I've compiled a short list of frequently asked questions seen over various forums or points which were not clear to me (even as a user of MB2). If you find anything missing or incorrect, please let me know.
Q: How to track sleep?
A: Sleep is tracked automatically during night hours, Heart Rate sleep assistance can help in improvement of the detection of various phases. To view the sleep stats, open Mi Fit app and sync the band. Sleep/naps are not detected during day hours.
Q: Does Mi Band have automatic workout tracking?
A: No, workouts have to be started manually either from Mi Fit, or from the band directly.
Q: How to use 24/7 HR with less battery usage?
A: Configure "Automatic heart rate detection & Sleep assistant", detection frequency as desired. Do NOT enable activity detection - it will switch to continuous HR measurements whenever there is some activity detected (e.g. walking). When needed, use manual workout for continuous HR monitoring instead (which will also gather additional statistics).
Q: How to use a 3rd party watch face?
A: The most easy way is to use app like Notify & Fitness, Mi Band tools, etc to apply the watch face directly. Great selection of watch faces can be found here https://amazfitwatchfaces.com/mi-band-4/top. AmazFaces populates the "My band displays" in Mi Fit application.
Q: Is MB4 waterproof? Can I swim/shower with it?
A: Per standard GB/T 30106-2013 (or ISO 22810 : 2010(R2016)), 50m water resistance is rated as suitable for showering, surface swimming and shallow snorkeling. Diving is not recommended. After each submersion in sea water you have to clean the watch/band in fresh water.
Q: MB4 cycles through menu during water activities.
A: Enable lock screen on the band and try avoiding running water in the "down->up" direction. Shower can easily imitate slide up gesture and unlock the screen.
Q: MB4 detects HR when laying on the table or wrapped around inanimate objects.
A: "Signal-to-noise ratio of a real blood flow is sometimes very low so the algorithms are very sensitive in screening for any non-random components in the light variation, and when such are found they are interpreted as HR. So, the algorithms pretty much always find something which is not completely random and interpret that as a HR."
Source: https://www.wareable.com/fitness-trackers/why-heart-rate-monitor-work-on-toilet-rolls-6606
Q: What is behavior tagging in Mi Fit?
A: AFAIK behavior tagging is there only to help developers to make the band more accurate, once you stop the activity, data collected from sensors are uploaded to Xiaomi. It does not impact nor improve your statistics directly and it certainly drains the battery as sensors are being constantly pulled for data. When you start an activity, press the button in the upper right corner - it will switch to real time raw data of sensors.
Q: Is there a hardcoded minimum Heart Rate value (e.g. 47bpm)?
A: Band measures as low as 40bpm (if this value is actually 100% correct is hard to tell as it happens during sleep ).
Q: Are there 3rd party apps for Mi Band management? I do not like Mi Fit.
A: M̶i̶ ̶F̶i̶t̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶m̶a̶n̶d̶a̶t̶o̶r̶y̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶a̶l̶l̶ ̶3̶r̶d̶ ̶p̶a̶r̶t̶y̶ ̶a̶p̶p̶s̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶t̶i̶m̶e̶ ̶b̶e̶i̶n̶g̶.̶ ̶N̶o̶t̶i̶f̶y̶ ̶&̶ ̶F̶i̶t̶n̶e̶s̶s̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶d̶e̶s̶i̶g̶n̶e̶d̶ ̶a̶s̶ ̶a̶l̶m̶o̶s̶t̶ ̶a̶b̶s̶o̶l̶u̶t̶e̶ ̶r̶e̶p̶l̶a̶c̶e̶m̶e̶n̶t̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶M̶i̶ ̶F̶i̶t̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶r̶e̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶a̶ ̶h̶i̶g̶h̶ ̶c̶h̶a̶n̶c̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶w̶i̶l̶l̶ ̶w̶o̶r̶k̶ ̶a̶s̶ ̶a̶ ̶s̶t̶a̶n̶d̶a̶l̶o̶n̶e̶ ̶a̶p̶p̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶f̶u̶t̶u̶r̶e̶ ̶(̶s̶a̶m̶e̶ ̶a̶s̶ ̶w̶i̶t̶h̶ ̶M̶B̶2̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶M̶B̶3̶)̶.̶ ̶O̶t̶h̶e̶r̶ ̶a̶p̶p̶s̶ ̶a̶r̶e̶ ̶o̶n̶l̶y̶ ̶a̶d̶d̶i̶t̶i̶o̶n̶s̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶r̶e̶q̶u̶i̶r̶e̶ ̶M̶i̶ ̶F̶i̶t̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶i̶n̶s̶t̶a̶l̶l̶e̶d̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶u̶s̶e̶d̶.̶ It is possible to use N&F and some other apps in standalone mode, for more information follow https://www.freemyband.com/ guide (root and no root options available).
Q: I don't see detailed stats (steps, sleep, heart rate) for previous days, only summary in history.
A: When on the detailed screen of the current day, swipe right to navigate to detailed stats of previous days.
Q: Mi Band keeps unfastening itself during sleep or when dressing/wearing backpack etc.
A: Try to wear the band reversed (strap loop away from you, fastening button towards you). Also you can buy a silicone strap keeper (generic 14mm or specifically for Mi Band on Ali/eBay/..) to keep band on hand even when accidentally unfastened.
-- reserved -- (even though not sure that required)
Hello, I just have a curiosity regarding the effective frequency used by Mi Band 4 to track the steps.
Sometimes it tracks steps very fluently, almost in real time; other times instead it stops counting on the display and after a while it adds a group of steps in a bunch (it always tracks steps but on the display it's not always reported in real time).
Why does it happen?
Does the heartbeat frequency detenction work in the same way or is it different?
Thanks
In my experience, steps are updated in real time when there is a long enough continual activity (walking outside, running etc.). For short activities with a lot of breaks (around the house) it tends to update in batches. It might have something to do with "clearing up the noise" - band waits for "chaotic" small numbers to accumulate and then applies some kind of statistical filter to provide accurate number of steps. Also all activities must have 10 steps at minimum.
Maybe someone else has better explanation though..
Heart beat rate is being recorded by Mi Band itself at set frequency and displayed on the phone only after sync (or during workout). For some reason watch faces with HR display show different value than Mi Fit after the sync. So far I haven't figured why
Hi,
Is it possible to make the band vibrate when it looses BT connection? I tried using "Anti-loss my phone feature" in "Notify & Fitness app" but it says "Instead this option use native connection lost notification for best results". Where can I find this native option?
Best regards
kslonka said:
Hi,
Is it possible to make the band vibrate when it looses BT connection? I tried using "Anti-loss my phone feature" in "Notify & Fitness app" but it says "Instead this option use native connection lost notification for best results". Where can I find this native option?
Best regards
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As far as I know, this feature was part of the official firmware on Mi Band 2, but has been removed on Mi Band 3 and 4. N&F offers a workaround with alarms which are constantly being rescheduled, but as it's written in the instructions, this "beta feature" will most probably drain your phone and band battery very quickly. If you really miss this feature, you could try submitting a feature request via Mi Fit app and hope that it'll get implemented some day officially.
_mysiak_ said:
As far as I know, this feature was part of the official firmware on Mi Band 2, but has been removed on Mi Band 3 and 4.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you know if there is a custom firmware that has this feature?
Anyway, thanks for your reply. I've ordered Mi Band 2 and if it works better for me I'll return the 4.
How can I share my mifit band 4 activities from the official mifit app? The latest in Google play I mean
kslonka said:
Do you know if there is a custom firmware that has this feature?
Anyway, thanks for your reply. I've ordered Mi Band 2 and if it works better for me I'll return the 4.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is no custom firmware for MB4 as of now, only custom resources (languages, icons). Also I found an information that firmware must be signed, so unless someone finds a way how to crack this security mechanism, there won't be a custom firmware.
I find MB2 still very good, but nice big screen with custom watch faces and easy starting of workouts from MB4 is very addictive. Just curious - why do you find this "anti loss" feature so important?
felixcuceanu said:
How can I share my mifit band 4 activities from the official mifit app? The latest in Google play I mean
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What exactly do you want to share? Workouts can be synced to Google Fit for example, or exported as a screenshot from Mi Fit.
_mysiak_ said:
why do you find this "anti loss" feature so important?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I work at a large software company, we have on-call duty so I need to be available. When I want to go to the beach or to the swimming pool I would like to get notifications from my band. If I loose the connection to the phone and do not get a notification I might miss some critical alert.
kslonka said:
I work at a large software company, we have on-call duty so I need to be available. When I want to go to the beach or to the swimming pool I would like to get notifications from my band. If I loose the connection to the phone and do not get a notification I might miss some critical alert.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see. For your use case I would look for a smart watch with a SIM card. Using a smart band connected to a phone will be extremely limiting for you. Even if you'll receive the notification that you're out of range, this will happen more often than not - practically almost immediately once you're in the water or a couple of meters away from the phone, so I'd expect to be notified very often. Btw. MB4 shows on the watch face once it's disconnected from the phone, but it's only a small icon - there is no vibration or any special notification shown. It might help if you glance at your band every now and then..
_mysiak_ said:
There is no custom firmware for MB4 as of now, only custom resources (languages, icons). Also I found an information that firmware must be signed, so unless someone finds a way how to crack this security mechanism, there won't be a custom firmware.
I find MB2 still very good, but nice big screen with custom watch faces and easy starting of workouts from MB4 is very addictive. Just curious - why do you find this "anti loss" feature so important?
What exactly do you want to share? Workouts can be synced to Google Fit for example, or exported as a screenshot from Mi Fit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I managed to share directly from the app by pressing on the activity result. Thank you! I shared it as an image
_mysiak_ said:
I see. For your use case I would look for a smart watch with a SIM card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have any recommendations? I prefer android and would love it to be completely standalone (I'm not sure about eSIM).
_mysiak_ said:
Using a smart band connected to a phone will be extremely limiting for you. Even if you'll receive the notification that you're out of range, this will happen more often than not - practically almost immediately once you're in the water or a couple of meters away from the phone, so I'd expect to be notified very often.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did not know that bluetooth range is reduced to a couple of inches when the device is under water :/. If MB2 would vibrate every time my hand goes under wanter then I do not want it. I guess I can use MB4 and "mi bandage" / "fitness & notify" phone loss feature when I go into the water with an interval ~5 min to remind me to get out of water and check to see if there are any notifications and I can disable it when I do not want it.
kslonka said:
Do you have any recommendations? I prefer android and would love it to be completely standalone (I'm not sure about eSIM).
I did not know that bluetooth range is reduced to a couple of inches when the device is under water :/. If MB2 would vibrate every time my hand goes under wanter then I do not want it. I guess I can use MB4 and "mi bandage" / "fitness & notify" phone loss feature when I go into the water with an interval ~5 min to remind me to get out of water and check to see if there are any notifications and I can disable it when I do not want it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Personally I don't have any experience with smart watches beyond Mi Band, but the usual choice seems to be Samsung Galaxy watch series.
Bluetooth in general doesn't have great penetration of solid obstacles, in my experience it reaches about max 5 meters with one or two walls in the way, and often it's even less. Situation is slightly better in open space. Quick Google search says, that watch will lose connectivity just about 3 cm under water (which may be the case with eSIM too, I couldn't find more info about it). With WiFi it's about 15cm (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3355409/). I guess that simple reminder to check your phone will be probably your best choice if you're planning to spend some time in water (or leave someone near your phone and he/she will let you know if any notification arrives ).
kslonka said:
I work at a large software company, we have on-call duty so I need to be available. When I want to go to the beach or to the swimming pool I would like to get notifications from my band. If I loose the connection to the phone and do not get a notification I might miss some critical alert.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
IMHO the app Mi Bandage can emulate this behaviour by continuously setting up an alarm on the Mi Band a few minutes in the future. So the alarm will trigger if it's time doesn't get updated by the app because the connection was lost. I wish I could emulate this behaviour with Tasker somehow without needing the app. (currently using Gagetbridge and additionally Mi Band Tools just because of the gesture support for Tasker. But I can't recommend because Mi Band Tools is very annoying regarding asking you to enable notification access for the Mi Fit app even if it's not installed)
sunsero said:
IMHO the app Mi Bandage can emulate this behaviour by continuously setting up an alarm on the Mi Band a few minutes in the future. So the alarm will trigger if it's time doesn't get updated by the app because the connection was lost. I wish I could emulate this behaviour with Tasker somehow without needing the app. (currently using Gagetbridge and additionally Mi Band Tools just because of the gesture support for Tasker. But I can't recommend because Mi Band Tools is very annoying regarding asking you to enable notification access for the Mi Fit app even if it's not installed)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is exactly what N&F does. Though prolonged use will have impact on the battery as it needs very often wake locks and data synchronizations.
How can I install 1.0.7.0.4 on miband four?
felixcuceanu said:
How can I install 1.0.7.0.4 on miband four?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From N&F app. But you need to remove Mi Fit (or replace it with patched version), otherwise it will reflash the FW with the latest official stable version (1.0.6.16).
Is there any posibility to get sleep data (REM) in realtime from miband 4? Raw data don't interesting. For my project with arduino and etc. Or maybe sensor + sleep phase recognition.
IlluminatusII said:
Is there any posibility to get sleep data (REM) in realtime from miband 4? Raw data don't interesting. For my project with arduino and etc. Or maybe sensor + sleep phase recognition.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think that it's possible. Sleep is calculated afterwards, only after the sleep has ended, and from raw data gathered during the night. For example start of sleep is using historic data - e.g. no movement for 5 minutes, add canditate for sleep start, if no further major movement detected within 30 minutes, make it permanent, if steps detected, cancel sleep tracking. You can't have this kind of data in real time. Also band itself doesn't do any calculations, the sleep processing is done in the app.
Related
I got a Huawei Watch for Christmas, and have a few questions about it:
1) Notification sounds - it doesn't make any, should it? Is "Feel the Wear" the only way to do it? Surely it should be native?
2) Google Fit is wildly inaccurate on the step count, it always shows way more than it should. But most watch faces seem to use this data source rather than the actual data from the watch. How do I correct this?
3) I installed the Huawei Wear app (which records the steps accurately but smashes my phone battery due to tons of wakelocks!). This app suggests that it does sleep tracking, but it doesn't work. I had a Fitbit Charge HR which does it automatically, is it meant to be automatic on this watch or do I have to switch it on? If so, how do I do that?
Thanks!
Hi everyone,
I recently heard about these fitness/health/sleep-tracking wristbands that are apparently able to grep your heart frequency, log it and also wake you up while you're not in deep sleep state to make you less tired in the morning.
Before accepting that being tired constantly and dependent on caffeine injections to the heart is my life now, I'd like to try that out and see where it leads.
Has anyone of you tried one of the billion devices for this purpose and can recommend something? My main issue is that it A) needs to work properly, but also B) needs an app that is halfway decent at least. I'm grateful for any hints.
Kind regards!
NovusDeus said:
Hi everyone,
I recently heard about these fitness/health/sleep-tracking wristbands that are apparently able to grep your heart frequency, log it and also wake you up while you're not in deep sleep state to make you less tired in the morning.
Before accepting that being tired constantly and dependent on caffeine injections to the heart is my life now, I'd like to try that out and see where it leads.
Has anyone of you tried one of the billion devices for this purpose and can recommend something? My main issue is that it A) needs to work properly, but also B) needs an app that is halfway decent at least. I'm grateful for any hints.
Kind regards!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sleep as Android is a great app I've been using for over a year now. It has great integration with Android Wear watches, Xiaomi Mi Bands (Requires external paid app but it's worth it.) and some more trackers (Full list here, https://sleep.urbandroid.org/documentation/integration/wearable/). I personally use the Xiaomi Mi Band 2.
The app detects if you're in a deep sleep or light sleep and wakes you up when it thinks you're light sleeping. It also has compatibility with Philips Hue Lights to simulate a sunrise. It gives you advice on how to improve your sleep, prevents jet lag and oversleeping and much more. I highly recommend this app.
Sleep As Android:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.urbandroid.sleep&hl=nl
MI band 2
I know Fit Bit watches can track your heart rate but I am not sure if it can wake you up..... But if you are interested in running or jogging or walking or basically just being active, you can get Fitbit to track your heart rate and daily steps.
Hello guys, anyone using the watch at gym?
I'm searching for a way how it should be useful for workout.
Today I did 24 different exercises at the gym but none was recorded.
How it should be used as a fitness tracker?
Finally any application for tracking the stats? Samsung health is pretty weak at this.
bill_viper said:
Hello guys, anyone using the watch at gym?
I'm searching for a way how it should be useful for workout.
Today I did 24 different exercises at the gym but none was recorded.
How it should be used as a fitness tracker?
Finally any application for tracking the stats? Samsung health is pretty weak at this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Only around 6 exercises are automatically tracked and you have e to switch on that tracking as it is not enabled by default.
You have to manually record your gym sessions I'm afraid.
Doktaphex said:
Only around 6 exercises are automatically tracked and you have e to switch on that tracking as it is not enabled by default.
You have to manually record your gym sessions I'm afraid.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh I see, so there's no automation for the exercises. And it's pretty hard to switch them on when you're on 1 minute exercise and no rest between all of them.
The watch looks nice but is very bad for sports tracking. I play soccer and there is no track for that with this watch. I tried with "other workout" option but is very inaccurate
Bliko777 said:
The watch looks nice but is very bad for sports tracking. I play soccer and there is no track for that with this watch. I tried with "other workout" option but is very inaccurate
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can Try Map My run - but best is gear tracker ( has corrections) - app like polar.
I just use mine at the gym to track my heart rate so using the "other workout" to track it is fine. Everything else seems to be redundant.
Does anyone know how to change the number of reps for the exercises? I think it's set at 10 reps by default?
The us an option for circuit training and it will give continuous reading
Sent from my SM-T830 using Tapatalk
I'm curious as I do weight training also, I tried using 'Other workout' and "weight machine' but I find that it's continually adding calories burnt whilst in between sets (1 min rest). Has anyone found the best way to track weight training without having to pause/resume the workout?
Have a look at the STRAVA app for the galaxy watch, this app brings more possible workout scenarios to the watch.
Try GymRun. It allows you to configure your workout with sets, reps as well as rest periods on your phone, and then you can sync with watch. Excercises will appear in the same order on your phone, and rest timer will begin automatically as soon as you press on "set completed" button. You will also be able to change how many reps/sets/pounds you did directly from the watch (you get to enter estimations on your phone). It costs 5 USD but worth the money in my opinion (Beware to not but the premuim version on mobile because that is a completly different thing). If you want something that would count the reps for you, you can use the embeded app for that, but like others said you have to start it manualy each time.
Hello,
Which app do you use for controlling the MI Band 4?
Best regards
Notify & Fitness with Mi Fit.
I tried also Mi Band tools, Master for Mi Band, Mi Bandage, but none of them is as feature rich as Notify & Fitness.
_mysiak_ said:
Notify & Fitness with Mi Fit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried that app and started getting very strange recording results. GPS was screwed up, steps was screwed up and not screwed up in a consistent way. The results in the MI fit app were generally good before I loaded Notify and Fitness and after I uninstalled the app and went back to just MI Fit app, the results went back to being consistently good.
Maybe I messed something up but it was very strange.
ludditefornow said:
I tried that app and started getting very strange recording results. GPS was screwed up, steps was screwed up and not screwed up in a consistent way. The results in the MI fit app were generally good before I loaded Notify and Fitness and after I uninstalled the app and went back to just MI Fit app, the results went back to being consistently good.
Maybe I messed something up but it was very strange.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure about that, I have constantly good results with N&F. Steps counters are spot on with Mi Fit and band (even though Mi Fit sometimes removes a couple of hundred or even thousand steps from the detailed view of steps, in summary it's fine), workouts have the same stats in Mi Fit, N&F and also Google Fit (which shows also altitude based on the map data). The only difference between Mi Fit and N&F are sleep stats, Mi Fit is showing way less of deep sleep than N&F. Wakeup/fall asleep and awake times are usually the same on in both. N&F is closer to what Sleep As Android provides.
If you force N&F to a standalone mode and you still have Mi Fit app installed, it might have some adverse effects. Otherwise these apps are almost 100% compatible to coexist along each other.
_mysiak_ said:
Not sure about that, I have constantly good results with N&F. Steps counters are spot on with Mi Fit and band (even though Mi Fit sometimes removes a couple of hundred or even thousand steps from the detailed view of steps, in summary it's fine), workouts have the same stats in Mi Fit, N&F and also Google Fit (which shows also altitude based on the map data). The only difference between Mi Fit and N&F are sleep stats, Mi Fit is showing way less of deep sleep than N&F. Wakeup/fall asleep and awake times are usually the same on in both. N&F is closer to what Sleep As Android provides.
If you force N&F to a standalone mode and you still have Mi Fit app installed, it might have some adverse effects. Otherwise these apps are almost 100% compatible to coexist along each other.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, that is what I heard. I certainly didn't have it in stand alone mode. But after deleting the N&F app things went back to normal. I decided to try it again last week. It got all screwy again. I'm not going to persist. I'm happy enough with the Mi Fit jobbie. It is strange, though. My Mi Band 4 is the Chinese version. not sure if that makes a difference.
_mysiak_ said:
Not sure about that, I have constantly good results with N&F. Steps counters are spot on with Mi Fit and band (even though Mi Fit sometimes removes a couple of hundred or even thousand steps from the detailed view of steps, in summary it's fine), workouts have the same stats in Mi Fit, N&F and also Google Fit (which shows also altitude based on the map data). The only difference between Mi Fit and N&F are sleep stats, Mi Fit is showing way less of deep sleep than N&F. Wakeup/fall asleep and awake times are usually the same on in both. N&F is closer to what Sleep As Android provides.
If you force N&F to a standalone mode and you still have Mi Fit app installed, it might have some adverse effects. Otherwise these apps are almost 100% compatible to coexist along each other.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you ever tried N&F with Mi Fit uninstalled? I really dont like that two apps are doing the same thing in the background but I still didnt tried if N&F results are better or worse than Mi Fit when it is not installed.
LoqOs195 said:
Did you ever tried N&F with Mi Fit uninstalled? I really dont like that two apps are doing the same thing in the background but I still didnt tried if N&F results are better or worse than Mi Fit when it is not installed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I've tried N&F in standalone mode, but I returned to have both apps because:
- N&F has currently a bug which does not allow custom sorting of menu items on Mi Band
- Mi Fit has notifications about firmware upgrade
- Mi Fit had nicer management of custom watch faces (not true anymore with the latest Mi Fit version)
Otherwise I can't see any difference when I have only N&F or N&F with Mi Fit.
i am using mibandage its simple and easy and enough for me
Step lenght indo No Band 4
Please
I WOULD LIKE TO CHANGE THE LENGHT OF one STEP IN THE MI band 4.
One website informes that one step equails to 72 cm. Anda I want to CHANGE This value to 93cm to improve the distance mesurement. I`m using MY FIT App.
Best regards, Aloísio
AJBCOTTA said:
Please
I WOULD LIKE TO CHANGE THE LENGHT OF one STEP IN THE MI band 4.
One website informes that one step equails to 72 cm. Anda I want to CHANGE This value to 93cm to improve the distance mesurement. I`m using MY FIT App.
Best regards, Aloísio
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not possible in Mi Fit, but you can configure custom step length in Notify & Fitness (and maybe other apps as well).
Any chance of N&F for IOS?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I'm tempted to replace my Fossil Collider Hr with a Watch GT2 but have a few questions which I can't seem to find the answer to anywhere (including in the user manual). Appreciate it if any owners can help me out and answer my queries (for reference I'm an iOS user in case it makes a different to any answers):
1 - Can it show all phone notifications or only "approved apps" (like the Fossil)? Does notification support differ on iOS vs Android?
2 - Does the standby watch face only show the time or can it also show other things like date, step count, battery. 2nd time zone?
3 - With the latest firmware updates does the standby watch face still disable raise to wake? Do notifications still appear if you have standby watch face set?
4 - Can anyone give me an idea of what battery life they get with the standby watch face enabled (and is this with or without GPS tracking and real time or smart heart rate tracking)?
5 - Does the screen brightness on standby watch face adjust for ambient light (i.e. brighter outdoors, dimmer indoors or in a dark room at night). Is it distracting in the cinema or sleeping at night?
6 - I think from what I've read that the watch gives an onscreen notification if it gets disconnected - can anyone confirm if this is the case? This is a feature i loved on my Garmin Vivomove and really miss on the Fossil Collider
7 - How quickly does the watch time update when the time on the phone changes? The Fossil is instant whereas the Garmin Vivomove could take up to 30 mins unless I manually synced it
8 - Can you set scheduled Do Not disturb Hours on the watch (e.g. at night)?
9 - I understand I can't use the built in play music function on iOS but do I get music controls to play/pause/skip whatever I'm playing on the phone?
10 - Do most watch faces offer the 2nd time zone function or is this limited to just a few watch faces?
Appreciate this is a lot of questions but I just can't find the answer to these anywhere else! Many thanks
omohat said:
I'm tempted to replace my Fossil Collider Hr with a Watch GT2 but have a few questions which I can't seem to find the answer to anywhere (including in the user manual). Appreciate it if any owners can help me out and answer my queries (for reference I'm an iOS user in case it makes a different to any answers):
1 - Can it show all phone notifications or only "approved apps" (like the Fossil)? Does notification support differ on iOS vs Android?
2 - Does the standby watch face only show the time or can it also show other things like date, step count, battery. 2nd time zone?
3 - With the latest firmware updates does the standby watch face still disable raise to wake? Do notifications still appear if you have standby watch face set?
4 - Can anyone give me an idea of what battery life they get with the standby watch face enabled (and is this with or without GPS tracking and real time or smart heart rate tracking)?
5 - Does the screen brightness on standby watch face adjust for ambient light (i.e. brighter outdoors, dimmer indoors or in a dark room at night). Is it distracting in the cinema or sleeping at night?
6 - I think from what I've read that the watch gives an onscreen notification if it gets disconnected - can anyone confirm if this is the case? This is a feature i loved on my Garmin Vivomove and really miss on the Fossil Collider
7 - How quickly does the watch time update when the time on the phone changes? The Fossil is instant whereas the Garmin Vivomove could take up to 30 mins unless I manually synced it
8 - Can you set scheduled Do Not disturb Hours on the watch (e.g. at night)?
9 - I understand I can't use the built in play music function on iOS but do I get music controls to play/pause/skip whatever I'm playing on the phone?
10 - Do most watch faces offer the 2nd time zone function or is this limited to just a few watch faces?
Appreciate this is a lot of questions but I just can't find the answer to these anywhere else! Many thanks
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1. On Android I can confirm it shows what you select and you can select all apps from you're phone. I can't confirm on iOS
2. Standby faces show only time for now and can't modify them or install new ones. Only in future updates maybe
3. Yes. No, you need to manually unlock it to see notifications. Only vibrate.
4. I had standby wf enabled once for a cycle of around 5-6 days. I do not find it useful as it cannot turf off at night by itself in bed (it seems). Without always on wf, with all others enabled stress, hr, etc , I get around 10 days
5.yes and yes, it's distracting for me even at minimum brightness ). But that is me
6. Yes you get notified but will not remain in the notifications list from the watch. You see it when it vibrates or you miss it . After unlock, a notification is visible by default directly on screen for 5 sec I guess from the time you receive it
7. I have no clue on this one. On Garmin I know it is connected to the gps and I think it is getting time from there not phone
8. Yes hours yes but not on week days.
9. No clue. I always had only androids
10. Limited to some of them. Good part is that we have a really good community posting alot of wf daily and also creating them on request . Even cloning some known Sam ones
I had the watch from December and must say it is pretty close to the perfect watch for me after changing and still owning to many of them.
Some minuses I noticed that bugged me compared to others, first one is the most important:
1. Vibration is really faded, the worst vibrations on any watch that I ever owned but I can live with it
2. Notifications don't have icons for all apps. Ex. Skype has the same icon as many others and it is hard to see the app that notifies at first glance
3. Adding custom watch faces is not that easy and kind of hit and miss at the moment if you don't have a rooted Android phone. On iOS at the moment it is impossible to send custom wf to the watch.
4. Support. China always gets the best, they even have a payed watch face store for gt2.... The rest gets some new watch faces at around 2 weeks... Not really a problem if you can send custom wf to the watch. Just today in around 3 telegram groups o saw around 40 new wf's....
Done with this wall of text and hope it helps you. Conclusion , defenetlly I would by this watch again even after this many months. To convince you I can tell you that I currently own 4 garmins, 1 Moto, 1 Samsung, 1 amazfit and some other sport bracelets, with gt2 being may main one even comparted to my amazfit gtr
Awesome - thanks for taking the time @mauk to answer all my questions!
Bit disappointed with the standby watch faces being so gimped (why no raise to wake or notifications) but I'm still tempted.
Looks like raise to wake is the way to go - are you happy with the "hit rate"/accuracy of raise to wake or do you often find yourself tapping the screen/shaking your arm to activate the watch?
Yep, no issue to wake when raising and sleep when lowering the arm. Hit rate is pretty good for me. Ah and yes, it has no tap to wake, only button pushing
Seems to me that mine will raise to wake when the standby face on if I immediately do so after a notification vibration comes in. Say the standby face is on and I'm walking, if it vibrates a notification and I immediately pull my arm up to look it'll show it to me. I also noticed when I sleep or take my watch off the standby face will eventually go dark (which I like)
I actually tried the standby face because I get annoyed that the watch constantly wakes up on the slightest movement, especially when driving.
I do wish I could read messages more than a couple of lines and the icons for WHAT notified matched the app (does have the gmail icon). I don't care about responding to messages. One thing I got that I wasn't expecting was the ability to control my phones music. Reviews I read said you couldn't, only the watches locally stored music but there must have been an update.