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Smartwatches

DM100watch
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

Hello All:

 

Not a question so much as an observation.  If you use the SIMON auto assistant, it will tell you that generic smart watches are not supported.   This is neither an apple watch or samsung watch, but rather a cheap generic android watch.   I am here to tell you that they do in fact work with Public Mobile; but I got mine as a standalone separate number.  It is paired with my phone via Bluetooth, but it has its own separate number.  The smartwatch in question is a generic android DM100 type 2.86 inch watch made by Refly (thought there are hundreds of other varieties out there).  All you need to do is ensure the frequency bands supported by the watch match those of public mobile.

 

https://www.frequencycheck.com/carriers/public-mobile-canada

 

The watch I am using is here:

 

https://www.amazon.com/Refly-Android-2700mAh-Battery-Smartwatch/dp/B07YCCY51D/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_produc...

 

It is available on amazon.ca as well.  So if you want to get a generic smartwatch working with Public Mobile, yes it can be done, even if its not officially supported.

 

 

21 REPLIES 21

@Nikita 

Having a few Tile trackers are good too.....samsung has a version coming out as well if you have a samsung phone even better. I liked that Burg smartwatch....just looks like a watch. Phone calls, text. no real apps, radio, mp3 player, calendar, camera takes up to a 16gb sd card with a good speaker and its waterproof up to 1m......I think this is what bf needs so he doesn't lose his phone!

 

The Burg 16a neon review....

 

https://findyoursmartwatch.com/burg-16a/

Anonymous
Not applicable

@Nikita wrote:

I explained you scream even if he says he will kill you scream your head off. Say stranger not my daddy

 


Could be a she/mommy. Just sayin' 🙂

You were an adult flagging people. Any decent human would help a kid.

Lost is rather different from abducted. It sounds like it's more about a wayward kid than nefarious deeds. Your bracelet idea is good. I get not having the kid haul around things like a purse/bag/fanny pack/phone whatever. So wearables make sense. But there are options and methods.

Nikita
Great Citizen / Super Citoyen

Lol. That was funny. @Anonymous  

In our time, 80s kid 90s teen here, we had phone booth.  I live in a city so we had phone booth literally every 4 street corners, bus stops, metro stations, malls, restaurants. At her age i was taking the bus to 6th grade  alone but phones were available. Mom i hurt my knee. Mom i forgot my lunch.   Mom school is closed we forgot its a holiday, mom  its freezing i think im dying.  Lol.  All collect. All from a payphone. 

 

Now with covid you try asking a stranger for help. I mean 7 years ago i broke my foot jogging. Did not have my cell.  I was on an industrial main street.  I flagged down car after car after car. No one stopped. Finally 15 min later a car stops, i ask for phone, he agreed and parks on a side street making me crawl all the way!!!     

She needs a cell phone.  

😉  The gps tracker could be nice if she gets lost as she is the most distracted day dreamer i know. We were at a just for laughs festival, i am waiting in line. I turn to speak to my husband and she thought I was leaving. She left.  We found her later with a police officer!!   We were in an amusement park. She goes in the bathroom. I wait outside. The bathroom had 2 doors!!!  She exited the wrong one and was lost. We had to call security to find her. Now we have bracelets on her when we go to the six flags. If lost this is our number. I have a 4 yo who does not get lost like this one. And my now 22 yo never did!!    This one needs a phone. I think its essential for mommys and daddies sanity. 

 

Now kicking and screaming.....   She knows this.  I even put her in a trunk and told her see how to open it. I explained you scream even if he says he will kill you scream your head off. Say stranger not my daddy.  But a tracker will still be nice. Last kid abducted or drowned was in 2020 january just before covid.   

 

 

@Nikita 

Check out the Burg 16 and Burg Neon 16a they may be just what you're looking for with a price around $200. A little difficult to find to actually buy other than Allibaba at the moment but has most of of the features that you want a very few if the ones you don't want. Here's a review for the Burg 16....

 

https://techspective.net/2015/04/14/review-burg-16-smartwatch/

for a cheap smartwatch for your purpose, I am not sure this is the solution.

 

For me , i really think maybe a very low end phone (like Samsung A01 or A11) would be a better solution, a more reliable one.  You can probably lock down some features if you worry she uses it too much for gaming or browsing.   I would even consider a traditional clam shell phone if GPS tracking is not critical.

 

 

Anonymous
Not applicable

 @Nikita : Whatever happened to just good ol' street-smarts training. Scream, kick strategically, bite, scratch, fight like your life depended on it, run to a bystander/witness (they'll have a phone), politely decline offers etc. I dunno. Somehow we all got through childhood. Hopefully unscathed but through nonetheless.

Tech isn't always the answer. You had said in your other thread that you didn't want gps tracking. I would think that would be the best, least intrusive option. Sew those little trackers into her knickers. Where's Suzy?! Click, tap oh she's in the park up the street. Honey could you go get Suzy.

And then there's trust. Or her privacy.

Nikita
Great Citizen / Super Citoyen

I just want my daughter yo be safe at a time where phone booths are so hard to come by. I cant tell her to just call collect as there are no phones. So good hearing capacity, good call capacity. Thats it. Lol.  



it really depends on what you are trying to do and how much you want to spend 

 

Fossil had some good sales some time to bring down the price to $120-$180.    Samsung Active was $199 2 weeks ago.

 

I like those as they will come with OS upgrade, I can easily change the watchface (many free watchfaces around).  If you keep it well, it can be used for at least 2 years.  But this is just my person preference  🙂

 

 

Nikita
Great Citizen / Super Citoyen

Hey i don't have one yet. We are buying a wonlex brand bought direct from manufacturer to be sure its a real wonlex  (rolex 🤣).   I am just wondering if i should invest in a samsung apple or a 80 buck china one will be good a long time. You give me hope!!!  Thanks


@Nikita wrote:

I am wondering after nearly 6 months of its still working. I'm getting a wonlex watch which is a cheap smart watch from China but supposed to be best quality then those cheap watches. I'm wondering if it is worth it or after 6 month watch is dead.

 

Thanks

 


 

@Nikita  6 months still working.. which watch are you using now? and you want to try a Rolex now?  (Wonlex  🙂 )

Nikita
Great Citizen / Super Citoyen

I am wondering after nearly 6 months of its still working. I'm getting a wonlex watch which is a cheap smart watch from China but supposed to be best quality then those cheap watches. I'm wondering if it is worth it or after 6 month watch is dead.

 

Thanks

 

DM100watch
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

The Refly DM100 watch I am using on Public Mobile has a 2.86 inch screen and actually looks like a little phone.  It's the biggest watch I've ever seen, and I get a lot of questions about it; even strangers ask me what the heck it is.  It's heavy at 6 ounces but you soon get used to it and don't notice it anymore (the specs say 10 ounces but that's with the charger and packing included, and a screwdriver to install the sim card).  I suppose you could get the same effect by taking a smaller smartphone and getting a wrist strap for it...I like the idea of not having to carry my phone around all the time, and the watch is a good way to do that. 

 

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07YCCY51D/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Anonymous
Not applicable

 @DM100watch : But they _are_ phones. Just really small. 🙂

I'll buy the Rogbid Brave * when they add an sd card slot. Or if someone else beats them to the market with NFC and sd.

I'm not so sure the Apple Watch works standalone. But I haven't examined it too closely as I'm not an Apple kinda guy.

DM100watch
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

I had a look at the apple watch and it says their Series 6 models have cellular coverage so they can be used without a cellphone as a standalone device....but yeah I agree they are mostly bought to "pair" with existing phones.  Apple/Samsung watches are much more expensive than the generic chinese watches...the one I am using successfully on Public Mobile is made by Refly ($200), but just for fun I order a cheaper clone of it made by LEMFO/WephuPSho ($50) and will try that too.  Any smart watch with cell capabilities "should" work if the frequency bands it uses match up with Public Mobile.  But that being said, it's a good idea to document what works and what doesn't as it is unusual to use Public Mobile on devices which are not phones...and I'd like to add that when I tried one of the Big 3 carriers, they told me it wasn't possible to use a standalone watch in this way.  Even though it is...

 

https://www.apple.com/apple-watch-series-6/why-apple-watch/

 

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B082DZMF6R/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Anonymous
Not applicable

I have been looking at these things and came to understand that most are accessories to a phone/plan. Even so-called LTE ones with eSIM. Those ones can only be activated in conjunction with another plan and is how they work. Not standalone. They use the cell system to connect back to the phone that can be elsewhere but needing to connect to it. "bundled together, sold as a pair". Or so I understood.

But there are very few that can be totally standalone. Call in/out, text in/out, internet - all on their own without need of a phone. (just bluetooth sound/mic.) And those so far seem to only be offered by these obscure (to us) Chinese manufacturers.

I'm with @mm80 on this. If the device is SIM-compatible and radio-compatible with PM (and bluetooth-compatible with your phone) then chances are good that it'll work. They can work as standalone devices with their own account and phone number, you can even use the wearable and ignore the smartphone completely if you choose. 

 

I think there's confusion about what is meant by "supporting" a smartwatch.

Consumers think of the term meaning "it will work, it's compatible".

Providers think of the term meaning "bundled together, sold as a pair".

DM100watch
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

Anonymous
Not applicable

I've been eyeing one from "Rogbid". It has NFC as well so you can do Google Pay. It runs Android One 10 too. They're apparently developing one with an sd card slot. I just might get that one.

mm80
Town Hero / Héro de la Ville

@DM100watch wrote:

Hi!

 

My goal was to be able to use the smart watch free of my phone which is on another carrier (I like having that flexibility).  It's easy to find data on apple and samsung watches but nobody has any information on generic no name watches...so I checked the frequency bands on the watch and hey some of them matched Public mobile, so it worked!  Thanks!

 


Public Mobile doesn't know about all devices. If it can connect to the network, it'll work. The same goes for tablets. 

DM100watch
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

Hi!

 

My goal was to be able to use the smart watch free of my phone which is on another carrier (I like having that flexibility).  It's easy to find data on apple and samsung watches but nobody has any information on generic no name watches...so I checked the frequency bands on the watch and hey some of them matched Public mobile, so it worked!  Thanks!

 

mm80
Town Hero / Héro de la Ville

@DM100watch wrote:

Hello All:

 

Not a question so much as an observation.  If you use the SIMON auto assistant, it will tell you that generic smart watches are not supported.   This is neither an apple watch or samsung watch, but rather a cheap generic android watch.   I am here to tell you that they do in fact work with Public Mobile; but I got mine as a standalone separate number.  It is paired with my phone via Bluetooth, but it has its own separate number.  The smartwatch in question is a generic android DM100 type 2.86 inch watch made by Refly (thought there are hundreds of other varieties out there.  All you need to do is ensure the frequency bands supported by the watch match those of public mobile.

 

https://www.frequencycheck.com/carriers/public-mobile-canada

 

The watch I am using is here:

 

https://www.amazon.com/Refly-Android-2700mAh-Battery-Smartwatch/dp/B07YCCY51D/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_produc...

 

It is available on amazon.ca as well.  So if you want to get a generic smartwatch working with Public Mobile, yes it can be done, even if its not officially supported.

 

 


SIMon can be wrong. Of course a watch works if it has the right network and sim slot. Even if it didn't, you could still pair it with a cell phone already on the network.

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