IKWEAR IK8 MTK6577 Smart Phone Watch 1.54 Inch Android 4.0
- Thread starter dcrisis
- Start date
Mind that call quality concerns are only really relevant when using it in standalone mode. If you're going to use it as a companion only, call quality will mostly depend on the phone that makes the actual call, and any watch phone with a good microphone and loudspeaker will perform well.
As for the 3+ days, don't get your hopes up too high, that's only if you use the IK8 as a watch and don't check the time too often
What a good guy you are [emoji106] [emoji1]Here i am
Please give me some information regarding swapp link issues so that i can try to fix them.
if you manage to open SWApp Link please enable the crash report in settings
Ok folks let him have it ... include lots of info and lets get this fixed.
Thanks
It crashes on my HTC One M8. Every time I bring the phone out of standby I get the error message telling me the program has stopped working. After a couple of days of that I uninstalled it on both devices.
On the watch itself I had problems during the setup wizard. Half of the screen was a black bar and half of the screen a white bar. By restarting the setup I was able to get one step further each time, until I had gotten past all the setup steps.
Before removing the software from my HTC One I gave it one last attempt, and while everything was (at that point) installed and not throwing up any error messages, it didn't actually seem to be doing anything at all. I was getting no notifications of calls, texts etc on the companion device. Just gave up and uninstalled everything.
Thanks xanhugh. Were you able to enable the crash report for @cyrilp ?
...could anyone else please try it too.
---------- Post added at 01:07 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:58 PM ----------
The main reason for buying it was only $69.94 - maybe useful if someone wanted spare parts for a damaged IK8.Mind that call quality concerns are only really relevant when using it in standalone mode. If you're going to use it as a companion only, call quality will mostly depend on the phone that makes the actual call, and any watch phone with a good microphone and loudspeaker will perform well.
As for the 3+ days, don't get your hopes up too high, that's only if you use the IK8 as a watch and don't check the time too often
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/IK8-...e-MTK6577-Dual-Core-512MB-RAM/2051864399.html
---------- Post added at 01:09 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:07 PM ----------
Didn't @dcisis say he wanted a new digitizer? Sure its a lot to pay for a digitizer, but you get a new battery too.
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I'm a user, not a dev, hence I only have one £500 handset. I'd be happy to try it on the phone of any volunteers in the thread?
Same here, user from England. I take it you haven't rooted ur IK8?
I won't be much help either but i shall certainly try ...have to wait 2.5 weeks though.
I don't want to root it, too many apps that wont run on rooted even with root hiders.
OStart "Not supported" on the IK8
Regarding the OStart app which was also mentioned as being an interesting tool. Was hoping to play with it but Play Store (in my browser, at least; not near WiFi to use Play Store on the watch) says that the app isn't compatible with my watch. I will be trying SWApp quite soon, pairing with my HTC One (not M8).
Thanks a ton for the suggestions guys. Spent some time Googling around and, while I'm not quite done, I'm taking it nobody has a strong CFW for these devices yet? I was really hoping to tinker a little lower, but I'm not so fancy as to get it started. There are several other watches that use nearly the same board (and definitely the same SoC) but I'm not sure which have CFWs or not and, if any, whether or not they would have any hope for compatibility. I did see someone mention that the recovery image for the ZGPAX S5 works on this device, as well as some other flashing related hacks, but is there any list of known working hacks and mods? Is it relatively safe to assume everything that works for the S5 works for this device?
Regarding the OStart app which was also mentioned as being an interesting tool. Was hoping to play with it but Play Store (in my browser, at least; not near WiFi to use Play Store on the watch) says that the app isn't compatible with my watch. I will be trying SWApp quite soon, pairing with my HTC One (not M8).
Thanks a ton for the suggestions guys. Spent some time Googling around and, while I'm not quite done, I'm taking it nobody has a strong CFW for these devices yet? I was really hoping to tinker a little lower, but I'm not so fancy as to get it started. There are several other watches that use nearly the same board (and definitely the same SoC) but I'm not sure which have CFWs or not and, if any, whether or not they would have any hope for compatibility. I did see someone mention that the recovery image for the ZGPAX S5 works on this device, as well as some other flashing related hacks, but is there any list of known working hacks and mods? Is it relatively safe to assume everything that works for the S5 works for this device?
@TheXenocide - all the info i found is on Dr Lex's site which has a few tips and hacks. http://www.dr-lex.be/hardware/china_ikwear_review.html#h4x
I'm not a developer so not much help other then testing ...Once the watch arrives in two weeks or so.
If some of the S5 mods and roms work then it a case of trawling thru the S5 threads and finding the right info.
What exactly are you intending to do with your IK8? I just want to make the SWApp work for now. Anyway let us know if the SWApp works and then we can take it from there. I'd be happy to test stuff for you if you need me to.
Thanks. [emoji106]
I'm not a developer so not much help other then testing ...Once the watch arrives in two weeks or so.
If some of the S5 mods and roms work then it a case of trawling thru the S5 threads and finding the right info.
What exactly are you intending to do with your IK8? I just want to make the SWApp work for now. Anyway let us know if the SWApp works and then we can take it from there. I'd be happy to test stuff for you if you need me to.
Thanks. [emoji106]
Yup, those are exactly the resources I've been getting started with (mostly reading for now). SWApp is now working relatively well for me. It took me a second to realize my watch had the developer option "Do not keep activities" checked, which was causing some issues, but I don't believe that's a default setting, I'm pretty sure I set that while tinkering with specific optimizations. This did, however, result in some crashes when moving between settings screens which I believe may have corrupted some settings. To fix, I simply force-stopped and cleared all data on both devices and then started the setup over.
I also noticed that when you set the watch to a Companion device, if you enable the clock lock screen during setup, when the setup says it will close the application to apply new settings it seems the auto-start lock automatically shows up if your screen turns off before re-launching the app, which appeared to not adjust to some of the settings until I force-stopped it and relaunched? I'm not sure this was the exact issue, but I might recommend not setting the app to use the clock lock until after initial setup is complete. Also, as a sidenote for those interested, the lock screen setting does not appear to be an actual lock screen launcher, but rather a FLAG_SHOW_WHEN_LOCKED activity that auto-starts (meaning the system lock screen is still running behind it and will sometimes show up). I have also noticed that sometimes the clock randomly shows up when just clicking back from some screens within SWApp, which is a sometimes jarring experience. I also had a very difficult time getting it to set my clock face, which it preview just fine, but I repeated the same steps several times before it finally popped up a message asking if I wanted to set my clock face. The digital faces are a little gaudy and have some aesthetic text like "waterproof" on it, which is not actually true of my device. That said, now that my clock face is set, it is much nicer than the stock clock.
Other behaviors in SWApp aren't as smooth as I would like, but are generally pretty good (some are the best out there). The Remote device location wasn't working as well as Google Device Manager does (I don't think SWApp can turn on the remote location either). The remote ring only turned my volume *on*, it didn't turn it up, so if you use the volume button on your phone to switch to vibrate by pushing down until it passes silent instead of using Volume Profiles (to skip straight to Vibrate or Silent) then the last non-silent/vibrate volume level of your phone will be used, which is 1 notch of volume. While testing the remote lock function I think SWApp may have disabled my already configured lock screen altogether, rather than forcing the device to lock (I was testing while the device was unlocked and the screen remained on). I have not tested any remote wipe features. My Bluetooth connection is intermittent, but that may be my phone's fault.
Several features don't work until the devices have had their "first sync" (notifications, missed calls, maybe some more), but it isn't entirely clear what causes the first sync to happen; I was tinkering for about 30 minutes before any of these features started working. Similarly, contact sync (for contact photos) requires an initial sync that pops up on the Master device (phone) but when I accidentally clicked the back button it was unclear how to get that opportunity again. After clearing data and resetting everything I didn't make the same mistake the second time, so everything worked fine after that.
Media controls did not work for Spotify on my phone, with either the normal or alternate settings, but again this may have been a result of the intermittent Bluetooth situation. It would be nice to have some indicator of when the devices are correctly synced, and which method is being used (I have enabled both Bluetooth and Internet; my watch does not have a SIM in it so I cannot test the text feature).
Because of this Bluetooth issue I have not enabled any leash features as I'm concerned that I may not be able to unlock my device under normal usage.
Remote battery works excellently from my watch, but sometimes my phone shows its own battery twice (not a concern for me; the watch showing phone battery is great though). Remote text works well, although I could not get speech-to-text working (at least I assume that's what the microphone means); I may be missing a pre-requisite? That's the only way I could imagine using my watch to text instead of my phone.
That's all for my initial experience with SWApp.
I find myself often wishing for a home button on this device; I'm wondering if there isn't something that can make a long press on the back button mean home and a long press on the power button to be an app manager (for closing/switching between apps)? That would be especially handy on this device. Also, the invisible menu button was handy to find, but there is also a button in the task bar that functions for menu, which is easier to understand; some way to disable the invisible back button would be especially great, and to do so for the menu button would work too I suppose. I also hoped to find gestures since they appear to be using the capacitive screen margins, but non exist that I could find (I had a device previously that had gestures on the off-screen capacitive "buttons" that was pretty nice).
I've actually been experimenting with this device to evaluate the hardware platform and determine the level of effort of modifying/creating software to facilitate a medical smart watch project some colleagues and I are working on. I would really like to get my hands on some ROM resources so I can tinker a little lower, but I'm reluctant to just start using S5 hacks without any confirmation of what works. It would be especially nice if there were some resources for making this a real Google Wear device since I don't intend to use the phone features (though the SIM is nice because I can see uses for data in my hopeful application of the technology).
I wouldn't mind knowing other developers more experienced with hacking ROMs to replace home screens, launchers, button configurations, etc. since I'm relatively new to lower level android development. I also wouldn't mind discussing the development of SWApp in further detail, since I see a strong intersection in some of our goals.
Clarification
This feature actually exists, and I'm just blind. It does show a BT icon in the upper left corner while in SWApp or the Clock Lock, which changes color depending on status. Haven't tested this with the Internet sync, but still, I wasn't paying close enough attention for that part.
Also, the notification previews are fantastic, once you've configured which apps you want to monitor notifications from on your master device.
For now, that is all.
This feature actually exists, and I'm just blind. It does show a BT icon in the upper left corner while in SWApp or the Clock Lock, which changes color depending on status. Haven't tested this with the Internet sync, but still, I wasn't paying close enough attention for that part.
Also, the notification previews are fantastic, once you've configured which apps you want to monitor notifications from on your master device.
For now, that is all.
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2IK8
Looks like the same device to me. Just be cautious since this seller has only received feedback once. I'm not sure if this deal is legit, especially since the price is incredibly low. The IK8 usually sells for about $135 - $145.
Since it's a standalone Android device, you don't need any additional phone running a companion app in order to receive notifications. Just insert your SIM card (regular SIM) and you're ready to go. If you'd like to pair the IK8 to your smartphone and receive notifications over Bluetooth, maybe it is possible to install the Osmart app which is originally developed for the Omate Truesmart. I'm not sure if this will work, but it's worth giving it a try. XDA user 'KOAO' already had some success using this app with his ZGPAX S5, which is not that different from the IK8;
The original battery supplied with the IK8 is 500mAh in contrary to what is promised on most websites/shops, it's exactly the same type of battery as used in the ZGPAX S5, but I'm not sure if they are interchangeable since the plastic 'mounting clips' look a bit different. With WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS turned off and the screen set at the lowest brightness I get about 7 - 8 hours of battery life. But I haven't been using the device a lot yet, so I think battery life will probably increase.
I ordered my IK8 from Aurabuy and received it within 1,5 week (to the Netherlands with SingPost).
Edit: I came across several 'relabeled' versions of this watch lately. They are all exactly the same, but simply indicate different brand-names. For as far as I know, the IK8 Smartwatch is originally known as the TCW-006 and is being manufactured by Tecomax Electronics. This also explains the build-number visible in Android; TECO_V2.0_20140420.2
First of all, the IK8 is sold with two battery sizes: 500mAh and 700mAh. Spec lists tend to be unreliable, therefore you should ask the seller for confirmation if you want to be sure of what you'll get. If you are going to use this for anything more than just check the time, I would recommend the 700mAh battery.
1. Depends on the battery of course. With the 700mAh you can get through 3 days of very light usage. If you enable airplane mode and only enable wifi etc. when needed, you can probably get more.
2. 14mm would be total thickness with a 500mAh battery. With a 700mAh battery it is 16.75mm. This may seem thick, but it is OK due to the rounded shape.
3. Even though there are no antennas or other electronics in the band, it is a custom design that cannot be replaced with standard straps.
4. With some effort, yes, but it is not ideal.
You can check my review for more details.1This IK8 Watch Phone looks a lot like a ZGPAX or EC-309, but the camera points across the band instead of from the front and I think it has a faster processor.
I haven't seen any other mention of it here on XDA.
Does anyone know if it is a rebrand of something else that I'm missing here?
It's fast. I've been able to use Google Hangouts on it, even with video. Zello works with no problems and even sounds good. I'm going to get a SIM for it and see how well the phone works.
Biggest drawbacks are lack of support for Google Voice and Voice Search. I've been able to workaround most of the other issues. This appears to be a common issue for this type of phone, and it's a big disappointment here. I'd love to find a way to get those messages. Has anyone solved this?
I got mine at http://www.geekbuying.com/item/IK8-...4-0-512MB-RAM-4G-ROM-5MP-GPS-WIFI-325392.html but you'll likely find a place that ships more quickly than Geekbuying.
Thanks!
DC1IK8 Review
I wrote a review about the IK8 (I think I should be allowed to post links by now). Because I already had a ZGPAX S5 and the IK8 is very similar, the review mostly focuses on the differences between the two. The general conclusion however is that the IK8 is noticeably better in most aspects.
The review also contains a list of tweaks and hacks, and custom versions of the clock screensaver and launcher. Enjoy!1
The software crashes on m y HTC One M8 whenever I turn on the screen or unlock the handset.
