Hopefully they will come out with something that will notify you both on iPhone and/or the AW when a connection between the two has been lost (if it doesn't already exist). I currently use HipKey, it can be especially useful in preventing theft.
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Apps Electronic Leash App
- Thread starter ericgtr12
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you need something that monitors the BluetoothLE connection. Since the watch and phone can be connected by wifi, you could be a hundred meters away from your phone before the connection is broken you realise it's stolen or you left it behind.
BluetoothLE can be used to check if your watch and phone are in close proximity and when you lose this, you know you're getting away from your phone.
BluetoothLE can be used to check if your watch and phone are in close proximity and when you lose this, you know you're getting away from your phone.
My $50.00 LG BT Headphones vibrate if I lose BT to my iphone. I'm sure Apple thought of this already at least I would hope they did?
My Pebble watch also vibrates on BT disconnect.
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This is a really basic feature. My Martian watch, which Apple clearly considered in developing the Apple Watch, also had this feature -- actually it was my favorite thing about the watch. If you have a watch that is completely dependent upon a phone for most of its operation, why would you not put a "Uh oh, you are getting out of range of the one thing that you need to continue to exist" feature on the watch?
Add to that the risk of theft, or just leaving your phone in your car or at home, making most of the watch features useless, and you wonder why they didn't put something on.
In the end, if you are going to design something that is utterly dependent on something else, you should put in some way to monitor when you are at risk of losing that something you are totally dependent upon. Think of a scuba diver without a depth gauge to let him know when he is getting too deep. Or an astronaut on a space walk, who doesn't have an indicator telling her when her air is going to run out. Kind of silly.
How is the watch going to help you find the phone when it goes out of radio range?
Go ahead. Walk out of the house far enough to get the "disconnected" icon and try to ping your phone.
Go ahead. Walk out of the house far enough to get the "disconnected" icon and try to ping your phone.
It won't unless it's monitoring the Bluetooth connection specifically... as was said earlier. Bluetooth range is pretty low so it would help. A thief would likely still be in sight of you. It at least gives you a chance.
If this warning becomes a feature in a future version of Watch OS, I hope they also allow us to turn it off.
TxWatch
TxWatch
I just want my watch to alert me if I get in the car and leave my phone in the house. I hate getting halfway to my destination and then discovering I don't have my phone with me.
…if the watch knew where the watch was, that is.
Put yourself in the thief's shoes. You steal a phone. Do you hang around until your victim notices? Golly, no. You're gone.
So then the victim's watch beeps an alert that the phone is out of range. Quick, can he ping the phone and make it beep, too? No -- it's out of range.
This happened to me today and I had the same thought, wish my watch could notify me or tap me if it disconnects from my phone...is this an app that can be developed?
You can suggest it, I know I have and my guess is many others have too. This is just common sense, not sure why they're ignoring it. http://www.apple.com/feedback/watch.html
I see this every time I go downstairs for laundry or to pick up something from the corner store or when I go check the mail or when I keep the phone in my locker at work. I don't mind the little icon. God help my watch if it's going to ping me every time it disconnects.
Yeah, I'm fine with it as an option. I'm willing to bet that most users will end up turning it off after trying it out.
I'll bet bigger money that Apple was already testing it in-house. The feature promises what it can't deliver: a way to track down your phone when it's gone. Rather than include an unhelpful audible alert (it's like a secretary who says, "Sir, you have a phone call, but I can't tell you who it is and I can't transfer the call."), Apple kept it out.
Seems a bit dramatic, a simple on/off feature should satisfy us all. Don't like it? Turn it (or leave it depending on the default) off an you never have to touch it again.
I know, it'd be simple to turn it off.
What I don't like is how people don't seem to think ahead clearly enough. If I were a product engineer for Apple — hell, for any company, really — I'd stay far away from discussion forums. This is like people who subsist on microwave dinners complaining about how Bobby Flay can't cook.
That's why they have a basic form for requests http://www.apple.com/feedback/watch.html no forums or discussion necessary. It appears that they've taken requests seriously when there's enough of them so good for Apple.
Obviously this would be useless for a theft.
However if you just happen to leave your phone behind you / drop it along your way, this could be useful. Some BLE locators have this function and it's handy.
Regarding the watch not knowing it's own location it's a non issue as it would know the phone last gps fix and could display it on a map, irreverent on it's own current pos (which btw could still somewhat be known given the surrounding wifi nets, but it's another question)
There an app called 'UnhandMe' that appears to do all this and more.
Darn,
It's not in the US store....
I just got the app, in the us store, how do I set it up so when it's out of range I get notified sg?
I don't know mate. I'm getting the app tomorrow, but I remember reading this thread and then looking through my Flipboard an article about that app came up so I posted about it
The article did say something about that you can set perimeter alerts for when you move away from various devices. What's nice is I think it works both ways, and, it will alert you if someone starts to try and access your phone/iPad whatever. The article billed it as the first must have app of 2016....
Here's the web site. If you read down it talks about the perimeter alerts
http://unhandme.tantsissa.com
The article did say something about that you can set perimeter alerts for when you move away from various devices. What's nice is I think it works both ways, and, it will alert you if someone starts to try and access your phone/iPad whatever. The article billed it as the first must have app of 2016....
Here's the web site. If you read down it talks about the perimeter alerts
http://unhandme.tantsissa.com
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I just looked at UnhandMe. It won't help if you leave the phone behind, only if someone tries to walk off with your phone.