Do you really use the cellular functionality on your  Watch?

[Newjackboy]

I’m planning to go gps only this year, my questions

If my phone is at home switched on and I have set up “add WiFi calling for other devices”, will my Apple Watch ring if I am connected to WiFi in a different location, say at work?

If not, will it work if both the phone and watch are on the same WiFi network, at the same time, but out of Bluetooth range (ie phone is in hotel room, Watch is by the pool) ? Any ideas?

 

[CoasterXtreme]

I was planning to try out the cellular feature but apparently AT&T claims I need to change my single line plan to a multi-line plan which will raise my bill $45 per month. That doesn’t include the additional $10 per month for the watch. Why would the plan cost itself go up so much just from adding a watch?

 

[musicpenguy]

I’m planning to go gps only this year, my questions

If my phone is at home switched on and I have set up “add WiFi calling for other devices”, will my Apple Watch ring if I am connected to WiFi in a different location, say at work?

If not, will it work if both the phone and watch are on the same WiFi network, at the same time, but out of Bluetooth range (ie phone is in hotel room, Watch is by the pool) ? Any ideas?

Yes the watch will function on WiFi with your phone on a different network. You could leave your phone at home and use your watch on WiFi at work - you will receive notifications, be able to answer phone calls, and all the things you would over LTE.

Edit: you can also now in watchOS 5 pick which WiFi network you want to connect to and “type” in a password. It’ll remember networks your phone has connected to before.

 

[deeddawg]

Edit: you can also now in watchOS 5 pick which WiFi network you want to connect to and “type” in a password. It’ll remember networks your phone has connected to before.

That said, if the wifi network has a login page (not wifi password) or an acceptable-use-policy click-thru, I'm unsure if the watch will connect to it. I could be wrong though, haven't had a chance to test it out yet.

 

[Jason Honer]

That said, if the wifi network has a login page (not wifi password) or an acceptable-use-policy click-thru, I'm unsure if the watch will connect to it. I could be wrong though, haven't had a chance to test it out yet.

You somehow quoted the wrong person.

 

[deeddawg]

You somehow quoted the wrong person.

Weird. I didn't do anything out of the ordinary. Fixed. Thanks.

 

[hectorvs]

Having cellular on the watch just opens more usage options.

For me personally, it's useful for when I take the dog out for a walk around the neighborhood, no need to carry the phone and I'm accessible in a pinch, same when going to the gym or running an errand.

Sure, you could always take your phone with you, but it's the convenience of not having to that makes it worth it.

 

[mk313]

That said, if the wifi network has a login page (not wifi password) or an acceptable-use-policy click-thru, I'm unsure if the watch will connect to it. I could be wrong though, haven't had a chance to test it out yet.

I can confirm that this does not work when there is a login page.

 

[deeddawg]

It's really weird. I'm sure I've got the cellular plan successfully transferred from my Series 3 to Series 4 and yet when I use the Explorer face it does not show my cellular signal strength which I thought it's suppose to do.

Following up -- have you checked the Explorer face when AWAY from your phone and off wifi?

I'd forgotten the dots only light up when cellular is switched on, which it happens only if bluetooth and wifi aren't connected to the phone.

 

[akash.nu]

So I randomly walked into an apple store yesterday and luckily they had exactly the model I ordered online. Walked out with one ️ in 10 mins.

The very first day today, I put on the watch at around 7:30 in the morning and it’s 8:30 in the evening now with 62% battery left.

Is this expected?! People were saying it’s going 2 days for them without much issues?

 

[9646829]

I had the cellular S3 but got GPS only S4, never used cellular on the watch, in fact my useage is exactly the same now I don’t have cellular.

 

[chillstatus]

So I randomly walked into an apple store yesterday and luckily they had exactly the model I ordered online. Walked out with one ️ in 10 mins.

The very first day today, I put on the watch at around 7:30 in the morning and it’s 8:30 in the evening now with 62% battery left.

Is this expected?! People were saying it’s going 2 days for them without much issues?

Seems okay? First day I got mine (put it on around 6:30 am), I did a 20 minute dog walk with cellular and also 2 hours of outdoor beach volleyball with cellular (both tracked via workouts). By 10pm my battery was about 10%.

Next couple of days I've enabled bluetooth on my phone and it's lasting a lot longer. It just really depends on your usage. Also the first day you get it, if you're like me you're constantly playing with it and learning how to use it.

 

[rachelsgoldens]

I rarely use it either, but the other day my boss called while I was away from my desk and I was able to talk to him no problem. I forgot my phone today and was able to call my friend and let her know I was waiting for her when I usually text her. But my main reason for buying was because I had back surgery last year and this spring when I was getting back to running, I wanted to have it because I didn’t want to carry my phone but wanted something in case of emergency. (Poor justification to upgrade lol)

 

[akash.nu]

Seems okay? First day I got mine (put it on around 6:30 am), I did a 20 minute dog walk with cellular and also 2 hours of outdoor beach volleyball with cellular (both tracked via workouts). By 10pm my battery was about 10%.

Next couple of days I've enabled bluetooth on my phone and it's lasting a lot longer. It just really depends on your usage. Also the first day you get it, if you're like me you're constantly playing with it and learning how to use it.

Sounds like you had worse battery life than me. I didn’t really get much time to play around with the watch since it being a busy one for me yesterday. By the time I put it back on charge at night, it was at 51-52% I think, without having used it on cellular at all actually. I’m hoping it’ll last a bit longer once the battery goes through a couple of charge cycles.

 

[bambooshots]

I think I'm going to go ahead and upgrade my SSSB S3 Watch to an aluminum S4 Watch next time I can snag one for pickup.

Never used the cellular option and I think the improved screen size would be worth giving up SS for. And it'll be something different.

 

[DesertSilver]

I like having cellular active on my AW for running and just leaving the phone behind for running quick errands.

But something that I consider a big miss is that notifications will be missed when there is a lapse is connection. This can be between losing connection with the phone and before cellular is turned on, or even when the AW loses and regains cell signal. And this is even an issue with non-LTE watches.

I submitted feedback to Apple that the AW needs a notification "catch up" feature when this happens since, with my previous S3, I would lose signal for about 5 minutes towards the start of my normal running route and missed notifications.

My S4 doesn't seem to lose signal at the same area but I think this feature still makes sense for when data connection is regained, whether to cellular, wifi, or iPhone.

 

[mk313]

I like having cellular active on my AW for running and just leaving the phone behind for running quick errands.

But something that I consider a big miss is that notifications will be missed when there is a lapse is connection. This can be between losing connection with the phone and before cellular is turned on, or even when the AW loses and regains cell signal. And this is even an issue with non-LTE watches.

I submitted feedback to Apple that the AW needs a notification "catch up" feature when this happens since, with my previous S3, I would lose signal for about 5 minutes towards the start of my normal running route and missed notifications.

My S4 doesn't seem to lose signal at the same area but I think this feature still makes sense for when data connection is regained, whether to cellular, wifi, or iPhone.

Thanks for the heads up. I just got a S3 and didn’t realize this happened. I thought it defaulted to catch up mode. My running route fades in and out of watch cellular coverage so I’ll have to keep that in mind. Will you get a voicemail pop up if that comes in while you are out of coverage?

 

[DesertSilver]

Thanks for the heads up. I just got a S3 and didn’t realize this happened. I thought it defaulted to catch up mode. My running route fades in and out of watch cellular coverage so I’ll have to keep that in mind. Will you get a voicemail pop up if that comes in while you are out of coverage?

Can't say I get too many voicemails so not sure of that notification specifically. But you could test this by setting your watch to airplane mode, get some notifications on your iPhone, then turn off airplane mode.

 

[mk313]

Can't say I get too many voicemails so not sure of that notification specifically. But you could test this by setting your watch to airplane mode, get some notifications on your iPhone, then turn off airplane mode.

Thanks. I’ll give that a try.

 

[Magnus41]

it's worthless to me cause I don't live a very active life. I'm so used now to having my phone with me all the time that it doesn't make a difference to me. Sometimes I leave my phone on my desk while I'm cruising around the office and the range is great so whatever text or phonecall I receive on my phone I get on my watch. Last year I locked myself out of my house and my phone was plugged in charging, I used my gps watch to call a friend to get me spare keys.

So while I do get why it's convenient, I wouldn't pay for it cause I know I'm never gonna use it.

 

[mk313]

I like having cellular active on my AW for running and just leaving the phone behind for running quick errands.

But something that I consider a big miss is that notifications will be missed when there is a lapse is connection. This can be between losing connection with the phone and before cellular is turned on, or even when the AW loses and regains cell signal. And this is even an issue with non-LTE watches.

I submitted feedback to Apple that the AW needs a notification "catch up" feature when this happens since, with my previous S3, I would lose signal for about 5 minutes towards the start of my normal running route and missed notifications.

My S4 doesn't seem to lose signal at the same area but I think this feature still makes sense for when data connection is regained, whether to cellular, wifi, or iPhone.

Weird. I Wonder if this is something they fixed in Watch os 5. I just tried turning my watch on airplane mode, then sending a text(iMessage) and a voicemail to my iPhone. Once I had the indicators on my phone, I turned the phone completely off & then turned off airplane mode on my watch. I was not in wifi range, but I did pick up a cellular signal. Within a minute, I received both the iMessage and the voicemail notification.

 

[DesertSilver]

Weird. I Wonder if this is something they fixed in Watch os 5. I just tried turning my watch on airplane mode, then sending a text(iMessage) and a voicemail to my iPhone. Once I had the indicators on my phone, I turned the phone completely off & then turned off airplane mode on my watch. I was not in wifi range, but I did pick up a cellular signal. Within a minute, I received both the iMessage and the voicemail notification.

Holy crap! I’m getting missed notifications on my watch also when I turn off airplane mode. This makes it a million times more compelling to me to have a cellular AW.

I know it wasn’t working like this for me with my previous S3. A couple weeks ago, I missed a mildly important message on my S3 that I didn’t see for an hour later when I got back to my iPhone after a run. Hopefully it's working this way for specifically when the AW goes out and in of cell service, which would be more difficult to test.

I recently wiped and setup my iPhone and my new S4 both as new. So unless there was a setting I missed, this is an unadvertised feature for WatchOS 5. I can't imagine why this wouldn't have been more publicized if it is new.

Anyone have experience with this scenario with WatchOS 4 or 5?
[doublepost=1539402399][/doublepost]Doing some more tests, the missed notifications seem to be inconsistent now.

At first, I got the missed notifications on the watch for missed call, text and mail.app notifications (3 out of 3).

On a second test, I did missed call, text, mail.app, Outlook, and Google Voice notifications and waited about 5 minutes before turning off airplane mode on the watch. After a minute, I got only text and mail.app notifications on the watch (2 out of 5).

So it's working better but not perfectly. I'll do some more testing, though.

 

[El_JeFe]

Hey guys, I have a couple questions it seems a few people are bouncing around the idea but havent answered directly..(or maybe I read it wrong, but anyways)

1. WITHOUT cellular, say I am at the gym, a very large gym, and my phone is on the same wifi network as my watch, out of Bluetooth range, will all functions work as if it is in Bluetooth range? mainly music and text? also the apps people claim dont work without a phone nearby?

2. WITHOUT cellular, phone at HOME, on the gym wifi, is apple music accessible/ other music like pandora?

The idea is, I want to leave my phone at home, like others here, and listen to pandora( or apple music if thats the only program that will stream without phone nearby) and use fitness apps as well with the S4 and airpods, without having to have my bulky xs max in my pocket. Im just not sure if I should spring for cellular or not.

My gym is 24 hour fitness, and they recently changed wifi to no longer have an "accept terms" page for their wifi, but you have to have their specific "24 GO" app to use their wifi and just having the app on your phone, your auto logged into wifi. Anybody here with 24 hour fitness, NO cellular option, and uses the gym wifi with their watch only and listens to music with their phone out of bluetooth range??

Thx guys, I hope I didnt just ask what someone else did, I read all the other comments, and i think nothing this specific was addressed!

 

[musicpenguy]

Hey guys, I have a couple questions it seems a few people are bouncing around the idea but havent answered directly..(or maybe I read it wrong, but anyways)

1. WITHOUT cellular, say I am at the gym, a very large gym, and my phone is on the same wifi network as my watch, out of Bluetooth range, will all functions work as if it is in Bluetooth range? mainly music and text? also the apps people claim dont work without a phone nearby?

2. WITHOUT cellular, phone at HOME, on the gym wifi, is apple music accessible/ other music like pandora?

The idea is, I want to leave my phone at home, like others here, and listen to pandora( or apple music if thats the only program that will stream without phone nearby) and use fitness apps as well with the S4 and airpods, without having to have my bulky xs max in my pocket. Im just not sure if I should spring for cellular or not.

My gym is 24 hour fitness, and they recently changed wifi to no longer have an "accept terms" page for their wifi, but you have to have their specific "24 GO" app to use their wifi and just having the app on your phone, your auto logged into wifi. Anybody here with 24 hour fitness, NO cellular option, and uses the gym wifi with their watch only and listens to music with their phone out of bluetooth range??

Thx guys, I hope I didnt just ask what someone else did, I read all the other comments, and i think nothing this specific was addressed!

So WiFi on the Watch will function the same as LTE on the watch - it doesn’t matter if your iPhone is on the same network or connected to the cell network in your car. You can sync audio to your watch (podcasts, music, and audio books). Pandora has announced that they are developing an Apple Watch app, I would hope others do as well.

The watch can connect to WiFi hotspots that are password based, I don’t believe it supports provisioning profiles or website login hotspots. It may remember hotspots your phone has connected to in the past.

But yes I have my watch on WiFi pretty much the whole day with my phone’s bluetooth off and it works great. I get all my notifications, I can answer calls, respond to texts. I opt for Wi-Fi or LTE on the watch because I find it is actually faster than when connected to Bluetooth especially Siri and a requirement pretty much for the apps that download podcasts over WiFi.

 

[El_JeFe]

So WiFi on the Watch will function the same as LTE on the watch - it doesn’t matter if your iPhone is on the same network or connected to the cell network in your car. You can sync audio to your watch (podcasts, music, and audio books). Pandora has announced that they are developing an Apple Watch app, I would hope others do as well.

The watch can connect to WiFi hotspots that are password based, I don’t believe it supports provisioning profiles or website login hotspots. It may remember hotspots your phone has connected to in the past.

But yes I have my watch on WiFi pretty much the whole day with my phone’s bluetooth off and it works great. I get all my notifications, I can answer calls, respond to texts. I opt for Wi-Fi or LTE on the watch because I find it is actually faster than when connected to Bluetooth especially Siri and a requirement pretty much for the apps that download podcasts over WiFi.

Ok cool! thanks for confirming. Cause in situations without wifi, I actually dont mind having my phone on me, im not a outside runner or anything, its really just around the office, or at the gym I would rather not have to hold onto my phone.