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How long can the watch work without the phone?

twinlight

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May 25, 2015
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Im sending my iPhone to apple becuase I shattered the screen and I'm wondering how long the watch will keep info like workouts I'm doing and the activity of the day. I'll probably be without the phone for a week.. Should it just sync the info when I get the phone back and restore the backup?
 

jpgti

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One thing to keep in mind... if they wipe the phone and send it back to you, I'm almost positive your watch isn't going to sync to it. You would have to reset the watch and re-pair and lose that workout data. Even with Watch os2, Im pretty sure the watch isn't syncing any fitness data to iCloud. If they don't wipe the phone when they replace the screen, it should just reconnect and then sync.
 

tcuprof

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One thing to keep in mind... if they wipe the phone and send it back to you, I'm almost positive your watch isn't going to sync to it. You would have to reset the watch and re-pair and lose that workout data. Even with Watch os2, Im pretty sure the watch isn't syncing any fitness data to iCloud. If they don't wipe the phone when they replace the screen, it should just reconnect and then sync.

I don't think you will lose your workout data as long as you back up to icloud before you send in the phone. Even if Apple wipes the iphone, and I don't know why they would, restoring from icloud will put everything back including workout data.
 

tcuprof

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Here's a great iMore article that tells you almost everything your watch can do without your iPhone: Here's what the Apple Watch can do without an iPhone | iMore

In the article you link to, it says:

It can track your fitness (but not your distance)
Go out on a run without your iPhone, and the Watch will continue tracking your fitness — that includes your heartbeat, step counts, stairs climbed, and stand-sit ratio.
You won't be able to track distance or specific routes, however, as the Watch has no GPS receiver.


That's not exactly correct. You WILL be able to track distance, it just may not be as accurate. I've run without my phone and the watch tracked heartbeat, step counts, AND distance.

Also, the times I've had my watch but not my phone, it did NOT track stairs climbed and that's what I expected since the watch doesn't have a barometer.
 

jpgti

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I don't think you will lose your workout data as long as you back up to icloud before you send in the phone. Even if Apple wipes the iphone, and I don't know why they would, restoring from icloud will put everything back including workout data.

You would lose any data captured on the watch after your last sync to the iPhone. And it's pretty standard practice to reinstall the OS on a device when it's sent in for service. They even say to make sure you have a backup in case they do wipe it.
 

tcuprof

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You would lose any data captured on the watch after your last sync to the iPhone. And it's pretty standard practice to reinstall the OS on a device when it's sent in for service. They even say to make sure you have a backup in case they do wipe it.

Yes, good point. For some reason I was thinking about existing workout data and not new data. Also, I'm sure you're right, but I still can't imagine why Apple would wipe the phone just because they replaced the screen.
 

jpgti

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Yes, good point. For some reason I was thinking about existing workout data and not new data. Also, I'm sure you're right, but I still can't imagine why Apple would wipe the phone just because they replaced the screen.

From a QA checklist standpoint, one way to make sure the device is working properly is to wipe and reinstall the OS. I'm not saying they 100% wipe every device they get, but I would expect it. Not to mention the fact that no way in heck would I send my device in for repair with personal information on it. Pictures, contact information, passwords etc. I work in the IT security sector, and I don't trust anyone. If you want to send your phone with all this info on it to complete strangers you are brave, especially these days. Anytime I send or take a device in for repair, it gets backed up and wiped beforehand.
 

twinlight

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I got my phone back, or more correctly, a new phone back. I needed to wipe the Watch to re-pair it with the phone. Workout data for the last week down the drain. Oh well.. back to the gym.
 

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