Should I bother with the Watch App or is it too buggy?
Am I the only one having trouble with the Watch app? I'd like to know so I can figure out if I should invest more time in getting it to work. Seems like this is not ready for prime time. Here's my list of symptoms (using the new Gaia GPS v 1.1.1 and Watch series 2 v 3.2.2):
- Won't stay "active" on screen (like workout app will during a workout) and I have to reopen it. This often leads to the reconnecting cycle of death (see below).
- Stats screen won't setup correctly no matter what I do. I want it to show Distance, altitude, and pace. It will only show elevation and GPS signal strength. Yes, I've tried rebooting, and even reinstalling the watch app.
- Stats won't match up. I can hold the watch next to the phone and still shows different elevations, often off by 30-100 feet.
- Stats screen will often get stuck in perpetual reconnect mode and won't get out of it without a reinstall (the reconnect cycle of death). Meanwhile the map screen is refreshing fine.
- Constant reconnecting and refreshing
I had high hopes for the watch. It would be great to glance and see distance and elevation (I don't care so much about the map on such a small screen). But the experience is so bad on the watch, it is faster just to dig out my phone, unlock it, and bring up the app. I know, first world problems and all. But still, it is unrealized potential.
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Had almost the same issues today when trying to use the watch app. Display was totally useless when it didn't say "Disconnected" which was once in the several times I looked at it. The main difference was the map never updated on my watch.
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Nathan, if you want more input, let me know (I come from a prod mgmt background for a major software company). If going the overhaul route, take a look at the Ski Tracks app for inspiration (by Core Coders). The watch integration has the right style UX and is very reliable It also integrates with Apple's health kit (so I can also see the stats in the workout app). In fact, that may be why it is so reliable if it is using Apple services for connection and integration.
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Just thought I would add my 2cents worth...also experiencing major frustration using the most current version of Gaia and and a gen 2 Apple Watch. Failing to either connect, or remain connected is the bigger issue, followed by the map loading very sporadically.
To echo @cdubler I find it quicker to dig out my phone that trying to use the Watch app
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I've never been able to get the watch app to work correctly. As others have already mentioned, the display on the watch (distance, speed, altitude, map display) would not update. I found that if I killed the app on the watch and restarted it, the display would update for a few minutes and then stop updating. Another issue I would frequently observe is that the watch display would say that my track recording was paused even when I knew for a fact that it wasn't. My biggest frustration though was that my tracks would randomly stop recording if I was running the watch app which doesn't happen now that I've removed the app from my watch.
My son, who also has an Apple Watch experienced problems pretty much identical to mine.
I view the watch app as kind of a joke at this point and have long since quit using it. I've always been amazed that Gaia hasn't resolved this long ago. They surely have to be aware of the problem.
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Thanks everyone for your comments on the watch app. We have shared this thread with the Development Team as they begin to look into updating the watch app.
@cdubler
Feel free to send any other feedback on the watch app to support@gaiagps.com and I will pass it along to the Development Team.0 -
Has this improved with version 1.3 of the app?
For some reason there are no details in the “what’s new” text in the App Store and the release notes in the app only talk about 1.2.3.
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The recent release, v1.3, should fix the issue where the Apple Watch loses connection with the phone.
After we made these changes, the Watch seemed to work well for us. If you notice any issues with the watch app, please contact us at support@gaiagps.com.0 -
I will be on a short backpacking trip next week. Looking forward to trying out the new release with the watch. I'll let you know how it goes.
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Not a field test yet, but I did try the watch with v1.3 around the neighborhood. It did not drop the connection with the phone, even if I took the watch off. That's a big improvement and makes the watch app usable.
But I did notice that the stats screen does not work unless I am recording a track. That makes sense in a way, since most of the items aren't relevant unless you're moving. Except for altitude. Where it really is a problem, though, is in setup. I went to Settings|Other|Watch Display on the phone, but no matter what I did, the only thing that showed on the watch was altitude. I tried reinstalling, etc. Nothing worked! Then when I started recording a track...presto...the watch displayed the stats I wanted: distance, time, AND altitude. When I stopped recording, the stats screen on the watch only showed altitude. This is all probably by design, but it was a bit frustrating to figure this out.
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