Which Google apps should show notifications and sync over cellular data?

[evlarberryman]

Foxbat I know nav worked when I manually disconnected my urbane from the phone using the Android wear app, but the phone was still with me. I will try again today later by physically leaving my phone and let you know.

On another note, do you have connection issues when you leave the range of your watch? My phone feature on the watch works fine, but about once or twice a day when I leave the range of my watch it doesn't connect to the Google server/phone remotely for full voice functionality. I have to turn off then on the watch to get it to work. I've already returned one watch because of this. The new one I've had this week seems to do better but not perfect. A bit frustrating.

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[foxbat121]

I manually turn on/off cellular radio. Never had any problem. Not sure about leaving it in auto mode because I never do.

About Gmaps, it really doesn't matter if the phone is with you or not. It is only about the connection. BT connection means the watch will use phone GPS and has 100% functionality. Cellular connection means the watch will have to use its own GPS. The feature limitation I referred to seems to be the limitation on the app which I have not re-tested recently.

 

[evlarberryman]

Foxbat, that's an option or you? Mine has off and auto for cellular on android wear 1.5 and the new watch.

Also, mine has the wifi the same way and for some annoying reason even though I turn it off it turns back on on it own.

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[evlarberryman]

I manually turn on/off cellular radio. Never had any problem. Not sure about leaving it in auto mode because I never do.

About Gmaps, it really doesn't matter if the phone is with you or not. It is only about the connection. BT connection means the watch will use phone GPS and has 100% functionality. Cellular connection means the watch will have to use its own GPS. The feature limitation I referred to seems to be the limitation on the app which I have not re-tested recently.

I agree with you on the connection being the key. Makes sense based on how I've observed and tested the watch. I have noticed however that the watch will still connect to the phone even if I toggle the Bluetooth off. I have to go into the Android wear app to actually disconnect the watch. Seems strange but I have tested this on mine to confirm.

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[foxbat121]

Foxbat, that's an option or you? Mine has off and auto for cellular on android wear 1.5 and the new watch.

Also, mine has the wifi the same way and for some annoying reason even though I turn it off it turns back on on it own.

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Same. I don't turn on cellular(or rather auto which turns on cellular all the time regardless the name).

Just tested GMap on cellular connection, it does work now. However , the phone is also showing up the same navigation screen. If you leave phone at home and it starts to give directions, that will be weird for someone at home .

The AW connection status just reflect your watches the connection to your phone, be it BT, Wi-Fi or cellular data. Both devices will seek out any method to try maintain a connection.

 

[rsmin]

Actually, that's incorrect. If you have a watch that works properly, you should still have search features such as "OK Google" when cellular mode. I have done a lot of testing of this over three week I've had the watch. I actually returned my first watch and exchanged it for a new one because it wasn't connecting right for these features over cellular. The phone calls worked but that was about it.

The new watch I have works pretty well on standalone cellular for "OK Google" searches as well as text dictation and phone calls. I've found two things to be important. First is signal strength. If you're not showing LTE or pretty solid reception, this may not work. Also, you want to speak clearly into the watch with it only a outlet of inches from your face.

I recommend you return and exchange your watch if you only get the disconnected cloud with a slash through it when in standalone. Your watch is not functioning correctly.

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evlarberryman, I really appreciate yours and foxbat121s discussion on this. Curious, I am getting about 75% success with "Ok Google" when away from my phone, does that compare to what you are seeing?

 

[evlarberryman]

rsmin, no problem... I'm curious on this as well. Yes, I'd say with my new watch (I returned the first one after a couple of days) is connecting to the server/phone when in standalone mode at about 6 to 7 times out of 10. I think this has to do with the hardware (cellular radio) not communicating correctly with the software. There are only two option for cellular; off and auto.

Foxbat says that with auto, the cellular radio is always on. While this maybe true, I don't think the watch always recognizes when you've left range of your phone OR perhaps sometimes on the first voice query, your watch can't connect remotely with your phone/server.

I find that if I try a few times it usually works or if I toggle the cellular auto/off/auto, it will work after a couple of minutes.

Other times it works flawlessly. It's kind of frustrating. You want to love the watch, but this keeps me from feeling entirely satisfied. Oh well, it's still a very good smartwatch.

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[rsmin]

rsmin, no problem... I'm curious on this as well. Yes, I'd say with my new watch (I returned the first one after a couple of days) is connecting to the server/phone when in standalone mode at about 6 to 7 times out of 10. I think this has to do with the hardware (cellular radio) not communicating correctly with the software. There are only two option for cellular; off and auto.

Foxbat says that with auto, the cellular radio is always on. While this maybe true, I don't think the watch always recognizes when you've left range of your phone OR perhaps sometimes on the first voice query, your watch can't connect remotely with your phone/server.

I find that if I try a few times it usually works or if I toggle the cellular auto/off/auto, it will work after a couple of minutes.

Other times it works flawlessly. It's kind of frustrating. You want to love the watch, but this keeps me from feeling entirely satisfied. Oh well, it's still a very good smartwatch.

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evlarberryman, thanks. I agree with the "feeling entirely satisfied", I still have a few days to decide whether to return it or not, but I do love the looks of it and I am really not sure how much I would use Google services anyway. Most of the time I have my phone near me anyway.