iMessages on Watch without phone: not working?

[sjinsjca]

So my phone charger malfunctioned and my phone shut down.

No problem, got my Series 5 Watch (cellular) to tide me over while it charged.

But, it received no iMessages. Once my phone had charged and restarted, a whole pile of iMessages came through on both the iPhone and the Watch. (These were iMessages, not SMS messages.)

This all happened at my home. The Watch is on my WiFi but even if it wasn't, it has an active data plan.

Why did Messages not receive when the iPhone was inoperative?

WatchOs is fully updated.

 

[Thoradin]

As far as I’m aware, the iPhone has to be powered on and connected to the internet for your iMessages to be forwarded to the watch

 

[Beligerent]

I’m interested in the answer to this. Like the OP I was under the impression that the Apple Watch could receive iMessages even without the phone anywhere near it or powered on.

 

[Thoradin]

I’m interested in the answer to this. Like the OP I was under the impression that the Apple Watch could receive iMessages even without the phone anywhere near it or powered on.

The iPhone doesn’t have to be anywhere near the watch. They just both have to be powered on and connected to the internet, wether that be WiFi or mobile data.

 

[Neil22]

The iPhone doesn’t have to be anywhere near the watch. They just both have to be powered on and connected to the internet, wether that be WiFi or mobile data.

Just to back up his answer. While my phone was undergoing an update, my Series 0 was connected via wifi and continued to receive iMessages during that time.

 

[jdb8167]

I just tested Mail with the iPhone off and I could get iCloud mail but not mail from my IMAP email provider. So I wouldn't be surprised if you can get iMessages but not SMS or the other way around.

 

[ttforever]

I'm sure I've read that imessage work over cellular connection without the phone being turned on or connected, but sms messages are forwarded on and need the phone turned on and connected to a network.

I've definitely had imessage when the phone has been off both on wifi and cellular

 

[Significant1]

So my phone charger malfunctioned and my phone shut down.

No problem, got my Series 5 Watch (cellular) to tide me over while it charged.

But, it received no iMessages. Once my phone had charged and restarted, a whole pile of iMessages came through on both the iPhone and the Watch. (These were iMessages, not SMS messages.)

This all happened at my home. The Watch is on my WiFi but even if it wasn't, it has an active data plan.

Why did Messages not receive when the iPhone was inoperative?

WatchOs is fully updated.

It should have worked, but maybe WiFi was stuck even though it thought it was connected. That happens sometime on my macs and toggling WiFi off/on fixes it.

See footnote 1 here https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT205547

You don't have to wait for you phone to finish charging before turning it on, but that is beside the point. If everything was running smooth and you are logged into AppleId, imessage should have worked without the phone beeing online.

 

[sjinsjca]

It should have worked, but maybe WiFi was stuck even though it thought it was connected. That happens sometime on my macs and toggling WiFi off/on fixes it.

Thanks. I think you're on to something.

I'll play around some more.

"Going phone-less" is something a lot of folks want to do, so this behavior I saw is a concern.

I'm hoping that the charging problem my phone experienced, with its unexpected shutdown, might have left the Watch in some sort of puzzled state that prevented iMessages (and who knows what else) from operating properly. If so, toggling the Watch's WiFi or even restarting the Watch might indeed have resolved the situation.

 

[dave006]

As far as I’m aware, the iPhone has to be powered on and connected to the internet for your iMessages to be forwarded to the watch

No the iPhone does not need to be connected via Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or Cellular for iMessages to be sent / received to or from the Apple Watch as long as the Watch as a Wi-Fi connection that has Internet access or the Watch's LTE is connected.

To receive SMS, MMS, or push notifications from third-party apps on your cellular Apple Watch, your paired iPhone must be powered on and connected to Wi-Fi or cellular, but it doesn't need to be nearby. You also need to be signed in to iMessage on your iPhone.

Dave