LG G Watch R wifi

[SickMickUK]

Apparently feature not to be activated on watch R?

All Android Wear watches have Wi-Fi chips, but some won’t get Wi-Fi support | Ars Technica

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[B. Diddy]

According to that article, it's because those watches lack a wi-fi antenna. Bummer--I was starting to think about getting a Zenwatch! Maybe I'll see how the Urbane looks.

 

[SickMickUK]

But others say it supports wifi

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[B. Diddy]

Which others? The 3 articles I've seen so far agree that the watch won't be able to support the wi-fi features. Two articles said it was because they lacked the wi-fi chip, but the Ars Technica article you linked clarified that it was due to a lack of a wi-fi antenna (since the wi-fi chip itself is actually on the SoC). But it still doesn't matter--if the watch doesn't have an antenna, it won't be able to transmit or receive via wi-fi.

 

[SickMickUK]

So Bluetooth only option

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[B. Diddy]

Yep. But I was wondering how often I'd be wearing a smartwatch without having my phone nearby, and I don't think it would be very often at all. Remember that this is wi-fi, not mobile data--so you'd have to be somewhere where there's an open wi-fi network for the watch to connect to.

 

[mr_nobody]

Yep. But I was wondering how often I'd be wearing a smartwatch without having my phone nearby, and I don't think it would be very often at all. Remember that this is wi-fi, not mobile data--so you'd have to be somewhere where there's an open wi-fi network for the watch to connect to.

Not only that...as I understand it, it has to be a wifi network that _your phone has previously connected to_. Not very flexible.

 

[B. Diddy]

Really? So does the watch only sync its wi-fi credentials with the phone, and not save them locally?

 

[mr_nobody]

It has to store them locally because the whole point is the watch is not connected to the phone. But my understanding from an article I read was it gets those credentials, etc. from what the phone knows.

 

[staffnsnake]

The Snapdragon 400 has integrated wifi in the chip, as per qualcomm's website, so it will likely support 5.1.1. Nevertheless, I have submitted a query to LG support.

 

[SickMickUK]

Apparently at the lg watch r press conference (announcement) they said it supports wifi. But now they say it doesn't

Let aa know what they say.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[mr_nobody]

Many of the watches have the wifi chip (it is part of the soc) but no antenna, hence wifi will NOT work. That includes GWR.

 

[theShiz]

Yep. But I was wondering how often I'd be wearing a smartwatch without having my phone nearby, and I don't think it would be very often at all. Remember that this is wi-fi, not mobile data--so you'd have to be somewhere where there's an open wi-fi network for the watch to connect to.

Yeah after I read your comment I thought about how much I really need wifi on my watch when I don't have my phone around. It was pretty much zilch. So I went ahead and bought the LGW-R on Google Play for 249. I had a Zenwatch which I put on eBay and it literally sold within 5 minutes for 200 bucks. I was surprised considering that they could've bought it on Google Play for the same price new, but hey. My main point of selling it was to get the wifi but I also wanted something that looked a little bit more robust. I loved that Zenwatch, I can tell by how constantly I keep looking at my wrist forgetting that I've already sold my watch yesterday. I didn't realize how much I quick text people from my watch, and deleting emails that weren't important from it was pretty nice too. That watch needs to hurry up and get here. But as far as my lifestyle I'm kind of an outdoorsy/indoorsy regular guy in beach shorts and flip flops type who doesn't own a suit and suffers a little bit from material apathy. Watch just didn't always fit the setting. I'm pretty sure that LG watch will be more my style.

Meanwhile.. at the Hall of Justice!

 

[B. Diddy]

Meanwhile.. at the Hall of Justice!

Love this sig. Where's Gleek?

 

[Lord zeel]

They made it pretty clear in their IFA 2014 press conference that it was "fully future proof" and the slide specifically mentions "Bluetooth & Wi-Fi" (I can't link the video...)

I have seen multiple articles, as well as the LG UK tweet that seems to confirm that that it doesn't - but the tweet might be wrong (or refer to the square G Watch), and all the articles seem to cite either it or each other. That is to say, it's a lot of mutual speculation.

I have also heard that Wi-Fi should share the antenna with BT, though I'm not certain if that is true. Furthermore, they do have FCC certification for Wi-Fi.

Either way, the iFixit teardown makes it look relatively easy to pull apart, I wonder if it would be possible to add an antenna if it really doesn't have one. Surely the Wi-Fi function could be forcibly enabled with root, and we know the chip has the ability, it seems like the only issue would be soldering on an antenna.

 

[TJ Kelly Jr]

Yeah after I read your comment I thought about how much I really need wifi on my watch when I don't have my phone around. It was pretty much zilch. So I went ahead and bought the LGW-R on Google Play for 249. I had a Zenwatch which I put on eBay and it literally sold within 5 minutes for 200 bucks. I was surprised considering that they could've bought it on Google Play for the same price new, but hey. My main point of selling it was to get the wifi but I also wanted something that looked a little bit more robust. I loved that Zenwatch, I can tell by how constantly I keep looking at my wrist forgetting that I've already sold my watch yesterday. I didn't realize how much I quick text people from my watch, and deleting emails that weren't important from it was pretty nice too. That watch needs to hurry up and get here. But as far as my lifestyle I'm kind of an outdoorsy/indoorsy regular guy in beach shorts and flip flops type who doesn't own a suit and suffers a little bit from material apathy. Watch just didn't always fit the setting. I'm pretty sure that LG watch will be more my style.

Meanwhile.. at the Hall of Justice!

The point of Wi-Fi though would be for the time where you might walk out of range of your phone but still within Wi-Fi range. For me this would be when my phone is on my charger and I walk to the other side of my house, could be potentially handy.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[staffnsnake]

I wrote to LG support. They actually telephoned me back (in Australia). They said that the above poster is correct. There may be a wifi component in the snapdragon 400 but there is indeed no antenna, so wifi will not work. He furthermore said that the GWR will get no further updates (I asked him if the other new features such as the always-on screen for Strava and the like would still work - he said "No"). The GWR will not be getting any updates past 5.0.2, at least not in Australia.

 

[sirholiday]

Well that's the biggest misinformation I've heard. No more updates past 5.0.2? Lol all the watches will be updated, some might not get WiFi, but they will get updated. Often people of those tech phone calls don't really know a thing about what's going on. They are there to help with scripted problems. Also, with all the digging I've done, I really think the GWR will get WiFi. It has an antenna, WiFi uses Bluetooth antenna.

 

[mr_nobody]

At this point, I think all the watches are still getting updates so that's just wrong.

Also, the whole antenna thing seems to be up in the air. The ars technica article claimed no antenna. However discussion on xda claims that is BS and LG are just being greedy/lazy so at this point, who knows?

 

[Scott Nelson5]

See message as of today:

Chat Transcript
Time of chat: 5/18/2015 2:02:45 PM
Length of chat: 00:21:07
Your name: Allen Nelson
Chatted with: Dennis

2:02 PM Megan: Hello Allen Nelson. Welcome to LG Electronics U.S.A. Support only. How may I provide you with excellent service today?
2:05 PM Allen Nelson: When I decided to purchase my LG G Watch R, it was based on your advertisement that it had WiFi capabilities. Now all of the Press releases say it does not. In your statement at the IFA event, Bluetooth and WiFi are both on the screen. So the question I have is, when will the update come out to wear 5.1, and will my watch have the WiFi capabilities, or is it now justy a $300.00 paperweight?
2:06 PM Megan: I have a specific department that can assist you with this concern, let me go ahead and transfer your chat to them to better assist you with this.
2:06 PM Allen Nelson: Thank you.
2:08 PM Notice: Megan transferred Allen Nelson to Dennis.
2:08 PM Notice: Dennis has joined the chat session.
2:08 PM Notice: Megan has exited the chat session.
2:08 PM Notice: Megan has exited the chat session.
2:11 PM Allen Nelson: Dennis, are you there?
2:13 PM Dennis: Sorry I had a Bit of technical Issue.
2:14 PM Allen Nelson: Will the LG G WAtch R get an update soon, and will it have WiFi capabilities as advertised and shown on the screen at the IFA event?
2:15 PM Dennis: We have not been informed yet about the exact date of release for the update of the WIFI for the Gwatch R.
So reading this, they will update and WiFi will work.