Whats the value of Wifi on a Gear S3 if you have your phone with you?

[scoob101]

I believe the point of having Wifi at all on the gear S3 is so that your phone can continue to talk to your gear via the Samsung account over the internet (assuming both devices are on and connected to the internet over wifi)

Is this the only use case for Wifi being turned on?

Does this scenario only cover alerts, or will it also support calls texts and emails?

 

[MobileUnlockBase]

I believe the point of having Wifi at all on the gear S3 is so that your phone can continue to talk to your gear via the Samsung account over the internet (assuming both devices are on and connected to the internet over wifi)

Is this the only use case for Wifi being turned on?

Does this scenario only cover alerts, or will it also support calls texts and emails?

The two devices will talk to each other whether wifi is turned on or off. Wifi comes in handy for apps like Spotify so you don't have to use up your data and apps like Kodi gear where you can control multimedia through your watch .

Sent from my SM-N915T using Tapatalk

 

[10urshin]

I believe the point of having Wifi at all on the gear S3 is so that your phone can continue to talk to your gear via the Samsung account over the internet (assuming both devices are on and connected to the internet over wifi)

You mean while out of bluetooth range? If so yes, that is one of the usages of wifi.

Is this the only use case for Wifi being turned on?

No as @MobileUnlockBase pointed out already.

Does this scenario only cover alerts, or will it also support calls texts and emails?

In Wifi mode you will keep receiving all kind of notifications including text, missing calls etc., but you can't make/receive phone call over wifi. Currently phone call over wifi is not available on this watch.

 

[afblangley]

If you always have your phone with you (by definition this means within BT range) there is no reason to use WiFi. There is nothing that can be done via WiFi that can't be done via BT. But the reverse is not true.

 

[scoob101]

So basically if you have your phone with you at all times, its a complete waste of battery. Turned off. Cheers.

 

[RaymondPJR]

You mean while out of bluetooth range? If so yes, that is one of the usages of wifi.



No as @MobileUnlockBase pointed out already.



In Wifi mode you will keep receiving all kind of notifications including text, missing calls etc., but you can't make/receive phone call over wifi. Currently phone call over wifi is not available on this watch.

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I'm totally unclear on the purpose of Wifi on this watch! I turned off Bluetooth to use Wifi and it can't connect because the of "sign-in procedure not supported"! Does that mean it can only connect to an open network??? Those really don't exist these days.

 

[MobileUnlockBase]

Why is there such a big discussion about wifi on this watch? The watch has wifi because Samsung wanted to put it in there and most of us are grateful. Do you want a smart watch without wifi? Again, there are apps like Spotify that it is better to be on wifi instead of GSM, depending on what network you use.

Sent from my SM-N915T using Tapatalk

 

[10urshin]

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I'm totally unclear on the purpose of Wifi on this watch! I turned off Bluetooth to use Wifi and it can't connect because the of "sign-in procedure not supported"! Does that mean it can only connect to an open network??? Those really don't exist these days.

No it can connect password protected networks, my watch is connected to my home wifi right now, password protected ofc. Try changing encryption protocol(i'm on TKIP+AES) of your access point or try to connect to another access point.

 

[RaymondPJR]

No it can connect password protected networks, my watch is connected to my home wifi right now, password protected ofc. Try changing encryption protocol(i'm on TKIP+AES) of your access point or try to connect to another access point.

Lol, if i turn off password protection on my home network, then my neighbors will start using my Wifi! I can't believe Samsung overlooked this!! I'll just wait for a possible update???

 

[Tel864]

I can confirm that it should connect to a wifi protected network. I use WPA2-PSK and it connects fine to my router.

 

[afblangley]

Why is there such a big discussion about wifi on this watch? The watch has wifi because Samsung wanted to put it in there and most of us are grateful. Do you want a smart watch without wifi? Again, there are apps like Spotify that it is better to be on wifi instead of GSM, depending on what network you use.

Sent from my SM-N915T using Tapatalk

The discussion is because people want to understand the uses of their watch. Having it is nice, but there aren't too many use case scenarios for it. Most of the time where WiFi is available, the phone will be close at hand and connected via BT. Streaming music (over WiFi or otherwise) is a very limited application because of the battery drain. If/when moreb Tizen apps are developed for the watch, using WiFi may become practical.

 

[obsydian]

At home i do leave my phone in 1 place, keep my S3 on yes moving around its always BT, but moving further around the house when BT drops the WIFI takes over.
Also once i forgot my phone at home, but when i reached the gym (was registered for their WIFI) i still got my notifications etc.

But all in all no much use, but i left it on as could not discern much battery loss with it being on.

 

[jestexman]

you have to sync the wifi from your phone to the watch then it will just connect.. look on the gear app settings> gear connection > Sync wi-fi profiles..

 

[venumx]

It's not about giving a use for WiFi all the time. Most of the time WiFi should be off to conserve battery. It is more about the one off scenarios like you forgot your phone at home, but you can connect to WiFi at work and tell your wife you are alive through a text... or for the tizen app developer, to test apps on your watch you need to connect to the watch via wifi... or for spotify.. there are several reasons to have it, but still it should be off Moore often than not

 

[RaymondPJR]

you have to sync the wifi from your phone to the watch then it will just connect.. look on the gear app settings> gear connection > Sync wi-fi profiles..

No it can connect password protected networks, my watch is connected to my home wifi right now, password protected ofc. Try changing encryption protocol(i'm on TKIP+AES) of your access point or try to connect to another access point.

Odd, now it's connecting without doing either of your suggestions!!? Confusing!

Sent from my SM-T377T using XDA-Developers Legacy app

 

[cbone85]

Well GWD needs the watch and PC connected to the same network (wifi) to get the faces from one place to another. Unless you get it into a store maybe, but having it on wifi is handy to test things out as you add them and modify themes.

 

[redswap]

Just to share my opinion. In my work I’m not allowed to have the phone with me. So the solution to continue receiving my notifications are through WiFi, and it works perfectly.

 

[dronemx]

Streaming music from Spotify on my watch over Wifi.

 

[Aashish.007]

I believe the point of having Wifi at all on the gear S3 is so that your phone can continue to talk to your gear via the Samsung account over the internet (assuming both devices are on and connected to the internet over wifi)

Is this the only use case for Wifi being turned on?

Does this scenario only cover alerts, or will it also support calls texts and emails?

WiFi (WiFi Direct) is also used for syncing Images, songs and large apps over to your watch; these would otherwise take lots of time over Bluetooth.

 

[gpmaster]

After last update there is no connection via wifi with my phone.. Does someone experienced the same issue?