FAQ
Why does the app advise me to connect my watch to the charger when downloading or updating?
To save battery life, smartwatches will aggressively disable Wi-Fi (or cellular) and use the Internet through your phone over Bluetooth, which results in slow or even failed downloads. Manually disabling Bluetooth on your watch or connecting it to the charger before downloading or adding/updating podcasts should ensure a reliable Wi-Fi or cellular connection.
Settings to help with downloading:
Settings > Downloads > Auto-Open Bluetooth
Automatically open the Bluetooth settings when you initiate a download then open them again when all downloads complete (when not charging)
Settings > Downloads > Auto-Download
Episodes added to a playlist will auto-download when the watch is charging
Can I use the phone app without the watch connected?
No, since everything is stored on the watch, the phone must be connected to your watch to use the phone app. This keeps the costs down since all data is stored within the app and not in the "cloud".
Can I use watch app without my phone?
Yes, in fact, the phone app is not necessary except to purchase the Premium features and import podcasts. Everything else can be done on the watch.
What smartwatches does Wear Casts run on?
Wear Casts runs on any watch running Google's Wear OS. This includes the Google Pixel Watch and Samsung Galaxy watches.
Can I listen to audio books or other audio files in Wear Casts?
Yes, you can upload custom audio files to your watch. Read the tutorial for more details.
Is Wear Casts RSS-based?
Yes, there is no server between you and the podcast creator.
Does Wear Casts consume battery life?
The screen on mobile devices typically uses the most battery. As long as the screen is not on (or in ambient mode) the impact on the battery should be relatively minimal. Network activity, health tracking, Bluetooth and sensors also impact battery life.
Why is the position sometimes off between the phone and watch?
Two separate downloads occur for the same episode on the phone and watch. Due to dynamic ads inserted into podcasts, the same episode on the phone and watch may have slightly different play lengths, which can affect syncing the position.
Can I import my existing podcasts from another app?
Wear Casts supports importing podcasts using the standard OPML format. If your current podcast app supports exporting your podcasts into an OPML file then open the "Import" section of the phone app to import them into Wear Casts.
Is Wear Casts free?
Basic functionality of streaming and downloading podcasts for offline playback is free. Optional functionality, such as the sleep timer, custom playlists and transferring audio files (and much more) require purchasing the Premium features.
What is the point of the Watch List?
The Watch List is for podcasts you want to follow but not subscribe to. They are not stored on your watch. You can add Watch List episodes to a playlist, download individual episodes and even monitor keywords.
What is your favorite color?
Blue....no....