LGU2... Still the best Android Wear watch.

[evlarberryman]

So I just hooked my LGU2 via T-Mobile using digits. Works flawlessly. And with the LGU2 now on Android wear 2.0 the watch runs standalone apps in cellular mode. No need for a phone nearby. Essentially making this watch the first phone replacement. I get a solid 10 to 12 hours of battery in cellular mode which works for me! Anyone else seeing this?

 

[StimulatorCam]

Anyone else seeing this?

Still wearing mine daily, coming up on 2 years!

 

[mdw1995]

Still wearing mine daily, coming up on 2 years!

Same here. Daily since November 2015. Still recording 3 runs a week without my phone around. Android Pay has been a nice addition.

 

[evlarberryman]

Agreed. I cant understand why LG took a step back with the Watch Sport... the LGU2 is still the android wear flagship in my opinion.

 

[mdw1995]

Agreed. I cant understand why LG took a step back with the Watch Sport... the LGU2 is still the android wear flagship in my opinion.

I would agree but I'm a bit biased. I've never tried the Sport. No reason to. The LGU2 has met my unique needs perfectly. I bought it for the GPS, bluetooth music and LTE for runs and it doesn't look bad in everyday use. I got lucky that it works both in the US and on 3G in Europe (in-laws live in France). Haven't found any new watches that do that. Then to get Android Pay activated fairly recently is just another perk. Looks like the updates are ending though. No Oreo in the plans. If mine crashes one day soon, I'd still just get another refurbished/used LGU2 while I can.

 

[evlarberryman]

I would agree but I'm a bit biased. I've never tried the Sport. No reason to. The LGU2 has met my unique needs perfectly. I bought it for the GPS, bluetooth music and LTE for runs and it doesn't look bad in everyday use. I got lucky that it works both in the US and on 3G in Europe (in-laws live in France). Haven't found any new watches that do that. Then to get Android Pay activated fairly recently is just another perk. Looks like the updates are ending though. No Oreo in the plans. If mine crashes one day soon, I'd still just get another refurbished/used LGU2 while I can.

Agreed MDW. Havw you had any issues with the band on your LGU2? Ive heard of them breaking and in debating buying a backup while I can still find one.

 

[mdw1995]

Agreed MDW. Havw you had any issues with the band on your LGU2? Ive heard of them breaking and in debating buying a backup while I can still find one.

Luckily I haven't had any issues with the actual band. I'm careful to not put any pressure on it when I remove it or put it on. The only issue I've had were with the rubber loops that keep the band in place. Both of them cracked and came off after a year and a half. I was able to order generic replacements off eBay for about $5 that shipped from China. Haven't had any issues with the replacements yet.

I usually see the band on eBay for like $60 from the same company but don't currently see it. Of course I also see the watch, model W200a - ATT, selling for around $130 these days. If mine breaks, I may just get a new watch

 

[evlarberryman]

Luckily I haven't had any issues with the actual band. I'm careful to not put any pressure on it when I remove it or put it on. The only issue I've had were with the rubber loops that keep the band in place. Both of them cracked and came off after a year and a half. I was able to order generic replacements off eBay for about $5 that shipped from China. Haven't had any issues with the replacements yet.

I usually see the band on eBay for like $60 from the same company but don't currently see it. Of course I also see the watch, model W200a - ATT, selling for around $130 these days. If mine breaks, I may just get a new watch

Cool. Thanks for the tip.

 

[RayfenWindspear]

I have searched high and low for a band. I am convinced they don't exist (at least they are out of stock everywhere). First it began cracking, then the screw sockets pulled out of the band, so I can no longer secure the band to the watch.

I've been trying to devise a plan for building a makeshift band, but I've discovered that the cell radio will forcefully power down if the antenna for it in the band is disconnected. Bluetooth and Wifi work without the antenna, but at significantly reduced efficiency. There are antennas in both sides of the band.

The problems with with coming up with a makeshift band are numerous. Without the real band, there is zero water resistance as there are sockets on both sides for the antennas. The holes that secure the normal band to the watch are simply holes, as the threads for the screws are embedded in the band, so a standard watch band pin will not stay put.

If I could find a solid way to extract the antenna ribbons from the original band while maintaining the rubberized connectors for the water resistance, somehow attach that in a durable fashion to a makeshift band, and find some sort of crossbar that would hold the band in place, maybe I could start wearing the stupid thing again.

 

[mdw1995]

Sorry for the ugly link.....

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-...//www.ebay.com/itm/263422456235?ul_noapp=true

 

[RayfenWindspear]

Thanks for the link. It worries me that one review says it doesn't work with Verizon in the US. I'd be on AT&T towers, but it is still concerning.

 

[mdw1995]

Thanks for the link. It worries me that one review says it doesn't work with Verizon in the US. I'd be on AT&T towers, but it is still concerning.

Not sure why it wouldn't work in Verizon. I believe it's only the antenna in the band. The seller in the link I posted is the same one I've seen selling it for the last couple of years. There have been other posts about it and people seem to be ok with it....

https://forums.androidcentral.com/l...67-any-opinions-leather-band-sale-amazon.html

 

[RayfenWindspear]

Not sure why it wouldn't work in Verizon. I believe it's only the antenna in the band. The seller in the link I posted is the same one I've seen selling it for the last couple of years. There have been other posts about it and people seem to be ok with it....

https://forums.androidcentral.com/l...67-any-opinions-leather-band-sale-amazon.html

I know someone who works at Wilson Electronics (weBoost) who knows boosters and antennas. His recommendation was that antennas are tuned to specific bands, and foreign bands don't match up.

 

[xendula]

Agree, still wearing my orginal one (the one that was taken off the shelves days after it went on sale) daily. The screen has a few horizontal lines you can sometimes see and the band came off as well, but it still works beautifully, after a bit of a scare a few months ago.

Of course I also see the watch, model W200a - ATT, selling for around $130 these days. If mine breaks, I may just get a new watch

Ha, I had no idea they were still selling it. That‘s a killer price, I may just do the same! Thanks for tne tip!


Re the band:
I had the same problem and the watch actually came off my wrist at the gym. Someone luckily turned it in to the front desk, likely when they realized it wasn‘t an Apple watch

I ended up buying this band, I think he also sells those on Ebay:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MXYYTJT. Replacing it was easy, and though I would have preferred a black band, this one has grown on me.

I use it on GSM bands (Truphone, still, as recommended way back when by mdw1995) and the watch still works in Europe with the new watchband, but no idea about Verizon.

 

[graywoulf]

Sometime back, I saw two different versions of the replacement bands. Apparently, there is a difference between the AT&T and Verizon bands in that the connectors were different. I think that I saw that the AT&T band on one side had two connectors seperated by a space and the Verizon bands connectors were single centered connectors on both sides. I am almost certain that I am remembering this correctly. Anyone else seen or know about this difference?