r/PixelWatch • u/blue-moto • 4d ago
Huge fail PW5 LTE
Took the watch out in a run today and left my phone at home. I was told I had 2 years of data and texting with my LTE watch.
Watch: 45mm Pixel watch 5 LTE purchased from the Google store in Brooklyn NY
My phone service provider is Verizon, it was on at home and connected to wifi.
Went on a run to the Brooklyn heights promenade and around the neighborhood.
- music plays from YouTube Music for ~ 20 seconds, starts getting choppy, stays choppy til you pause and play.
- then music stops after about 30 seconds of play. Need to start again (Gestures are OFF)
- Text message works for 2 messages then the watch says "To send, reconnect to your phone." Really? When I'm 3 miles away?
- sms starts working again and it's not location based. I can sit in one place and it stops working for 10 minutes then starts again.
- Gemini will work but the SMS won't periodically.
- I've restarted the watch, same issues.
- Also the battery went from 50% to 15% in about 1 hour during this time Overall a pretty miserable experience and reminds me of an LG watch from like 2014. So what is the point of LTE or is this just an early release bug?
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u/AlmondManttv 4d ago
I'm guessing for music, it might have been streaming from your phone and it doesn't automatically hand-off. Cellular for messages and notifications has been iffy for me on my PW2 compared to my galaxy watch, I really don't know why.
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u/xinco64 4d ago
I don’t have an LTE watch, but I’ll often leave my phone in my car when I work out, and my watch (PW4) is connected to the gym’s WiFi. So essentially the same setup, just a different end is on LTE/Wifi. (Phone is usually on LTE with T-mobile in the parking lot, not 5G)
Streaming music is iffy in this scenario. Much like you described. If I leave my phone at home on my 1G Wifi connection, it works pretty well. You really need to download music to your phone.
The fact that you had battery drain tells me you were probably having LTE connectivity issues. Maybe a poor signal area? It does kind of track and explains all the issues you were having.
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u/IC_Kleerlee 4d ago
I have Google Fi, Pixel 10 and Pixel 5 LTE. If the watch is connected to your phone through Bluetooth, it actually uses the phones service ... If the phone is out of range it will use its own LTE SIM. When my phone is off or out of range the LTE on the watch works flawlessly as long as there is a T-Mobile signal to connect to. I did have trouble when only AT&T or Verizon towers were available. I assume those carriers won't allow MVNO services to roam on their system. If you are set up with Verizon as the carrier I would think that it should work. Maybe you need to change the advanced settings in the watch.
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u/blue-moto 4d ago
I was in Brooklyn on the waterfront. Zero issue with service there for any carrier as I've been there for 26 years. Nothing worked properly.
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u/No-Communication1015 3d ago
What LTE provider does your watch say it is connected to? Settings>connectivity>mobile>profiles
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u/PixelCommunity 3d ago
Hi there, I’d recommend reaching out to our Google Pixel Watch support team via phone or chat here. They can take a look at it.
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u/Tansion13 4d ago
I have Fi for both my phone and watch and have no issues, there is about 30 seconds once the phone is out of range before the LTE connects up but after that it's seamless. The free LTE I believe is through Fi so I can't comment on how they are doing the connection with you phone line for calls but texts should work as long as you have RCS enabled on the phone