App that alerts when Watch disconnects from iPhone?

[JoeTomasone]

I find that I am leaving my phone in my car way too much.

Does anyone know of an app for Watch that will alert you when the Watch disconnects from the iPhone?

I've played with Phone Buddy but it is apparently GPS based and - frankly - not terribly reliable.

Thanks in advance!

 

[matrix07]

Yeah, I couldn't understand why Apple doesn't make the watch tap our wrist as well the moment that red phone-crossed icon appears on the watch. it just sounds so simple and wouldn't need too many codes. Maybe even create the unique kind of tap for it.

 

[Itinj24]

I tried three and use two currently (for backup). The one I dropped is WatchOut. Complete garbage. I think the issue is with what keywords to use in the App Store to find these types of apps. I tried everything I can think of and came up with l these, but there may be more lurking in the App Store.

The two I use are:
1) Phone Buddy- which I don’t think is that bad and I like that you can dismiss the notification for 30 minutes or till tomorrow if you purposely leave your phone behind. The complication is cool. It’s not as consistent but works for the most part. Doesn’t automatically return to normal state when you reconnect with the phone, even tho the app says it should. Have to manually enter that the phone is found. The notification to turn on active mode has also been hit or miss for me.

2) Mobeleash- seems to actually work on Bluetooth disconnect and it’s pretty consistent. I highly recommended this one. Has three modes. “iPhone close by”- watch and phone connected, “iPhone missing”- sudden loss of Bluetooth connection and “iPhone lost” - which I believe is when you been disconnected for a while. They automatically switch and notify you depending on your connection to the phone. No complication but not really necessary since it works in the background and notifies you when need be.

How this is not a native feature on the watch is beyond me. Should’ve been since day one of WatchOS. I mean, how hard is it to send a notification to the watch on Bluetooth disconnect???

 

[Itinj24]

Just made another discovery. The Mobeleash app also sends a notification when the iPhone is on. So in essence, the iPhone never gets a notification because that would be useless anyway. I know that if you’re on your phone and you get a notification from another app, the watch doesn’t get said notification as well. Pretty neat. I’m going to highly recommend Mobeleash again.

 

[JoeTomasone]

Just made another discovery. The Mobeleash app also sends a notification when the iPhone is on. So in essence, the iPhone never gets a notification because that would be useless anyway. I know that if you’re on your phone and you get a notification from another app, the watch doesn’t get said notification as well. Pretty neat. I’m going to highly recommend Mobeleash again.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! this is EXACTLY what I was looking for!

 

[Itinj24]

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! this is EXACTLY what I was looking for!

No problem. Believe me, I’ve been searching for an app like this for a while too. I did a few tests again before I posted this (so I don’t look like a fool) and it’s been flawless. Hope it works out for you. Still boggles my mind that this isn’t a native feature.

Also believe it or not, I still peruse the App Store every now and again to see if any new apps come out in this regard but I’m pretty happy with Mobeleash so far

 

[Itinj24]

Also, not sure why the low review. One reviewer is talking about a complication which this app doesn’t support, nor has a need for anyway. Another reviewer is talking about turning the app on which also is unnecessary. When you go to the phone app, the only option is to turn on the critical elements like notifications, Bluetooth and location. I’m gonna help out this dev with a 5 star which I believe it deserves and especially since Apple didn’t have the wherewithal to make such a critically useful and seemingly easy feature to implement

 

[michaelb5000]

Yes, thank you. I have been searching for an app that does this since my S0. So happy to try this one. the app Lookout had this feature for while, but they pulled this feature and it never really worked. I agree that it has been baffling that this was built in to the Watch Os from the beginning. Apple may finally come out with Tags, and they may do some tracking like this, but it isn't clear in those rumors if the Apple watch is even part of their plan.

I did some initial testing, and this app may work; it notifies after 1 min of separation, which is a really good default setting (Lookout would notify when it thought the connection was about to be lost, so went off all the time, even inside the house). I did turn down notifications to "less" since when outside I drop in and out of connection, and I don't really want this going off repeatedly. There really isn't any documentation or explanation of how this app works though, so this will be a learning process. On the developers facebook page, he claims there is some form of machine learning so that it learns your habits and goes off less (we shall see, here at home).

 

[Itinj24]

Unfortunately, bad news for me...
Mobeleash has worked flawlessly for me with iPhone XS on iOS 12.x.x and Watch S4 on WatchOS 5.x.x. However since going to an iPhone 11 Pro Max on iOS 13.x.x and Watch S5 with WatchOS 6.x.x, this app is showing a bug and it’s rather disappointing. If I close the app from the app drawer, I get a constant notification badge. When I open the app on the phone, it says that Bluetooth is required to function when my Bluetooth has been on the whole time. I prefer a clean app drawer and this didn’t happen before. I contacted the dev and he said it has to do with Apple’s new Bluetooth, location and notification policies. Dev also said the app should still work but with testing, I don’t find that to be the case. Praying for an update to fix this.
Another app that I found to be pretty reliable is PhoneBuddy. Same thing. Since I upgraded, I’m getting all kinds of notification, location, Bluetooth and complication bugs. Keeps asking me to enable them but when I do, I get an error message. Once again, contacted the dev and he said a new version is in development and should fix this. As of now these two apps are useless to me but I’m keeping them installed so I know if and when the updates come.
The only other two I know of are WatchOut and WatchIt but in my testing, they’re both garbage.

This can all be fixed if Apple just realized what a useful feature this would be. I mean how hard can this be for them to implement? I sent this suggestion to Apple in the past. Don’t see anything happening with the trackers but I hope I’m wrong. Was sure they would put “Find My” on the watch when they merged the two apps (Find Friends/Find iPhone) but another absent disappointment. Suggested that to Apple as well. They seem so interested in us not losing our devices, why not add this to the one device that stays on our person at all times?
Phone Buddy Watch app:



Mobeleash iPhone app:

 

[Itinj24]

Is anyone else getting this constant notification badge on Mobeleash when they close out the app and if so, what hardware/software are you running? Thanks.

 

[Spike77777]

I tried three and use two currently (for backup). The one I dropped is WatchOut. Complete garbage. I think the issue is with what keywords to use in the App Store to find these types of apps. I tried everything I can think of and came up with l these, but there may be more lurking in the App Store.

The two I use are:
1) Phone Buddy- which I don’t think is that bad and I like that you can dismiss the notification for 30 minutes or till tomorrow if you purposely leave your phone behind. The complication is cool. It’s not as consistent but works for the most part. Doesn’t automatically return to normal state when you reconnect with the phone, even tho the app says it should. Have to manually enter that the phone is found. The notification to turn on active mode has also been hit or miss for me.

2) Mobeleash- seems to actually work on Bluetooth disconnect and it’s pretty consistent. I highly recommended this one. Has three modes. “iPhone close by”- watch and phone connected, “iPhone missing”- sudden loss of Bluetooth connection and “iPhone lost” - which I believe is when you been disconnected for a while. They automatically switch and notify you depending on your connection to the phone. No complication but not really necessary since it works in the background and notifies you when need be.

How this is not a native feature on the watch is beyond me. Should’ve been since day one of WatchOS. I mean, how hard is it to send a notification to the watch on Bluetooth disconnect???

Thanks for the app suggestions.
One question on Mobeleash, does it also work if you take your phone but leave your watch behind?
There have been times when I take off my watch to avoid scratching or breaking and I will leave with my phone but forget the watch. Does it send a notification to your phone?

 

[Itinj24]

Thanks for the app suggestions.
One question on Mobeleash, does it also work if you take your phone but leave your watch behind?
There have been times when I take off my watch to avoid scratching or breaking and I will leave with my phone but forget the watch. Does it send a notification to your phone?

Good question. I never tested it that way but I’ll give it a shot. With this new bug I’m experiencing in iOS 13 and WatchOS 6, the app hasn’t been reliable anymore so I wouldn’t be able to tell you for certain.

 

[Itinj24]

Coincidentally, the Phone Buddy app dev just released the beta for version 2.0 on Test Flight. Very excited to try it. I’ll give my feedback.

 

[Itinj24]

Thanks for the app suggestions.
One question on Mobeleash, does it also work if you take your phone but leave your watch behind?
There have been times when I take off my watch to avoid scratching or breaking and I will leave with my phone but forget the watch. Does it send a notification to your phone?

Ok so I just tested this and it doesn’t work for the reverse. However, although the watch app seems to recognize when the phone is left behind and then recovered again, it is not pushing the notification to the watch like it used to in past iOS and WatchOS. Therefore, it is possible it does work in the reverse, but notifications are currently broken on this app so can’t be for certain at this time.

I do recall though that one of the other apps I tested, can’t remember if it was WatchIt or WatchOut, but one of them did notify when the Watch was left behind. Only thing is it didn’t notify on the watch when the phone was left behind lol.
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So far Phone Buddy is looking pretty good. Not getting any of those error messages yet.

 

[Spike77777]

Ok so I just tested this and it doesn’t work for the reverse. However, although the watch app seems to recognize when the phone is left behind and then recovered again, it is not pushing the notification to the watch like it used to in past iOS and WatchOS. Therefore, it is possible it does work in the reverse, but notifications are currently broken on this app so can’t be for certain at this time.

I do recall though that one of the other apps I tested, can’t remember if it was WatchIt or WatchOut, but one of them did notify when the Watch was left behind. Only thing is it didn’t notify on the watch when the phone was left behind lol.
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So far Phone Buddy is looking pretty good. Not getting any of those error messages yet.

Thanks for checking that out, I guess notifications are still kind of buggy with both the latest iOS and WatchOS. Let me know if it happens to work like it should on 13.2 and 6.1 or later versions, it would be nice to find an app that works in both situations.

 

[Itinj24]

Thanks for checking that out, I guess notifications are still kind of buggy with both the latest iOS and WatchOS. Let me know if it happens to work like it should on 13.2 and 6.1 or later versions, it would be nice to find an app that works in both situations.

Yeah, I was told these issues are due to the new format of apps being able to be run on the watch alone without a phone app. Just changed my review in the App Store to hopefully put a fire in the Dev’s a$$. If you don’t mind running two apps, I believe it was WatchOut that featured what you’re looking for...

 

[Spike77777]

Yeah, I was told these issues are due to the new format of apps being able to be run on the watch alone without a phone app. Just changed my review in the App Store to hopefully put a fire in the Dev’s a$$. If you don’t mind running two apps, I believe it was WatchOut that featured what you’re looking for...

I think I'll hold off for now, it would be nice if Apple would add this function eventually. If I end up losing either device being absent minded I may have to get both.

 

[michaelb5000]

The reverse (leaving the watch and taking the phone) didn't work for me in Mobeleash either. Taking off the watch locks in, and the phone app has no function or interface at all, other than settings, so Mobeleash is solely an app for the watch. But it does seem to work pretty well. It is solely bluetooth based, so it will trigger a disconnection in your home or office if you separate for long enough from BT (so does not seem to use wifi at all).

in the documentation for Phone Buddy, which I haven't tried, it says that is has the watch check for a connection to the phone, when the watch detects "activity". But what happens if you are sitting still, and someone steals your bag that contains the phone. Does either app notify in that situation, when the watch is not moving and the phone is? To test this, I need to get my partner to take my phone away out of a connection (so may try that at least for Mobeleash).

 

[ChaseSimon]

I tried three and use two currently (for backup). The one I dropped is WatchOut. Complete garbage. I think the issue is with what keywords to use in the App Store to find these types of apps. I tried everything I can think of and came up with l these, but there may be more lurking in the App Store.

The two I use are:
1) Phone Buddy- which I don’t think is that bad and I like that you can dismiss the notification for 30 minutes or till tomorrow if you purposely leave your phone behind. The complication is cool. It’s not as consistent but works for the most part. Doesn’t automatically return to normal state when you reconnect with the phone, even tho the app says it should. Have to manually enter that the phone is found. The notification to turn on active mode has also been hit or miss for me.

2) Mobeleash- seems to actually work on Bluetooth disconnect and it’s pretty consistent. I highly recommended this one. Has three modes. “iPhone close by”- watch and phone connected, “iPhone missing”- sudden loss of Bluetooth connection and “iPhone lost” - which I believe is when you been disconnected for a while. They automatically switch and notify you depending on your connection to the phone. No complication but not really necessary since it works in the background and notifies you when need be.

How this is not a native feature on the watch is beyond me. Should’ve been since day one of WatchOS. I mean, how hard is it to send a notification to the watch on Bluetooth disconnect???

Thank you so much for this, I have also been looking for something like this since my watch loses connection a lot when I am at work. I do have the constant notification badge on my XS Max, but it doesn’t bother me. Once again thanks so much!!

 

[Itinj24]

Those of you that are using Mobeleash, are you getting notifications on your watch and what phone and watch Operating systems are you using? I stopped getting them seemingly since iOS 13.x.x and WatchOS 6.x.x.

I contacted the Dev and they said they are aware of the issue and working on an update.
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The reverse (leaving the watch and taking the phone) didn't work for me in Mobeleash either. Taking off the watch locks in, and the phone app has no function or interface at all, other than settings, so Mobeleash is solely an app for the watch. But it does seem to work pretty well. It is solely bluetooth based, so it will trigger a disconnection in your home or office if you separate for long enough from BT (so does not seem to use wifi at all).

in the documentation for Phone Buddy, which I haven't tried, it says that is has the watch check for a connection to the phone, when the watch detects "activity". But what happens if you are sitting still, and someone steals your bag that contains the phone. Does either app notify in that situation, when the watch is not moving and the phone is? To test this, I need to get my partner to take my phone away out of a connection (so may try that at least for Mobeleash).

That’s interesting about Phone Buddy. I’ll try to test this.

 

[Itinj24]

What’s up everyone. Just finished beta testing the new version of Phone Buddy and it’s now live in the App Store. Version 2.0. Works great now. All the issues since updating to iOS 13.x.x and WatchOS 6.x.x have been addressed. Disconnect and reconnect performance has been greatly improved and now gives an automatic notification for when you’ve regained connection with your phone so you know you’re near by, at which case you can fine tune by hitting the find phone feature in the control center. You can even Pause the lost notifications until found in case you left the phone behind purposely and don’t want to be nagged by the app. Highly recommend this app. If you have any questions, don’t be shy to ask. Unfortunately Mobeleash is still broken at this time for me and it looks like Phone Buddy will be my go to app going forward. For the record, I have not received any gratuities from either of these companies. Just heavily advocate this type of app and was interested in helping them to get it working properly.

 

[Itinj24]

The new version of Phone Buddy (V 2.0.3) is in the App Store. I’ve been beta testing this app and has a new killer feature! If you lose or leave your phone behind, it brings up Apple Maps and shows where your phone is on the map right from the app on your wrist and gives you turn by turn directions to your lost phone. Was hoping Apple gave us the “Find My” app on the watch but since they didn’t think it was important enough to track down a lost phone from your wrist, the Phone Buddy app Dev knocked it out of the park. Works great!

 

[xraydoc]

Tried this app earlier today and gave it a test (walked away from my desk at work without my phone). Worked as promised, which is great, but it ate through 6% battery in 20 minutes.
Will uninstall for now.

 

[Itinj24]

Tried this app earlier today and gave it a test (walked away from my desk at work without my phone). Worked as promised, which is great, but it ate through 6% battery in 20 minutes.
Will uninstall for now.

Interesting. I never had that type of battery burn. Maybe a little more than normal but not 6% in 20 mins.

 

[Lyn2012]

I liked the sound of this app, obviously without the battery drain effect 😜, but nearly £7 is too expensive, I would pay £2-3 but no more.