moto 360 sport

19 Tips every Moto 360 Sport user should know

The original Moto 360 was a big hit, and the second generation has continued that success. Now, Motorola has a smartwatch for fitness buffs. The Moto 360 Sport is packed with features to get you off the couch. It runs the same version of Android Wear as most smartwatches, but Motorola has thrown in a bunch of extra fitness features. Here are the 19 tips you need to know.

Use the “Sport” watch face to keep tabs on activity

One of the first things you’re going to want to do is explore the plethora of watch faces to choose from. However, if you’re going to be using the Sport for a lot of fitness tracking, we recommend keeping the default watch face. Motorola’s “Sport” watch face looks great and has a lot of features built-in.

The face shows your calories burned, heart activity, steps, and the seconds from the clock. All four of these indicators also act as shortcuts. Tapping them will show more detailed information, allow you to take your heart rate, and start a stopwatch. If you download the Moto Connect app, you can change the background color and choose between digital or analog clock.

Start a run directly from the watch face

Another great feature on the “Sport” watch face is the ability to quickly start tracking a run. You’ll notice a “START” button underneath the clock. Tapping START will open the Moto Running app. You can choose whether you are indoors or outdoors, and then set goals for time, distance, and calories burned. It’s a really easy way to get into your workout without wasting time swiping around your watch.

Use GPS on the watch without a phone

Smartwatches are great fitness companions because of their small size and light weight. The problem is you still need your big, heavy phone to be connected. Or do you? The Moto 360 Sport can do a lot without a smartphone connected, including keep track of your run via GPS.

The best thing about GPS on the Sport is you don’t have to do anything to make it work. Simply start a run with Moto Running or any of the supported 3rd party fitness apps and leave your phone behind. You’ll see a small GPS icon when GPS is active on your watch. Think how much faster you’re run without a phone slowing you down!

Download the Moto Body app

The Moto 360 Sport obviously has a lot of great fitness features built in. To get the most out of these features, you’ll want to download the Moto Body companion app from Google Play. The Moto Body app allows you to view all of the fitness data from your watch on your phone.raphs your weekly, monthly, and yearly activity. Everything from heart activity to steps is displayed in easy to read graphs.

Moto Body graphs your weekly, monthly, and yearly activity. Everything from heart activity, calories burned, distance, and steps is displayed in easy to read graphs. On the dashboard, you can track your daily progress at a glance. The app also makes it easier to adjust your fitness goals and manage notifications.

Connect Moto Body to Google Fit and other fitness platforms

The Moto Body app is also where you’ll connect to other fitness platforms. This is great if you’ve already started tracking your fitness on a different platform. You can sync all of your data into one service but still use the Moto Body features. Moto Body can share data to Fitbit, Strava, MapMyRub, Under Armour Record, and Google Fit.

  1. Open Moto Body on your phone
  2. Swipe in from the left, select Settings
  3. Select Data sharing
  4. Choose your preferred platform and Connect

Set Moto Body as the default fitness tracking app

There’s one more thing you should do with Moto Body. Android Wear allows you to assign apps to certain actions. Things like playing music, taking a note, etc. There are a number of fitness-related actions you’ll want to assign to Moto Body.

  1. Open the Android Wear app on your phone
  2. Tap the Settings icon
  3. Select your watch
  4. Select Actions
  5. Choose Moto Body for Show me my heart rate, Show me my steps, and Start a run

Check your heart rate history

Monitoring your heart rate is an important thing when you’re doing a lot of fitness activities. The Moto 360 Sport can show your heart rate, but it does a lot more than that. Unlike most Android Wear devices, the Sport is constantly recording your heart rate. There are a number of ways to use this information.

Firstly, you can see your heart rate at any time by simply saying “Ok Google, show my heart rate.”

The continuous heart rate recording information can be viewed in a couple of different ways. The Moto Body app will organize your heart rate into three categories: inactive, active, and vigorous. The goal is to get at least 30 minutes of active heart activity. If you connect Google Fit to Moto Body, you can also use it to view your heart rate activity. Fit displays your heart rate history in five-minute increments for the last hour.

Listen to music without your phone

We already told you how to go on a run without taking your phone, but what if you want to listen to music? You still don’t have to take your phone, but you’ll have to do a little set-up. The Google Music app allows you to download music directly to the storage on the Moto 360 Sport. You can then pair a Bluetooth headphones to your watch and listen to the music without your phone.

Note: only purchased or uploaded music can be synced to your watch.

  1. Open Google Play Music on your watch
  2. Select Play on Wear
  3. Swipe up and tap Turn on sync
  4. Select the playlists to sync to your watch
  5. Tap the check mark when done
  6. You’ll see a notification when all the music has been synced

How to pair Bluetooth headphones:

  1. Put your headphones into pairing mode
  2. Open Settings on the watch
  3. Tap Bluetooth devices
  4. The watch will start looking for devices. Tap your headphones when they appear

See how much storage space is used on your watch

The bad news about adding music to your watch is there’s not a lot of storage space. The Moto 360 Sport has 4GB of internal storage, but 1.5GB are used up by the OS. That leaves just 2.5GB of storage for apps and music. You can check how much storage is available, and which apps are using the most, from your phone.

  1. Open the Android Wear app
  2. Tap the gear icon in the upper right
  3. Select your watch’s name
  4. Select Watch storage

Turn on WiFi to use the watch without a phone

GPS is not the only thing the Moto 360 Sport can do without a phone. You can connect your watch to a WiFi network and use it without being connected to your phone. Notifications and voice searches will still work on the watch. This feature is not intended to replace your phone completely, but it’s nice for those times when your phone disconnects.

  1. Open Settings on your watch
  2. Tap WiFi settings
  3. Turn WiFi on
  4. Your watch will automatically connect to the same network as your phone

Set up a lock screen to protect watch when unpaired

Smartwatches don’t store a lot of personal data on their own, so most people don’t worry about security. The Moto 360 Sport can do a lot without a phone connected, which makes it easier to accidentally leave behind. One of Android Wear’s newest features is designed to protect your smartwatch in the same way you protect your phone.

In Settings > Screen lock you can create a pattern password like you would on any Android phone. The idea is that when your watch detects the absence of motion, like if it’s charging on a desk, the screen lock will automatically engage. It can also engage if the watch is unpaired from your phone, like when you go for a run. Screen lock can also be instantly turned on from the settings.

Use voice commands to get things done

A big part of using an Android Wear device is voice commands. Basically, anything you want to do can be done with your voice, and it will be much easier to do, too. To perform a voice command, make sure the display is on and say “OK Google.” Simply start speaking your command. Here are just a few of the things you can say:

Double-press the side button to disable the screen

There are certain situations where you don’t want the display to light up. The movie theater is a common example; going for a run is another scenario. The movement of your arms can turn on the display and kill the battery quicker. “Theater Mode” is great for these situations. It turns off notifications and turns the display off until you press the power button.

The easiest way to enable Theater Mode is by double-pressing the physical button on the side. A message will pop up that says to tap the side button to turn the screen back on.Simple as that.

Limit distractions with the notification modes

Android Wear devices are made primarily to show notifications on your wrist. Naturally, notifications will play a big role in your overall experience. One way to make sure notifications aren’t buzzing your wrists at inopportune times (a.k.a. trying to get a workout in) is with the built-in notification modes.

The notifications modes on the Moto 360 Sport match up with the ones found on your phone. You get All, Priority, and None. “All” will let every single notification through, “Priority” will only allow important notifications to get through, and “None” will block absolutely everything (including alarms). To switch between these modes, simply swipe down on the watch face.

Check battery life from your watch and phone

Battery life is a big deal when it comes to smartwatches. The Moto 360 Sport gets decent battery life, but you’re still going to want to keep a close eye on it, especially if you’re tracking long runs. There are two ways to check the battery percentage: from your watch and from your phone.

From the watch:

  1. On the watch face, pull down with your finger
  2. You’ll see the battery percentage and date in the shade

From the phone:

  1. Open the Android Wear app
  2. Tap the gear icon in the upper right
  3. Select your watch’s name
  4. Select Watch battery

Block annoying apps from showing notifications

We already talked about how notifications are one of the primary uses for a smartwatch. That doesn’t mean you want every single app buzzing your wrist. You can block certain apps from ever showing notifications on the Moto 360 Sport. There are two ways to do this.

  1. Open the Android Wear app
  2. Tap the gear icon in the upper right
  3. Tap Block app notifications
  4. Tap the (+) button and choose from the list

The other method can be performed from your watch. When you get a notification, swipe from the right until you see a button labeled Block app. Tap it to add the app to the block list.

Disable the lock screen on your phone when your watch is connected

If you don’t use any form of lock screen security on your phone, having a smartwatch is a great opportunity to add one. Why? With an Android feature called “Smart Lock,” you can disable the lock screen whenever your Moto 360 Sport is connected. You’ll never be bothered to enter a password, but if you leave your phone behind it will be protected.

  1. On your phone, open the Settings
  2. Navigate to the lock screen and security section
  3. You should be able to find “Smart Lock” if you have Android 5.0 and above
  4. Add your Moto 360 Sport to the “trusted devices” section

Press your palm to the screen to turn off

The simplest tip on our list is one that not many people know about. To quickly turn off the display, place your palm over it until you feel a vibration. Make sure your palm is touching the entire display. You can also use the side button to turn off the display, but the palm method is easier.

Scroll through notifications and cards with wrist gestures

Having a touch screen on your wrist is great, but sometimes your fingers are dirty or preoccupied. Wrist gestures allow you to flip through your cards and notifications without touching the display. To activate/deactivate wrist gestures, swipe left on the watch face, then scroll down and tap Settings > Wrist Gestures. Turn it ON.

The Moto 360 Sport is a great companion for active people. We love all the fitness capabilities Motorola has added to Android Wear. With all of these tips and tricks, you have no excuse for not getting exercise. For even more about the Moto 360 Sport, head on over to the Android Wear section at AndroidForums.com.

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