I'm considering getting a gear S2 monday. How does the 3g version work. I know it has its own sim card, and own number. Does it auto forward text and calls from my phone, or does it operate in wifi/BT mode when the phone is near. If so how does one get text and calls when out and away from phone.
I'm wondering if the 3g is worth the cost, or stick with the BT/wifi version.
Sent from my SM-G925V using XDA Free mobile app
The tmobile LTE version works best with a Samsung phone. All calls, texts, notifications are forward automatically to the watch if you lose the bluetooth connection. I had a nexus 6 and it sort of worked but you have to manually call forward everytime. I sold the nexus for a note 5. More seamless operating with the watch.
merlin66676 said:
I'm considering getting a gear S2 monday. How does the 3g version work. I know it has its own sim card, and own number. Does it auto forward text and calls from my phone, or does it operate in wifi/BT mode when the phone is near. If so how does one get text and calls when out and away from phone.
I'm wondering if the 3g is worth the cost, or stick with the BT/wifi version.
Sent from my SM-G925V using XDA Free mobile app
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For me, the S2 3G is worth all the extra money over the S2 Sport. You can do more with the 3G version. GPS, speaker, custom ringtones, bigger battery.
I tried both a S2 Sport & Classic and ended up returning them for the S2 3G.
Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk
Sounds good, I've got the S6 edge so it sounds like auto forward is the way to go.
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I agree to the 3G version is the way to go.
Got mine today. 3g version. I'm liking it so far, but haven't had a chance to play much.
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How is the battery life with 3g off? Is it any better than the regular s2?
lyall29 said:
How is the battery life with 3g off? Is it any better than the regular s2?
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After some lack luster battery performance with 3G always on, the last few days I've been just using it with bluetooth. I can still use only the watch for calls and it works fine, I was at about 50% batter last night after using it from 0700 to about 2230 or so. I'm planning on exchanging the watch for a new one due to battery life issues, up till a few days ago I always left it on and it would be at about 20-30% by night time. To answer your question, yes the battery life is a good amount better in my eyes. I was able to use the watch like normal and not worry about battery and still had lots left at the end of a long day, last time I had 3G on it was at 20% by noon.
I have a Verizon GS2 and a note 4 that it's paired with for reference.
Overall I like the speaker and GPS ability and if I want to turn 3g on and use it on a run or out and about I can without issue, it's a nice feature to have.
I just left the AT&T store, I think the watch is too thick for me. I might buy the Wi-Fi only one, I don't know we'll see.
I have a Galaxy S6 Edge, so I can only speak to the experience with a Samsung phone.
Short answer: Everything you were asking about works, and works well with a Samsung phone.
Longer answer:
The watch's connection configuration is very flexible. There are 3 means of connection -- BT, Wifi, 3G -- and the connection settings can be configured to use wifi and 3G as fallback options. This is really the only way to set it up -- it maximizes battery life, and will automate keeping the watch connected. So, if you get out of BT range of the phone, it will attempt to connect to wifi and then remotely to the watch; if that fails, it will turn on 3G and do the same. However, you can force it to use either wifi or 3G all the time if you like.
I've been able to get a day and a half pretty regularly out of the watch. I always get a full (7am - 9pm) day unless I spend a lot of time using it like a smartphone. However, when connected via BT most of the day, I receive and send dozens of SMS messages, make a few calls, use HERE for navigation now and then, etc.
The messaging connection between my phone and watch has been 100% reliable for me, as it switches between different connection methods. It has been very, very nice this week twice when I ran out of the house to go somewhere, forgot my phone, simply invoked the call-forwarding mechanism on the watch (remotely!), and I got a call (the second time... no one called the first time )
The 3G capability is definitely worth it.
Can the s2-3g be unlocked to use on another carrier?
Its not been highly publicised to my opinion but the LG Urbane that was recalled last year was released April 1st. I have the old one and returned it and now have the latest release. The watch looks the same. I can't really find much on the specs to see if they changed the processor or anything else. They have addressed some of the issues with the first gen. This is my unboxing video I will have a impressions coming this weekend,
https://youtu.be/EhQA4SdAcDQ
Known Issues:
No Headset support for calls - FIXED
No streaming audio via LTE - Not Fixed
OK Google without the tether to phone or wifi - This is working now. I have been having connectivity issues and now have a different watch. Updated 4/3
Maps without the phone - Partial fix. You can bring up the maps and see your location but no navigation
ATT Number SYNC - Fixed and work really well
Can use GPS for running standalone with Google FIT and Endomodo - FIXED (does not work with run keeper) Updated 4/3
Most if not all watchfaces from Watchmaker work like a charm.
Things that have improved are charging speeds are crazy fast. I am still testing this area as well as battery consumption.
Battery on standby seems to be improved. I had the watch on all night on my wrist, cell active on the watch and wifi. in 8 hours it consumed 4% battery
Let me know what else you recall would not work and I will try to check it out. I am on AT&T
Tip: AT&T was giving $100 dollar credit due to recall. Some have had success taking the LG Urbane 2 orignal back and traded it for the new one and got $100 credit. Sadly that was not my case.
Audio playback doesn't seem to be on par with Samsung S2. The LG Urbane is not as loud and sounds somewhat tiny.
---------------------------- VIDEO UPDATE 4/7/2016 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All, I recorded this video with my impressions of what is fixed and what's not. It's a long video but it covers most of my experience with the watch. I hope it will help you make an educated buying decision.
https://youtu.be/VvzQfAQTzIA
ebpman said:
Its not been highly publicised to my opinion but the LG Urbane that was recalled last year was released April 1st. I have the old one and returned it and now have the latest release. The watch looks the same. I can't really find much on the specs to see if they changed the processor or anything else. They have addressed some of the issues with the first gen. This is my unboxing video I will have a impressions coming this weekend,
https://youtu.be/EhQA4SdAcDQ
Known Issues:
No Headset support for calls - FIXED
No streaming audio via LTE - Not Fixed
OK Google without the tether to phone or wifi - Not Fixed
Maps without the phone - Partial fix. You can bring up the maps and see your location but no navigation
ATT Number SYNC - Fixed and work really well
Can use GPS for running standalone with Google FIT - FIXED (does not work with run keeper)
Things that have improved are charging speeds are crazy fast. I am still testing this area as well as battery consumption.
Battery on standby seems to be improved. I had the watch on all night on my wrist, cell active on the watch and wifi. in 8 hours it consumed 4% battery
Let me know what else you recall would not work and I will try to check it out. I am on ATT
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Is there any way for you to test NumberSync in an area that has less than LTE service? The reason I ask is they are limiting that feature to phones that they label as HDvoice capable, which leaves me with a Nexus 6 unable to use it.
adfurgerson said:
Is there any way for you to test NumberSync in an area that has less than LTE service? The reason I ask is they are limiting that feature to phones that they label as HDvoice capable, which leaves me with a Nexus 6 unable to use it.
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Click to collapse
Yeah, I heard that unfortunately I don't have a non hd phone at this time.
ebpman said:
Yeah, I heard that unfortunately I don't have a non hd phone at this time.
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Click to collapse
Thanks, not actually what I was asking. From what I understand HDvoice needs LTE to work , in my area there are plenty of towers that are still HSPA+. I'm just trying to figure out if HDvoice is actually required for NumberSync to work, or if AT&T is using that as a means to force the purchase of a new phone. So my question is whether it works on a network other than LTE, as for the non HD phone you wouldn't be able to NumberSync to it as that is the issue I'm facing.
adfurgerson said:
Thanks, not actually what I was asking. From what I understand HDvoice needs LTE to work , in my area there are plenty of towers that are still HSPA+. I'm just trying to figure out if HDvoice is actually required for NumberSync to work, or if AT&T is using that as a means to force the purchase of a new phone. So my question is whether it works on a network other than LTE, as for the non HD phone you wouldn't be able to NumberSync to it as that is the issue I'm facing.
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Sorry can't tell. I can say that I will not be using Number sync going forward if performance stays where I see it now. Google voice is a better option, battery life seems to tank with numbersync on. I have been using the watch as a stand alone device. Not paired with my primary phone. I have it paired to my tablet. It doesn't last a full day with numbersync on.
ebpman said:
Sorry can't tell. I can say that I will not be using Number sync going forward if performance stays where I see it now. Google voice is a better option, battery life seems to tank with numbersync on. I have been using the watch as a stand alone device. Not paired with my primary phone. I have it paired to my tablet. It doesn't last a full day with numbersync on.
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Click to collapse
I had the Sony SmartWatch 2 so I wasn't in a rush to jump into Android Wear, then waited quite a while till this watch was rereleased only to find I can't use the main function properly. As a work around I have forwarded unanswered calls to my watch and left forwarding to voicemail if on another call with phone. Just downloaded an app that lets regular apps be pushed to watch over Bluetooth and am going to test apps for spoofing phone numbers to see if it can make outgoing calls from watch appear as if call came from my phones number. I'll have to look into Google voice, thanks again for the info.
@ebpman my idea to spoof my phones number with an app on the watch isn't practical as all the apps I have found are paid service. If you get time and are feeling generous could you give a quick rundown of how a Google number workaround ring both devices. Also what do you think would happen if you set the Google number to ring your phone and at the same time forwarded your phone's calls to your Google number? Phoneception?
adfurgerson said:
Is there any way for you to test NumberSync in an area that has less than LTE service? The reason I ask is they are limiting that feature to phones that they label as HDvoice capable, which leaves me with a Nexus 6 unable to use it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had numbersync working on my gear S2 with an unlocked Sony phone, but I had to have a customer service rep change my imei online to an HD voice phone. It worked perfectly fine until I bought a different phone and my imei changed online, and I no longer have the old imei I gave to CS.
But I can verify the HD voice limitation is a way for them to force you to own one of their phones. I had full functionality when I had it tricked into working.
Numbersync did use a large amount of battery.
runningwarrior08 said:
I had numbersync working on my gear S2 with an unlocked Sony phone, but I had to have a customer service rep change my imei online to an HD voice phone. It worked perfectly fine until I bought a different phone and my imei changed online, and I no longer have the old imei I gave to CS.
But I can verify the HD voice limitation is a way for them to force you to own one of their phones. I had full functionality when I had it tricked into working.
Numbersync did use a large amount of battery.
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Thank you, that confirmed my suspicions. Now I have about a week to decide whether to keep this watch or return it.
I'm curious to know how the new watch would work with a T-Mobile phone. Any ideas?
Here is an example of the impact of number sync even with the feature turned off on the watch. See the attached battery image. I have the watch as a standalone solution. I have number sync enabled but off on the watch. As you can see the battery drain is unacceptable. By end of my work day 6 pm I had to put the watch to charge since the battery dropped to 4%. Today the experience has been much different. I removed the function off the watch. So the watch had not record of Number Sync pairing. The watch was unplugged all night from 11 to 5 am. It remained at 100%. I wear the watch at night since I use it for its silent alarm. I am currently at 83% after 1 hr run.
I'm wondering if anyone knows how to keep bluetooth enabled for calls while numbersync is on so I can still answer and receive calls from my phones bluetooth through the watch when in range. It seems that feature disables when numbersync is active.
I also had the first release and now the second release of the LG Urbane 2. I have been having significant issues with number sync (messaging only). I only receive intermittent messages. I have done extensive troubleshooting and have also been to advanced tech support (At&t). They finally told me the "Network" was having number sync issues for messaging with the LG Urbane 2 watch and they expect a 30-60 day resolution window. This problem persists even when connected via bluetooth. At&t advised that messages do not sync via blue tooth when number sync is active, it will always use number sync. So anyway, has anyone heard of this issue or did they just tell me that to get me off the phone and get me to hold onto it past the 14 days?
I had huge issues as well. Mine are all fixed. They had to do some changes on their side. Unfortunately, I don't have details outside of a vague comment about profiles needed to be updated. I did not get LTE for days now it's 90% there. Number sync will kill your battery. It would not last even a day on or even when it's disabled,.
All, I updated my opening comments with a video of what I have learned to date. Check it out. If you have experienced something different please let me know
ebpman said:
All, I updated my opening comments with a video of what I have learned to date. Check it out. If you have experienced something different please let me know
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome videos @ebpman! I didn't think it was too long at all. It's too bad stand alone music streaming isn't possible yet with the 2nd edition but hopefully it will be soon. That's the only feature I'm really looking forward to.
For battery life, I guess our experiences differ. I haven't had one AW watch that has lasted more than 2 days on a single charge so I think in comparison the 2nd edition watch is comparable to or better than most AW watches out there in regards to battery. With my watch tethered and always on display off, I can get a little over 2 full days. I haven't used my watch in stand alone for a full day but on the days I work out or hike (which is normally 2-3 hrs of untethered time) with GPS and cellular, I can estimate that I could have made it the whole day with some battery left over. I mean your experience might be different because you probably have experience with a ton of wearables and how you use your watch.
Maybe one day I will try to go through a day or two untethered and see how battery life is. I just don't see myself actually doing that in a real life scenario for me.
Please keep the videos coming! I'm getting ready to get a Gear S2 3G for my mom and I watched all of your videos on that. I'm jealous that she will already have music streaming ready to go on the watch. haha
Anyone try this with an iphone. If so does it work well: Notifications such as imessages, text, emails, phone calls through numbersync. I have a gear s2 3g for att, that I need to sell, since I sold my S7 edge. The gear s2 doesn't work with iphone, and I'm hoping this one does. I have the apple watch, but not the biggest fan of it.
Hi
Can you use cellular data on this watch to remotely connect with the phone when not paired with Bluetooth mean not in range?
This is the case with gear S. You can carry only the watch and get all text and messages from the phone to the watch using data.
Does this watch function the same way?
Thanks
gpx said:
Hi
Can you use cellular data on this watch to remotely connect with the phone when not paired with Bluetooth mean not in range?
This is the case with gear S. You can carry only the watch and get all text and messages from the phone to the watch using data.
Does this watch function the same way?
Thanks
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Click to collapse
Yes you can leave the phone at home and still receive notifications/texts when paired through cell data.
I bought the LTE 2 the other day. The hardware and screen anre fantastic, although it is let down by the software IMHO. The launcher is poor, and the whole experience feels like it isn't quite ready yet and needs a few more iterations to be mature. It's basically a stand alone phone so why can't i have native email, or headset use? It's still set up as a partner to a phone, which is a shame. Can't get WhatsApp without the phone, nor working Google maps, which is irritating as the hardware doesn't need the phone really. Runkeeper doesn't work without a phone, which really takes away the benefit. May as well get a cheaper device which is a true partner to a phone and doesn't require a separate LTE montlhy line.
But i love the look of it and I hope they update the software soon.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using XDA-Developers mobile app
---------- Post added at 08:21 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:41 PM ----------
Great video by the way. I'm going to try just cellular, and switch off wifi and Bluetooth to see if battery is better . it usually is on my phone...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using XDA-Developers mobile app
I am thinking of buying a S2 Classic G3, but cancelling the wearable tmobile plan after 1 month. Will the watch continue to work as a standalone gps device (my understanding is the 3g watch version has gps sensors) to track distance biked for instance (I suppose there is a tizen app) and use the speaker with my phone (BT connection) when I get calls (on the phone)? Can someone confirm? The reason I am considering buying the S2 is for the gps and speaker that the cheaper non s2 g3 does not have....thanks for your inputs!
Sorry meant to say use the speaker of the watch (not phone as above) with a BT connection to the phone after cancelling the tmobile plan....
Yes, the watch will work fine without 3g.
Hi,
I have looked around everywhere but no joy in finding out if I can receive texts, goal alerts etc when my phone is in my work locker about 300 feet away.
The phone is connected to my work, (retail shop) public Wi-Fi but I can’t connect my s2 gear, correct?
I have tried to but because it’s a web browser based login, the s2 gear can’t connect.
Is there anyway around this, I saw about the syncing but I don’t get any notifications until I go back to my phone at the end of my shift.
I am probably asking for too much it seems but just wanted to ask the question in case there is an obvious answer.
Many thanks.
To receive notifications once out of BT range, the watch must be remotely connected to the phone, either via WiFi or cellular. It sounds like your use case would benefit from the 3G variant of the watch.
afblangley said:
To receive notifications once out of BT range, the watch must be remotely connected to the phone, either via WiFi or cellular. It sounds like your use case would benefit from the 3G variant of the watch.
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Yes thanks for that I should have purchased that one, I bought it second hand so may have to sell it on.
Brand new to the Watch, this could be an issue with iPhone or maybe it doesn't support it, but I jut got the gear s3 early, just while waiting for my new s8 plus to arrive in couple weeks, I set it up with the limited iPhone, but I was having bad problems connecting to the internet, it worked if I turned Bluetooth off and on and used wifi only. But one question does this Watch not just connect to my phone and then use the phones data like my Apple Watch did?
Or is this just limited due to iOS ? Downloading watch faces just gets stuck and goals all the time too, can't wait for my new s8, not complaining just interested on connectivity I expected it would use the data on the phone via Bluetooth. Maybe I just set it up wrong