Initiate call from apple watch - ios

Question

I am developing an apple watch extension for an already existing application.
My watch application has contact us section where customer can call toll free number.
My question is how can i start call in apple watch on click of button rather than keeping my application in foreground and starting the call.
Currently i am using this code to start call
+ (void)callWithNumberWithoutPrompt:(NSString *)phoneNo {
NSString *prefixedMobileNumber = [phoneNo hasPrefix:#"+"]?phoneNo:[NSString stringWithFormat:#"+%#",phoneNo];
NSString *phoneNumber = [#"tel://" stringByAppendingString:prefixedMobileNumber];
[[UIApplication sharedApplication] openURL:[NSURL URLWithString:phoneNumber]];
}

Answer 1

Note: this was true on WatchOS 1, and may have changed with the release of WatchOS 2.
From Ray Wenderlich WatchKit FAQ:
Can third-party apps make phone calls from a watch app?
No. There is no public API that lets you initiate a phone call directly from a WatchKit extension. Since the companion iPhone app can’t be brought to the foreground either, the system silently ignores all phone call or openURL: requests from the companion iPhone app.

Answer 2

Using WatchConnectivity in WatchOS2 you can send data from the watch app back to the parent app and then attempt to initiate the call from the parent app. Here is an example:
//App Delegate in iOS Parent App
#pragma mark Watch Kit Data Sharing
-(void)initializeWatchKit{
if ([WCSession isSupported]){
WCSession *session = [WCSession defaultSession];
session.delegate = self;
[session activateSession];
}
}
- (void)session:(WCSession *)session didReceiveMessage:(NSDictionary<NSString *, id> *)message{
DLog(#"%#", message);
[self callRestaurantWithNumber:[NSString formattedPhoneNumber:[message valueForKey:#"phone_number"]]];
}
-(void)callRestaurantWithNumber:(NSString *)formattedPhoneNumber{
[[UIApplication sharedApplication]
openURL:[NSURL URLWithString:[NSString stringWithFormat:#"tel:%#",
formattedPhoneNumber]]];
}
- (BOOL)application:(UIApplication *)application didFinishLaunchingWithOptions:(NSDictionary *)launchOptions {
[self initializeWatchKit];
return YES;
}
Now inside the watchKit extension you can send the data back to the parent application like this:
override func willActivate() {
super.willActivate()
if WCSession.isSupported() {
let defaultSession = WCSession.defaultSession()
defaultSession.delegate = self
defaultSession.activateSession()
if defaultSession.reachable == true {
let phoneNumberDict = [ "phone_number": "123-456-7890"]
defaultSession.sendMessage(phoneNumberDict, replyHandler: nil, errorHandler: { (error) -> Void in
print("THERE WAS AN ERROR SENDING DATA TO THE IOS APP: \(error.localizedDescription)")
})
}
}
}
However the one limitation I've encountered with this approach is the parent application needs to be open to actually receive the data and make the call. The documentation seems to state that the application will be opened in the background when you send a message from the watch to the ios parent app. However in my testing so far, on both real devices (watch and iphone) and simulators, the parent app only receives the data when the parent ios app is open and foregrounded. Even when the ios parent app is in a background state it still does not seem to initiate the call. I'm running this on watch os2 and iOS 9.0.2.
From another post that also appears to be running into the same problem.
Another watchKit SO post
Link to the Apple documentation too:
Apple Doc sendMessage: