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Apple Watch On Wifi

pethead said:
I'd rather the Watch be using wifi then BT I'd think that range and power usage should be less on WIFI
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I think you have that backwards, but it is not all that simple. Range and speed play a roll in which is best. But if very high speeds are not needed and range is close, then I _think_ bluetooth has a lower power draw. As to what speed is needed (VOIP, streaming vid, etc) then it gets more complicated. I did a quick search and don't see a clear answer for all cases.
 
This was a subject of *much* debate and speculation in these forums before the watch launch. It seemed that the watch could use a known wifi network to extend the connection distance between the watch and the phone but that it wouldn't connect directly to wifi by itself.

In my limited experience so far it doesn't extend the distance very much. I can be in places in my house with a strong wifi signal (for both watch and iPhone) but my watch/iPhone lose their connection.

But if the watch isn't using wifi independently, how is Siri able to work (provide directions, find companies nearby, answer sports questions) when the phone is completely turned off?
 
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Some access points filter out broadcast protocols to enhance performance. For example, I use enterprise UniFi UAP-AC access points and an Ubiquiti Edge Router. Most of the recommended configurations block broadcast traffic. AFP is one of these protocols so TimeMachine wouldn't work to my NAS until I enabled it. Not sure if continuity uses AFP.
 
pethead said:
I've noticed that the watch doesn't always connect to wifi when its available

As an example i just got home and my phone indeed connected, but the watch did not....I can tell looking at the router and the DHCP addresses in use....I waited about 5 mins and still no wifi connection from the watch even tho i was using the device.....I turned Airplane mode on and off and then it connected to wifi (grabbing an IP)

I'd rather the Watch be using wifi then BT I'd think that range and power usage should be less on WIFI
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Interesting, I'll have to test more to see if this occurs with my wife's watch as well (still waiting for mine) I wonder if it only switches to WiFi when out of BlueTooth range. I did notice that the watch didn't connect back to BlueTooth once back in range but this may not always be the case.
 
darkarw said:
can't take calls
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Does your cell company even support WiFi calling? Here in the U.S., AT&T currently does not, but it's coming.

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shortcut3d said:
Some access points filter out broadcast protocols to enhance performance. For example, I use enterprise UniFi UAP-AC access points and an Ubiquiti Edge Router. Most of the recommended configurations block broadcast traffic. AFP is one of these protocols so TimeMachine wouldn't work to my NAS until I enabled it. Not sure if continuity uses AFP.
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Excellent point. Ports are filtered, too.

This can happen even with home WiFi. For example, with the crappy combined Motorola cable modem/WiFi router that Comcast provided us when we first signed up with them, I could not access my company's VPN-- its port was blocked for who knows what reasons. (Couldn't have been security... that silly thing was delivered with no encryption enabled. Wide open! :eek:) Only minimal settings were available to the user. I soon shut off its router functionality and connected it to a separate, higher-quality WiFi router, and all was well.
 
sjinsjca said:
The WiFi access point sees a separate device with its own MAC identifier. So, no.
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What's to stop another device from assuming that address? I get that network cards have a hard coded MAC address. But if I am selling a device that is simply an extension of another device, why couldn't I spoof the address of the hosting device and masquerade as that device (legitimately)? And then use a 'rule book' bounced up against the data stream to determine actions? An honest question, as I said, I am no network engineer.

Edit: Well, scratch that. I guess one device has to provide the CRC for data transfer. Unless there can be some master-slave arrangement, then neither can provide that to the sender and it wouldn't work. Otherwise stated... never mind ;)
 
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Uccle said:
This was a subject of *much* debate and speculation in these forums before the watch launch. It seemed that the watch could use a known wifi network to extend the connection distance between the watch and the phone but that it wouldn't connect directly to wifi by itself.

In my experience it doesn't extend the distance very much. I can be in places in my house with a strong wifi signal (for both watch and iPhone) but my watch/iPhone lose their connection.

But if the watch isn't using wifi independently, how is Siri able to work (provide directions, find companies nearby, answer sports questions) when the phone is completely turned off?
Click to expand...

I was able to go at least 100 feet further from BlueTooth range using a AirPort Extreme. I use simultaneous dual band with the same network name and the watch was on the 2.4Ghz band. Perhaps some people having issues are when the watch first connects to the 5Ghz band which has a lesser range then the watch doesn't switch to the 2.4Ghz network and they have very little or poor signal. I did notice the watch doesn't have a long of range as my iPhone 6.
 
shortcut3d said:
Some access points filter out broadcast protocols to enhance performance. For example, I use enterprise UniFi UAP-AC access points and an Ubiquiti Edge Router. Most of the recommended configurations block broadcast traffic. AFP is one of these protocols so TimeMachine wouldn't work to my NAS until I enabled it. Not sure if continuity uses AFP.
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Continuity doesn't use AFP. Perhaps people that are having issues have a router that is blocking Bonjour.
 
macgeek01 said:
I was able to go at least 100 feet further from BlueTooth range using a AirPort Extreme. I use simultaneous dual band with the same network name and the watch was on the 2.4Ghz band. Perhaps some people having issues are when the watch first connects to the 5Ghz band which has a lesser range then the watch doesn't switch to the 2.4Ghz network and they have very little or poor signal. I did notice the watch doesn't have a long of range as my iPhone 6.
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Interesting. I did another test (just distance, didn't log into router) and I got a much greater distance. My first thought was that it had something to do with remaining battery as my watch was limping on ~10% remaining when I noticed it had lost connection. I recharged it and tried again with better results. But now I'm thinking this might be just a coincidence.

Going to let you network guys figure it out. But thanks for working on this.
 
Do you have a simultaneous dual band network using the same network name? If you do and have an issue then see what band you are on and the signal when it occurs from your router administration page or software.
 
Can you guys break this down into non computer geek speak for us regular guys? Can you make and receive calls on the watch while on the wifi network or not?
 
Jsmil009 said:
Can you guys break this down into non computer geek speak for us regular guys? Can you make and receive calls on the watch while on the wifi network or not?
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If you read the posts you will see the answer is some people can and some can not. The geek stuff is the speculation of why it doesn't work for everyone.
 
macgeek01 said:
Yes, are you messing with me? LOL
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Your answer was just too simple. Now explain why some can and some can't with non geek speak please. Is this a software issue, hardware issue, or are people just not setting the watch up correctly? What should we check to ensure it works if it is not?
 
Jsmil009 said:
Your answer was just too simple. Now explain why some can and some can't with non geek speak please. Is this a software issue, hardware issue, or are people just not setting the watch up correctly? What should we check to ensure it works if it is not?
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You're welcome. Now it is clear you're messing with me. You had me going for a second.
 
Okay, after going through this thread and gleaming over the many responses:

Basically, the Apple Watch is still utterly useless on WiFi without the phone close by? No notifications, no phone call information, no texts (other than iMessage), etc??? Everything is essentially cached on the phone and then pushes to the Apple Watch, once the watch is within range again?

After reading about the new update to Android Wear, what they are doing seems like true Wifi connectivity for your smartwatch. The phone and watch do not need to be on the same network and notifications come in via wifi, independent of the phone.

Maybe I am wrong??? And if I am right, then the next question is, can a software update fix the Apple Watch so it can pull info direct from the wifi connection, like Android Wear?
 
Lloydbm41 said:
Okay, after going through this thread and gleaming over the many responses:

Basically, the Apple Watch is still utterly useless on WiFi without the phone close by? No notifications, no phone call information, no texts (other than iMessage), etc??? Everything is essentially cached on the phone and then pushes to the Apple Watch, once the watch is within range again?

After reading about the new update to Android Wear, what they are doing seems like true Wifi connectivity for your smartwatch. The phone and watch do not need to be on the same network and notifications come in via wifi, independent of the phone.

Maybe I am wrong??? And if I am right, then the next question is, can a software update fix the Apple Watch so it can pull info direct from the wifi connection, like Android Wear?
Click to expand...

Incorrect. It seems like some of you aren't even reading the posts. That would help you understand vs asking the same question the thread started out with.
 
darkarw said:
Maybe I misunderstood something at the last keynote, but I thought that they clearly said that if your watch and phone were both on wifi you could still get notifications and make phone calls, even if you were outside the range of bluetooth. I have tried playing around with this to no avail, and last night I even got on the phone with Apple support to ask them about this and they told me two different things. First, the watch only uses wifi to help communicate calls between the phone and the watch. Everything else is actually all done with bluetooth (ie. notifications, digital touch, etc.) and that the watch doesn't actually connect to a wifi network. Has anyone else played around with this and what are your thoughts. I was a little disappointed because I was hoping I wouldn't have to carry my phone around the house to receive notifications.
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No it does not work. If you turn off Bluetooth on your iPhone the 3rd party apps will cease to function and if you have Bluetooth on and are are too far away from your phone all you get is the grey spinny forever
 
h9826790 said:
The watch can and will use Wi-Fi only to connect with the phone.

https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/21111243/
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This has been my position. But then I'm not a networking person and was just going off of articles which seemed to make this very clear.

So, given that the watch doesn't connect to wifi independently, what does Siri use to respond to questions (like "show me the nearest grocery store" or "what is the score of the xxx game") in real time when the iPhone is completely turned off? It can't have everything cached on the watch. I'm curious about what is going on.

Edit: OK I tried this again. Completely turned off my phone. At first Siri said it could get my location, couldn't connect, etc. Within a minute, however it worked. It could call up what movies were playing near me, find directions, etc. It appeared to find some other (not iPhone) way to connect. Ideas?
 
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Shawzborne said:
No it does not work. If you turn off Bluetooth on your iPhone the 3rd party apps will cease to function and if you have Bluetooth on and are are too far away from your phone all you get is the grey spinny forever
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Maybe this is why you don't hear Tim using the old "It just works." line that made Apple famous. Maybe he should use "It just works, sometimes."
 
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