Is Google Now working AND useful for you? - Nexus 5 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I know GNow kills battery due to the constant GPS use, but I was willing to give it a try if it "help" me with my life activities. However, the result has been less than impressive:
1). Weather
Always off by 5-10 degrees (California)
2). Public Transportation
Always informed me of the "nearest" train station, which I do NOT use and I use the other one (BART in California)
3). Package tracking
Never worked for me, especially now Amazon stop including the tracking number in their email.
So what else is GNow used for? How does that working out for you?

I find the delays on the motorway useful for my commute. Mine doesn't use GPS constantly.
Sent from my Nexus 5

lanwarrior said:
I know GNow kills battery due to the constant GPS use, but I was willing to give it a try if it "help" me with my life activities. However, the result has been less than impressive:
1). Weather
Always off by 5-10 degrees (California)
2). Public Transportation
Always informed me of the "nearest" train station, which I do NOT use and I use the other one (BART in California)
3). Package tracking
Never worked for me, especially now Amazon stop including the tracking number in their email.
So what else is GNow used for? How does that working out for you?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Weather is usually right...same area as you. It does the same thing as searching "weather in san francisco" in google.
2. Yeah that doesn't work.
3. That only worked when I ordered my N5. Amazon used to work, now it doesn't.
I just turned it off. I can still use all the voice commands, so it isn't a big deal.

I don't mind it. Tracks similar articles referencing search strings, tracks sports teams. Liked the Olympic tracking although you could not specify what country you are tracking. Also like the tourists locations when out of town. I don't really notice a battery difference except after a day or 2 without rebooting (doesn't allow device to sleep. Reboot and it's all good again.)
Has a fair bit of potential and looking forward to future updates.
Sent from my HammerHead

pepdavies said:
I find the delays on the motorway useful for my commute. Mine doesn't use GPS constantly.
Sent from my Nexus 5
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Doesn't do that in the US. At least not where I am.

for me its useful for the following:
weather
traffic congestion
sports scores and match reminders
flight reminders
package tracking

Sc0rp10 said:
for me its useful for the following:
flight reminders
package tracking
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does these tracking only works with the Gmail account which you activated Google Now with?
Example:
1). I use 2 Gmail accounts --> A and B
2). A is activated for GNow
3). B is used for online shopping (package tracking, flight confirmation, etc.)
If I forward package / flight email confirmation from B, will GNow tracks it too even though it is only associated with A?

lanwarrior said:
Does these tracking only works with the Gmail account which you activated Google Now with?
Example:
1). I use 2 Gmail accounts --> A and B
2). A is activated for GNow
3). B is used for online shopping (package tracking, flight confirmation, etc.)
If I forward package / flight email confirmation from B, will GNow tracks it too even though it is only associated with A?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i have 2 gmail accounts too but i can only get notifications/reminders from the primary account. in the google now settings under accounts & privacy you can switch accounts so i guess it only works for one account at a time.

Sc0rp10 said:
i have 2 gmail accounts too but i can only get notifications/reminders from the primary account. in the google now settings under accounts & privacy you can switch accounts so i guess it only works for one account at a time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Forwarding the email to the primary account doesn't work?

lanwarrior said:
Forwarding the email to the primary account doesn't work?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It works for me for flight tickets. Haven't tried it for anything else.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Strange, like everyone else, amazon tracking stopped worked a while back. However, I ordered a cable from amazon yesterday, and google now offered me a tracking option. I click it, and it takes me to the UPS site and offers tracking info. I'm looking at the shipping email in my gmail (desktop), I can't see any tracking number.
Viewing the source, I see it now. Amazon includes the ups tracking number in the link, and google now is scraping it.

I have Google Now enabled. I like the traffic times (and accident warnings), the sports updates/reminders and the package tracking.
Google Now will also pop up a card if I search a destination on my PC. Convenient if I actually needed directions on my phone, but unless the place was in the city, I probably don't need directions.

I was under the impression that Google Now only uses WiFi and Cell towers to provide you location data. However, Google Play Services will have GPS data Google Now might use as well (Play Services collects GPS data at times under the Location Reporting feature). That's how I understand it and based on the Location window, Google Search/Now never uses GPS only Google Play Services.
Again, this is what I believe from my understanding of how Google Now works.

lanwarrior said:
I know GNow kills battery due to the constant GPS use, but I was willing to give it a try if it "help" me with my life activities. However, the result has been less than impressive:
1). Weather
Always off by 5-10 degrees (California)
2). Public Transportation
Always informed me of the "nearest" train station, which I do NOT use and I use the other one (BART in California)
3). Package tracking
Never worked for me, especially now Amazon stop including the tracking number in their email.
So what else is GNow used for? How does that working out for you?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. weather has been off by 1-3 degrees, but who's to say which weather service is truly correct (i trust google over yahoo for instance)
2. i don't use public transit (horrible system set up in socal), but it gives me great directions and info on travelling to my destinations. i always check it before leaving work to see how traffic is so i can plan my way home for that day.
3. package tracking works perfectly for me
i also use it for sports scores, and track my stock portfolio.
i use it all the time, and i haven't seen any issues with battery drain at all to say that it "kills" the battery.

weather - yes
traffic congestion- no
sports scores and match reminders - yes
flight reminders - yes
package tracking - yes
Always listen feature is pretty heavy on battery and is never useful to me for most part of my day
However i use a Zerolemon extended battery so i only switch off when i am out for very extended periods of time
in short yes! google now is very useful to me and i love the new KITKAT integration with the experience launcher

I stopped using Google Now because it became kind of annoying. It kept recommending time to travel to these places that i frequented but it wanted me to label them and everytime I would swipe it away it would be there again the next day. I also turned it off for battery consumption. I just didn't find it that useful since my work place is constantly moving.
Also the weather seems inaccurate a lot of the time and I will just use the weather channel, or just briefly look at minarch which has the weather, current conditions and forcast right there on my homescreen.

I order from amazon a lot and it shows in Google now. UPS, FedEx, USPS. All there. I had about 6 in there earlier. All links worked.
Sent from the jaws of my Hammerhead!

I use it for weather (home & work cities), traffic/commute (mine shows for home & 2 jobs), sports scores & games/matches, packages as well...
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

I only use it for reminders, search references and sports updates. Otherwise its blank and seems minimal on battery.
The weather update was waking my phone consistently to update, where as dash clock does it only when the screen comes on so I use that instead.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Fairly useless battery drain for me. Weather? Off, location? It's annoying but i'm fairly sure I know how to get home.

Related

Gps tracking system

Hi there.
Is there any good app that can track my phone using the gps system?
I will be travelin' for a 1500miles and I want my wife not to worry and know where am I, using the google maps. Is there anything like this? that my mobile x10mini pro can be seen on google maps and tell my position.
Google Latitude should do the trick.
rasmusx said:
Google Latitude should do the trick.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're big!!! thank you cheers
Also look at Glympse.com
Lattitude is good, but also check out glympse.com to share with non Google users.
try GPS tracking
Sent from my Sony Tablet S using xda premium
Fameelee - Family Locator will perfectly meet your needs. This app actually developed for families to help them to stay in touch 24/7 negleting the distance.
Within this app you will be able to track/being tracked real time location as well as location history for the last 30 days, stay in touch with your loved onces with in-app chat, get gps notifications once your wife gets some specific places, send panic alarms with your current gps location and video of your surrounding etc.
In paid version you can even track sms and call logs of your family members, get notifications if someone of them speeded and so on.
So give it a try and I believe you'll be impressed with app's feauters.
P.S. Mostly gps tracking apps drain phone battery quickly but not this one (tested and it takes only 3-4% of your battery life)

[Q] Accurate family tracker

Hello, i have been searching for a accurate tracker so my family can know where we all are all the time. I needed it to not only run on GPS but Wifi and 4g as well to give a general location. I need it to have adjustable update control as well. I tried Google latitude but it never updates and i tried life360 and it is very inaccurate on location tracking even with GPS on.
Any thoughts? Thanks!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using Tapatalk 2
Take a look at anti-theft apps. I use Cerberus (Play store, Developer website) on my phone, for anti-theft purposes. You can log on to their site to track & view location on a map. It seems accurate, & pulls location data quite quickly, so I suspect it does use wifi in addition to GPS.
Thanks friend, im looking for something that would show my whole family on the map on my phone. Any thoughts!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using Tapatalk 2
Maybe go enterprise? Here's one:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=p46.GPSTracking.Android

My week without GAPPS (sort of)

For the last month or so I've been having various problems with my phone and have flashed different versions of Cyanogenmod multiple times. Normally I then immediately login to my Google account, download Titanium Backup, restore all my apps, and go from there. But last week when I restored to CM 11 I decided not to do that right away. I'd noticed that Google Play Services, or Android System were constantly the top users of my battery, and I'd also been getting lots of force closes of system apps. So I figured why not try life without a Google account for just a little bit. My restore actually had one of the minimal GAPPS packages with it, but I haven't signed into Google and have disabled all of the Google packages I could.
I installed both F-Droid and the Amazon App store, and that got me to about 80% of the apps I actually use on a regular basis. I then went on to use my apps to see what if I really missed. The answer to that is, so far, not all the much. I'm using a really minimalist search based launcher, which is great...but I do miss having some information readily available via a widget. Some apps I used weren't available in either Amazon or F-Droid, but I did find an HTML5 app on the Fireplace Market...which seems to be totally fine for my needs.
The biggest surprise has been the battery life. From the time I first got my phone 3 years ago, even when it was running stock with only a few apps, it was a bit of a struggle to get a full days use out of my phone. And the variability was crazy, some days it seemed like I could run through a full battery in about 4 hours, while other times I'd get almost a full 24, both with similar usage patterns. I used battery monitor apps to look into it and sometimes they'd give me some useful information, but a good chunk of the usage always seemed to be core Android functionality. But this week my battery life has been measured in days instead of hours. The first time I went about 72 hours before plugging my phone in, and it was still showing 48% battery remaining. And this was a period where I was using my phone probably more actively than normal, installing and configuring a lot of apps, browsing the web, a couple of hours reading books, etc... I've seen similar life over the last 3 days, but I haven't let it go as long this time before topping off.
So I can't say for certain that this is exclusively due to a lack of GAPPS, I have far fewer apps than I previously did, and any or all of them could have been responsible for excessive usage, and I'm using a minimalist launcher, with no widgets, etc... But still, overall I'm really amazed at the dramatic difference. I didn't even know it was possible to get 4+ days out of a normal smartphone battery, this puts it pretty much on par with my old dumb phones.
So has anyone else run without a Google account for very long and seen similar results, or is this just an anomaly?
Nice to find an ally
I decided running my Moto G (CM12.1) without GAPPS about one week ago using F-Droid and Aptoide as alternative stores and Cal/CardDAV via DAVdroid for syncing. So far I do not miss much. Battery life increased substantially, at least since then!
Did you encounter any issues due to missing Google Cloud Messaging (GCM) or maps API? This was actually my major concern, eventually even decreasing battery life because every app needs to pull the messages on its own. However, this seems not to be the case ...
One tip: If you use the AOSP keyboard and like to swype .. you'll need the libjni_latinimegoogle.so lib in your /system/libs/ folder.
Glad that I'm not totally alone here.
I've been having some problems with the email client pulling in new Exchange messages, it works sometimes, but stops pretty regularly. That might be related to GCM I guess? Exchange services has also started taking up the majority of my battery life. I'm still getting respectable life off a charge, but it's down to about 2 days vs. the 4+ days I was seeing originally. For maps I'm using Here, and haven't noticed any problems in my offline searches. I haven't done any navigation with it yet though. Will need to give that a try soon.
The AOSP keyboard worked fine for me out of the box, including swiping. I'm running CM 11 instead of 12.1 though, so maybe that's the difference?
I also need to look into what's required to setup my own CardDAV server, or maybe OwnCloud? Is DAVDroid just used for syncing, or does it become a new contact app? I'm currently having trouble keeping my personal and work contacts separate, since the personal contacts are stored only on the phone and not associated with an account. Definitely want to find a better way to handle that.
All in all I'm still liking the experience. I haven't missed anything from the Play Store yet. My biggest issues have been because I also switched to the Search Based Launcher, which takes some getting used to. I'd like to find a more "normal" homescreen type launcher so that I can use some widget based apps, but so far haven't found much to my liking on F-Droid. CM's Trebuchet feels severely lacking in customization and ADW is buggy almost to the point of being unusable. The couple of other launchers I've found on F-Droid that are based off of Trebuchet or AOSP won't install on my phone. So still experimenting there.
Uhm, no clue about Exchange messages, sorry. But same here with the e-mail app draining battery (about 30 %). However I'm still experimenting with IMAP IDLE (push) vs. regular polls. Maybe that does the trick ..
DAVdroid is basically a syncing adaptor for the regular contacts and calendar. If you don't wanna set up your own server, you may also use an owncloud provider or an e-mail service providing these features, e.g. posteo.de or openmailbox.org.
When I first set up K-9 for my personal mail my battery use spiked, but it settled down the next day even though I've kept it set to push. I wouldn't mind so much the Exchange Services battery drain if it would reliably fetch my work emails, which is probably 90% of the reason I even have a smartphone in the first place.
My email provider has said that CalDAV/CardDAV is the next feature on their list to build and rollout but no estimate on when to expect it. Do contacts synced via DAVDroid show up as an "account" in Android? Does the contact app recognize that they are separate from other contacts on the phone if you go into contacts to display? For me I only have Exchange listed and if I deselect that then no contacts show in the list.
dmcgregor said:
Do contacts synced via DAVDroid show up as an "account" in Android? Does the contact app recognize that they are separate from other contacts on the phone if you go into contacts to display? For me I only have Exchange listed and if I deselect that then no contacts show in the list.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, it's exactly like that. Same with my synced posteo contacts.
rzac said:
Yes, it's exactly like that. Same with my synced posteo contacts.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great. That's exactly what I want. Thanks!
I lasted a couple of days but nearly every app needs Google Play Services so I got GAPPS back.
Fupri said:
I lasted a couple of days but nearly every app needs Google Play Services so I got GAPPS back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which ones e.g.? I haven't run into such problems yet. But maybe my app "portfolio" is rather minimal.
Thanks for the experiment documentation. I started running my OPO without Gapps and use Candysix its CM based.
Are you using WhatsApp or Signal Messenger, both are Gapps based, are there any limitations or is it impossible to use em?
Its possible to use WA. The message delivery ist not perfect in standby but if you open the app you'll get your messages. In "chat mode" the messages are sent instantly in both ways.
I wasn't able to test Signal till now, at first i have to compile the source to get the apk.
how about google allo?

Gear S2 app wish list

Alright guys, let's hear it. So far the app catalog on offer is quite simply appalling. Granted, you don't need a lot of apps on a smartwatch to provide a great experience, but there's some obvious things missing for now.
Here's my wish list for a full package.
Messaging apps: Whatsapp, Telegram, Facebook Messenger. I don't need a fully fledged app, just the possibility to send a NEW message, not just reply.
Music apps: I use Spotify and would love to be able to scroll through my playlists and the other ways of selecting music. Not just basic music playback controls.
Sleep tracking: There is an app in the store, but looks so amateurish I find it hard to trust it.
Shazam: Would love it!
Google search...: I wouldn't even care that the speech to text would be handled by S-Voice, but give me a way to quickly search something online. Cortana/Siri/Google Now style
I would add these to the list:
Navigation: Being water resistant, this watch would be perfect to keep track of your speed and bearing while sailing. A GPS speed app and a simple Compass app would be lifesavers.
Web browser: One can dream...
Productivity: A decent pdf reader (the one in the story is nearly unusable)
semarac said:
I would add these to the list:
Navigation: Being water resistant, this watch would be perfect to keep track of your speed and bearing while sailing. A GPS speed app and a simple Compass app would be lifesavers.
Web browser: One can dream...
Productivity: A decent pdf reader (the one in the story is nearly unusable)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I understand the Navigation and Productivity, but why would you want to browse the web on a tiny watch screen?
Willyman said:
I understand the Navigation and Productivity, but why would you want to browse the web on a tiny watch screen?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Besides the cool factor, i reckon having a web browser would reduce the need for some apps. For instance, we would be able to go on facebook and send messages, use online RSS feed readers like feedly, use WolframAlpha, browse forums, etc! Obviously, using a web browser on such a small screen is bound to be a cumbersome experience. However, on those rare occasions when you cant take your phone out of your pocket (either because it's inappropriate or because you're afraid it will get damaged or lost) having a web browser on the gear s2 would be pretty useful!
Navigation using Here Maps is readily available, but I hope we can get google map or waze available too for navigation....
Sent from my SM-N910C using Tapatalk
Will receive the gear s2 in a week or two. Would love to have...
Paypal
Whatsapp and/or Line
Spotify
UBER
tasker (with widget), whatsapp (view conversations, reply, create), alarmpad (/set phone alarm, with tasker alarm) gmaps (preferably without companion app), google now Ù
I saw on the spec sheet it has a barometer, I have the 3G version on Verizon, I would love to have (as mentioned above on the first):
Speedometer - as I have an old diesel truck with a speedometer that doesn't work, been using Ulysses Pro
Better Weather App - Would be nice to see the barometer measurements within the weather app
Internet Browser - For those with the 3G version, would be nice on a rare basis, although I agree it would be cumbersome, having the functionality would be nice.
Google Play Music All Access - I pay $10/mo for Google Music, would be nice to have support for that, but I doubt it ever will since its not Android Wear
EDIT: Just looked through the Gear App Store, I see there is a barometer app now available, my bad.
Jesiah said:
Will receive the gear s2 in a week or two. Would love to have...
Paypal
Whatsapp and/or Line
Spotify
UBER
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Uber is now available on the gear app store (wasn't there a few hours ago, so seems like it was just launched). Just installed and seem to be working nicely (didn't book a car, just checked it's running, finding location etc)
Endomondo
Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk
Guitar tuner. Since there is a mic, this will come in handy
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk
bgoh82 said:
Guitar tuner. Since there is a mic, this will come in handy
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Aaah that's a great idea indeed.
---------- Post added at 11:20 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:26 AM ----------
Avatiach said:
Uber is now available on the gear app store (wasn't there a few hours ago, so seems like it was just launched). Just installed and seem to be working nicely (didn't book a car, just checked it's running, finding location etc)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good to know! Thanks.
I wish for the ability to sideload apps, especially Google Apps ie:Android pay, to take advantage of nfc! ! The ability to stream Google music, I have the 4g version! I'm just saying!
Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
For those interested, eBay app is now also available at the store
Unit converter, currency converter. Currency converter is helpful during travel to convert prices with ease
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk
remote camera control
i only wants a countdown app, like the "final countdown" on android.
plus one (or more) watchface, witch count down till the date / time witch i added.
It would be pretty useful for me.
remote camera control. I also use Handcent and currently the app isn't compatible with the S2. I get the notification but have to read it and reply from the phone. For that reason, I had to switch back to the stock messaging app which I hate. Handcent is totally non-responsible on the issue (well on any issue it seems). They quit answering questions/concerns on their facebook page. They now have a google page but you have to request to join. Been waiting 2 1/2 days to get approved to make a comment.
Better KeyBoard
maybe not considered apps, but...
have Wake Up Gesture option: Last Viewed.
ability to add custom ringtones (for 4g model).

Accessing workouts recorded from default app on PC

I am trying to figure out how I can access my workouts on the web or download them to my PC...
I used the default Huawei workout app and can't seem to find a way to access the history outside of the watch...
Is there a way to export the data?
Thanks
EZ
ezfreeze said:
I am trying to figure out how I can access my workouts on the web or download them to my PC...
I used the default Huawei workout app and can't seem to find a way to access the history outside of the watch...
Is there a way to export the data?
Thanks
EZ
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hello,
I believe the only thing you can do is to transfer (better say share) your data to wechat, QQ or weibo.
maybe if one day we can root our watches.......we can pick data from it
regards
giangishanghai said:
hello,
I believe the only thing you can do is to transfer (better say share) your data to wechat, QQ or weibo.
maybe if one day we can root our watches.......we can pick data from it
regards
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you done this before? I don't mind doing that if that is what I have to do, but how would I do that?
Thanks
EZ
ezfreeze said:
Have you done this before? I don't mind doing that if that is what I have to do, but how would I do that?
Thanks
EZ
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hello,
never tried before, I saw this in HW Health option, I dont know if you are in China, maybe there are differences because locations
regards
Ok... I had trouble with the HW Health app connecting to my watch... Then I installed Huawei Wear app and to it to sync to my watch and then the HW Health app was able to get readings from my watch...
Then I was able to share it...
Thanks... Crazy how all of the different apps needed to be installed on my phone before I could use the HW Health app...
Hi friends,
I was looking for a way to view/analyze the activities - and to create a history to see the trend after a few years.
Problem:
* Must be compatible with already recorded data in runkeeper, support new devices and software in future
* Huawei Health cannot export, so after factory reset or with a new phone all data will be lost.
* Runtastic: limited functionality without premium account
* Runkeeper: was my favorite in the past, but cannot record heart rate data and it doesnt transfer GPS data to google fit
* Google fit: shows heart rate data in the phone, but not on the web. and limited functionality (only a few statistics)
Now I found another way :good:
Use google fit on your watch. It will save all data to your google account.
Export the data with https://takeout.google.com/settings/takeout - as TCX file
Install mytourbook on PC http://mytourbook.sourceforge.net/mytourbook/
change the activity desciption field >>options>>import>>TCX
import the TCX files. It can import all at once...
Great tool. I'm so happy now...It shows all the data even heart rate. I can modify, merge activies. It can show statistics...awesome.
The only thing i miss is the temperature, but I guess the HW2 has no temp sensor...
Good luck
r
reikow said:
Hi friends,
I was looking for a way to view/analyze the activities - and to create a history to see the trend after a few years.
Problem:
* Must be compatible with already recorded data in runkeeper, support new devices and software in future
* Huawei Health cannot export, so after factory reset or with a new phone all data will be lost.
* Runtastic: limited functionality without premium account
* Runkeeper: was my favorite in the past, but cannot record heart rate data and it doesnt transfer GPS data to google fit
* Google fit: shows heart rate data in the phone, but not on the web. and limited functionality (only a few statistics)
Now I found another way :good:
Use google fit on your watch. It will save all data to your google account.
Export the data with https://takeout.google.com/settings/takeout - as TCX file
Install mytourbook on PC http://mytourbook.sourceforge.net/mytourbook/
change the activity desciption field >>options>>import>>TCX
import the TCX files. It can import all at once...
Great tool. I'm so happy now...It shows all the data even heart rate. I can modify, merge activies. It can show statistics...awesome.
The only thing i miss is the temperature, but I guess the HW2 has no temp sensor...
Good luck
r
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A little bit late, but Ghostracer will record GPX / TCX on your phone or watch and automatically upload to online services like runkeeper, strava and smashrun. That way you don't have to do all that data manipulation, it just *works*
Does the Huawei health app data sync with Google fit and access the data from there?
Is any software to export this automatically and import to Endomondo, Nike+ and others? Is Endomondo heart rate sensor compatible?
Odesláno z mého SM-T815 pomocí Tapatalk
---------- Post added at 10:38 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:35 AM ----------
Now I use TomTom Runner 2 watch. Exports to many app are so easy and automatically when device is connected to PC. Hmm watch 2 is not easy to export what I red.
Odesláno z mého SM-T815 pomocí Tapatalk
serban1987 said:
Does the Huawei health app data sync with Google fit and access the data from there?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No. The Huawei app is bogus bloatware.
I got the huawei watch 2 a few weeks ago and I am still trying to find the best way to record my runs and other activities. One thing I noticed is there is no need to use the huawei apps... You can use runstatic, strava or google fit directly on your watch. They will even record your heart rate. And you can have google play music running on the background for offline music.
When you return home data will get sync'ed and your exercise will show up on strava or runstatic on your phone. You can set Strava or other apps to connect to google fit service... So data will go to google fit if you have that enabled.
And, If battery is not a problem, you can even have more than one app running at the same time on your watch to track your exercices .
Of course, it would be nice to use the default app, since it seems to be better suited to the watch screen and because it has heart rate zones and training programs... But I never found a way to export data from huawei health to strava, endomondo or any other of these well known platforms.
By the way... Google fit seems to work perfectly for the gym. It automatically recognizes what kind of exercise I am doing, how many repetitions, etc and it even tells me to rest between each set of repetition.
A few updates...
Google fit is proving to be unreliable. I sometimes get different things on the phone, watch and web. Furthermore, I don't know why, but the last times I tried using Google fit directly on the watch, it did not send the heart rate to Google fit on the phone.
By now I really think the most reliable way to use the watch is to track the activities with Ghostrace or Runtastic on the watch and then use syncmytracks on the phone. Syncmytracks can send the activitiss to many other platforms... I am syncing to endomondo and Google fit.
The watch includes a 3 months trial for runtastic which I am finding perfect.
I still need to figure how to have audio feedback for interval training.
UPDATE...
I reset my watch and reinstalled google fit on my phone. Now everything seems fine. Google fit is recording my heart rate continually during the day. After a run I now get a "heart rate" graph (previously I was only getting pace and elevation). ...... Ghostrace is still better though: customizable screens and upload to strava.
Nice thread. Im having the same problem with my Huawei watch 2.
Shame how Huawei didn't figure how to cloud sync.
Unfortunately, Google fit seems to sync false data from Huawei health app.
Other helath apps are fine but they don't have the details of the Huawei health app and the training programs.
To bad thus stupied little things that are deal breakers.
itamargs said:
Nice thread. Im having the same problem with my Huawei watch 2.
Shame how Huawei didn't figure how to cloud sync.
Unfortunately, Google fit seems to sync false data from Huawei health app.
Other helath apps are fine but they don't have the details of the Huawei health app and the training programs.
To bad thus stupied little things that are deal breakers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One stupid and simple solution is to use both apps at the same time.. Start the tracking in strava (or ghostracer) and then switch to the default app and start the tracking there. This way you get the benefits of the default watch app (vo2max, trainning programs, etc) and you get your activities sync'ed to strava. The extra battery drain is minimal.
Everyone,
Please report the issue of the " Google fit syncs wrong exercice values from the Huawei app."
Google actually see thus feedbacks so it can help.
Go to the workout in google fit-> 3 dot menu-> send feedback
How do u get GF on watch to sync your heartrate on regular basis and also track activity correctly.
I've use HW but found if reset or change device I lose everything, I tried runtastic which seems fine, but rather just use 1 app which works properly.
I also have my Huawei Watch 2 now and even though I am not clueless but I have the following problems:
- I prefer Endomondo (to Runtastic at least) as it is cheaper and I find it better. Right now Endomondo runs on the watch but it is kind of like an extension of the mobile app only - Endomondo say Androir Wear 2.0 is not natively supported. (can anybody confirm?)
- right now there is no way to get my data into Endomondo. (Fit only imports FROM Endomondo but not backwards). Of course I can add my trainings manually but it sucks
- Runtastic is not bad, it tracks a hike well, you can also export the .gpx (or even to other formats) from the web afterwards and there enough info to analyze
- I find the Huawei Workout app completely useless (is there any way to uninstall from the watch? I haven't figured out yet)
- Google Fit and Fit Workout apps are not useless but close
- other honorable mentions are LocusMaps and Viewranger (this one the least customizable)
Almost forgot to mention: Runtastic is so far the only one being able to do AutoPause. Which is very useful !
Any tips or experience?
PS: I used to have a TomTom Adventurer and I mainly do hikes. (geocaching and stuff)
Sometime I miss the simplycity of the TomTom watch. It synced to the TomTom mobile app or PC and to Endomondo with that.
reikow said:
Hi friends,
I was looking for a way to view/analyze the activities - and to create a history to see the trend after a few years.
Problem:
* Must be compatible with already recorded data in runkeeper, support new devices and software in future
* Huawei Health cannot export, so after factory reset or with a new phone all data will be lost.
* Runtastic: limited functionality without premium account
* Runkeeper: was my favorite in the past, but cannot record heart rate data and it doesnt transfer GPS data to google fit
* Google fit: shows heart rate data in the phone, but not on the web. and limited functionality (only a few statistics)
Now I found another way :good:
Use google fit on your watch. It will save all data to your google account.
Export the data with https://takeout.google.com/settings/takeout - as TCX file
Install mytourbook on PC http://mytourbook.sourceforge.net/mytourbook/
change the activity desciption field >>options>>import>>TCX
import the TCX files. It can import all at once...
Great tool. I'm so happy now...It shows all the data even heart rate. I can modify, merge activies. It can show statistics...awesome.
The only thing i miss is the temperature, but I guess the HW2 has no temp sensor...
Good luck
r
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Altough I have a Huawei Band 2 Pro, the takeout process is not working for me perfectly. Before I bought my watch, I gave a try to the process, tracking a route with Huawei Health, connect to Fit, takeout, upload to Strava, which was working fine, however the route recorded by the Band 2 Pro when gets synced to Fit, looks like to lose its gps information (gets only into Low Accuracy folder and doesn't contain the position - compared to a Strava record). The map is however visible in Health (and I didn't take the phone to my route), so there must be record of the position information. Any ideas what could I do?
I have being using the procedured I mentioned for a long time now and it is still working perfectly. I start ghostracer on the watch and then I switch to the huawei app and start it (I find it better suited to the watch screen and therea are the trainning programs)... When I am back home ghostracer automaticaly sync the activity to strava and the huawei app sync it to huawei heath.
Btw... The software on the watch has improved a lot.. it now records my sleelps, google fit is better an I even think the battery is lasting longer.

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