Talk.

• Using third-party push-to-talk hardware is not officially verified or supported. Use the free-trial to test whether your hardware is compatible.

Audio Engine Errors

The audio engine powers the handling of microphone input and audio playback.

• If you’re experiencing issues turning on the Audio Engine, try disconnecting and reconnecting to the channel. Alternatively, try restarting the app or your device. If the issue persists, please contact support.

Background Operation Limits

• Running in the background uses the native phone call UI, which can only toggle the microphone on and off and does not support Push-to-Talk.

• Raise to Speak cannot be used in the background.

• Background operations may fail in certain extreme circumstances due to iOS and iPadOS restrictions on background tasks. To ensure you get notified whenever the app unexpectedly fails in the background, enable notifications.

Manual Connections and Routing

• The app does automatic discovery over Bonjour of nearby devices. This requires multicast DNS (mDNS) to be allowed if you want to connect via WLAN. If you wish to connect to a device manually, you may specify the network address (IP or hostname) and port in connections page. You must still be on the same channel (and secret, if set) to connect.

• In very specific situations, the app could connect via the Internet, despite its design for local proximity usage. This is possible if you manually specified an address on the Internet that happens to have the app running, or if you are using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) service with a private LAN, and that forwards Bonjour (mDNS) packets to all devices on the same VPN.

• The app may believe a connection is operating over the Internet when it isn’t, and vice versa. It does this by simply checking if the IP address is within the local network range - this detection fails if your network is misconfigured, or you’re connected to a private LAN routed by a VPN via the Internet.

Networking and Performance

• The app internally uses Apple Wireless Direct Link (AWDL) for peer-to-peer connections. This technology is similar to Wi-Fi Direct, but is proprietary and only officially usable on Apple devices. Using AWDL can potentially degrade performance for other Wi-Fi traffic. As such, the app may try to use WLAN when it is feasible to do so, even in close proximity.

• The app currently transmits at up to 30kB/s (240kbps) per connection (using 16-bit 16kHz audio). This means network traffic increases with more devices, and may overwhelm nearby Wi-Fi networks or your LAN infrastructure if many people use the app on the same channel. Support for multicast may come in the future to mitigate this.

Purchasing and Licensing

• Free-trials are limited to 15 minutes per session. You can launch a new session after one ends, which resets the timer, for as many times as you wish. This allows you to adequately test all possible scenarios you’re interested in before purchasing. Extended session trial lengths are available via customer support.

• All license purchases must go through the Apple App Store. Licenses are tied to your Apple Account, and can be used on all your devices tied to the same account. You can also share your license with your family via Apple Family Sharing.

• Pricing may vary between regions due to taxes and exchange rates. The price for your region is visible when you view the app on the App Store.

• Bulk purchases may not yet be available. Businesses interested to deploy DirectTalk may contact support to get notified when a business license or bulk-purchase is available. Please ensure to test the app using the free trial, and confirm that it meets your requirements, works with the maximum anticipated users, and does not overwhelm your network.

Legacy Version

• The legacy version of DirectTalk (Walkie Talkie P2P) is still available for download here, but is no longer maintained. It is recommended to upgrade to DirectTalk 2 to access the latest features and compatibility with newer device models and operating systems.

• Version 1 operates on a different protocol and is NOT compatible with DirectTalk 2. Specifically, version 1 operates using a voice message queue and trust-and-connect system, whereas version 2 operates via live audio streaming and channel-based connections.

• The legacy version uses functionality that may not work correctly on newer OS versions (e.g., background operations are more likely to be halted by iOS).

• If you would like to try DirectTalk 1 on old devices without paying for the legacy license, please contact support.

New users get a free trial where each session is limited to 15 minutes. You can launch a new session after one ends, which resets the timer, for as many times as you wish - use this to test all possible scenarios you’re interested in before purchasing.

Once you’re satisfied that DirectTalk suits your use case, just make a small one-time purchase to get the full license - no subscriptions!

If you wish to test a use case that requires a session length longer than 15 minutes before your purchase, please contact customer support.

Users of the previous version of the app may claim a discounted license upgrade by keeping the old version installed during the purchase process.

• DirectTalk could result in increased power consumption, and possibly degrade or overwhelm nearby networks.

• DirectTalk is not a safety system and should not be relied on exclusively in emergencies. For example, even though the signals used could theoretically achieve extremely long ranges with unobstructed line-of-sight, they get significantly weaker by pretty much any obstacle you can think of - walls, furniture, people, trees, rain, etc. - plus, other electronic devices using Wi-Fi or Bluetooth nearby also cause signal interference. Always have a backup system in place in critical environments.

• Some features of DirectTalk may not be available in certain regions due to regulatory restrictions.

• DirectTalk is not available for purchase in certain regions.

• As of the current release, DirectTalk could be installed on iOS/iPadOS 15-16, macOS 12+ (Apple Silicon), or visionOS 1+, but doing so is untested and the app may not work as expected.