Friday, March 29, 2024

9 of the worst Android Wear problems, and how to fix them

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After a clunky start, Android Wear is now beginning to hit its stride. Smartwatches are improving with every iteration, and Google has rolled out a a host of welcome improvements since the software’s initial release. Despite going in the right direction, however, it hasn’t gotten there quite yet. If you’ve running into Android Wear problems, then you aren’t alone. Thankfully, we’ve put together a list of the most common problems plaguing Android Wear users, as well as bits of advice on how to get around them.

More: Check out 25 of the best Android Wear apps for your smartwatch

Glitch: Rapid battery drain on phone

A lot of users on the Google product forums have been complaining about the battery on their connected smartphone draining faster than it should. This is probably the most commonly reported problem that people are encountering with Android Wear. Take a look under Settings > Battery on your phone and you may be able to see where the problem lies. There are various potential causes.

Workarounds:

  • Look for problem apps causing excessive battery drain and consider uninstalling them.
  • Some people report a significant drop in battery drain after turning off Google Now. To do this go to Settings > Accounts > Google > Search and tap Now cards at the bottom, then toggle it off.

Potential solutions:

  • Start off by rebooting your watch and your smartphone and see if it makes a difference. Go to Settings > Restart on your watch.
  • Make sure you’re running the latest version of the Android Wear app that corresponds with Android or iOS.
  • Try resetting your watch to factory settings and pairing it from scratch. Remember that you’ll lose any data on the watch, so sync first. When you’re ready, go to Settings > Reset device on your watch. Try uninstalling and re-installing the Android Wear app on your smartphone. Now try pairing your watch with your smartphone again.
  • It’s possible that a Wi-Fi network is causing the issue. Some people have discovered the battery drains when connected to specific Wi-Fi networks. Test to see if the problem occurs when the phone is connected to your cellular data network. If the drain occurs when you’re connected to your work Wi-Fi then ask IT if they are limiting outbound connections, it may be that the app is continually trying to connect to a blocked port. You can either persuade IT to open them or use a VPN client to bypass the restrictions.

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