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In a new software update hitting some Moto 360s as early as today, build KGW42R is rolling out over the air and looks to address some common complaints some users have been having with the smartwatch. No, it wont upgrade the aging TI OMAP processor (nice try though), but according to Motorola, the update fixes issues relating to Bluetooth connectivity drops, a new charging notification and of course, the usual bug fixes. Here’s the full list:
- Bluetooth connectivity: Improved Bluetooth connectivity between the watch and phone to reduce momentary disconnects experienced by some users.
- Charging notification: Added a message to confirm that Moto 360 is charging in cases when its battery is fully depleted.
- Bug fixes: Implemented bug fixes and other system optimizations.
Motorola says if you don’t see it yet on your smartwatch, don’t worry — the update will continue rolling out over the next few days so be patient and you’ll get it. If you want to make sure your Moto 360 gets the update ASAP, make sure it’s connected to your smartphone and keep the watch above 80%.
After charging, our update showed right up. All you have to do to update is select “Download” when you see the prompt on your Moto 360, followed by “Install now” once it’s finished downloading and wait for it to reboot. After that jump into your device Settings by holding the power button and scroll down to About and the build number should now read “KGW42R. Good luck!
I definitely have experienced random disconnects. But hopefully something can be done about the battery. The first day I had it only made 4 hours with ambient mode turned off.
Today is the longest day so far I am at 18% after 9 hours BUT I wasn’t getting notifications until about 4 hours ago when everything came in at once(I had to open my wear app on my phone).
Yesterday it lasted just under 7 hours. It is improving and I hope today is real and not just because it wasn’t receiving notifications. Unless I can get it to 14 or 12 hours with regular usage Its a disappointment. I shouldn’t have to think “Do I have the battery life to use this and make it home from work? for a text message.
So many conflicting reports about battery life. Been using mine for nearly 3 weeks now and getting 16+ hours easy. Use it for navigation and when working out.
How many days have you had it? Our first day was pretty bad too, but more like 10 hours (nothing like this 4 hours that you reported).
Do you have auto-dim enabled as well?
I received it last Friday. Its a little hot off the charger and I notice some cracks or scratches on the under side.
I used it for Runkeeper on Saturday it made about 6 and i wonder if that effects it. I would absolutely love this device at 16 hours of moderate use! If you have any tips I am all ears!
I have 40% left on mine after 14 1/2 hours and I went for a 40 minute run with runkeeper (screen always on).
Either you have something wrong with yours or you have an app installed that is killing battery.
I have heard horror stories about certain watch faces and battery. I only use stock watch faces and runkeeper is the only additional app I have installed.
BTW – I keep my brightness on 5 and Ambient mode turned OFF
Did u get the update? Notice any improvements in battery? I got scratches on mine too but only because replacing that band was a horror story.. I ended up returning the band lol
I just saw the last question about auto dim. I do now. I had it set 1 before because it definitely help. I am thinking about asking for an exchange I read this should last at least 8 hours even with ambient mode. However I am hoping for tricks first. Heres hoping this will work.
Thanks
If I can get 16 hours I will buy a QI compatible battery back for the road.
I’ve noticed my own battery life vary wildly from day to day with nearly the exact same amount of usage.
One day last week it lasted from 7am to 8pm with 50% left.
Today it lasted from 7am to 5pm with 42% left.
Between those two days, I’d honestly have to say that the former was a much heavier day.. More fiddling, more notifications, more purposeful interaction with the watch.
I think one of the big problems is that the watch wakes up at times it doesn’t really need to, thus using more and more battery to power on the screen & wake up, then go back to “sleep” or at least have the display off, then back and forth all day. Just reaching for a pen, I’ve seen my watch turn on. I’ve seen it turn on from unzipping my fly in the bathroom. Scratch your nose, watch turns on. It’s turning on with far too many movements.
If there was an option to only turn on the display when touched, I’m sure my battery life would skyrocket and last at least 1.5 days.
Can you tell me if you have an icon that says ‘Bluetooth Debugging’ on your phone? It was on mine until I did a system restore and now its again and so far I have only gone through 20% battery life in 3.5 hours.
I’m also wondering if the phone it is connecting to has any impact on battery life and performance. There is a poster on DroidLife who says he easily gets ~20hrs with heavy usage. He uses a OnePlusOne. I would be interested to see what phone users have from both ends of the spectrum. Maybe a pattern will emerge.
The OnePlus One has BLUETOOTH 4.1,most other phones have 4.0 or lower.
They’re could be something to this,as my GEAR2 & GEAR FIT (which aren’t even meant to pair up w/the OnePlus One) have around 50% left after 12-14 hrs of typical at-work use.
I have the OnePlus One along with the 360. Battery seems pretty decent to me. Usually get about 16 hours before it gets under 20%.
Side note, the OnePlus One is pretty sweet even with the invite system. :-)
I have the OnePlus One and battery with 360 seems decent. I have since moved on to the Moto X (Gen 2) so I will be able to compare the battery life. I had some problems after this firmware update where the screen wasn’t responsive (on the 360)… so the battery would be great if the screen never turns on!! I have rebooted the 360 and that seems to have helped. This is day 1 with two moto’s together… we’ll see! Very interesting point on the 4.1 vs 4.0 BT.
I just noticed that Bluetooth Debugging mode was on my phone I thought it was supposed to be but after a watch reset it is no longer there. In the two hours since I have only dropped 10% which is awesome. I hope this keeps up.
I keep mine with Ambient Screen ON (ignoring recommendations against it) and had the battery die on me for the 1st and only time 4 days ago, but with Ambient Screen on, the length was still impressive: I unplugged it at 7am and it died at 11:20pm…again, with Ambient Screen ON.
Did u get the update? If so have u noticed any improvements in battery? Mine boots faster but wakes more often so haven’t been able to test if that effects battery..
so does the update do anything with the charging-always-on-display issue? i worried about that before it was discussed online but have noticed no problems on mine (last night i used the always-on toggle trick to turn it off while in charger). i have noticed bt drops occasionally (nexus5), glad they looked into that. overall i would mostly look forward to battery life improvements. well, mostly looking forward to the “2.0” release. interesting that they’re pushing out a small update now just 2-3 weeks before the rumored big[ger] release.
I’ve NEVER had that charging / display “issue.”
My moto 360 is all scratched up after a day around the sides and I’m getting really annoyed I have the silver and it just looks horrible now. I also tried changing the watch band but just can’t push the connectors in I have epilepsy and my fingers are constantly shaking and it’s just not working. I wouldn’t even have to swap in a metal band and mess up my watch if Motorola had launched their freaking metal band to begin with and hadn’t lied to us in press renders and demo units.
Good news, as they recommend, you can take the watch to any jeweler to have the band switched.
It has been a complete horror for me too to replace those bands, I should scratched mine too lol
I have mine paired with a LG G3. I get pretty good battery life. Cut mine on around 7am and around 7 pm I’m anywhere from 20-35% battery life, sometimes even better. I can live with that. That’s when i’m home from work, if I need to go back out, I put her on the charger for another 30 min to an hr and I’m good to go till I come home.
I really love this watch. I do find myself using my phone less and less for certain things which is good. I can only see this technology getting better and better.
I am having issues with the screen not waking when I twist my wrist after the update. Never had a problem before,… anyone else? Unfortunately I had two things: 1) Upgraded firmware 2) Received and paired with new Moto X…. so I’m not certain which is causal….
U reboot? Lol
How do you install the update? I got prompted to swipe left to install, and when I do that it tells me to charge my phone, but nothing else happens. Anyone else having this issue? Nevermind…it just took a while, but update is installing.
Notice any differences? Got mine an hour or 2 ago, damn thing has to be at 80% so I had to wait till I got home to charge then just updated..
Haven’t yet…other than the boot animation. But I also didn’t have any noticeable problems before. Funny thing is, the day before the update I received the bluetooth disconnection problem some have experienced, for the 1st time, but haven’t again since.
yea seine i upgraded i haven’t received any either, i used to get alot of disconnects in the car while driving. there was none today so im lovin that
Is it just me, or is the boot animation faster and smoother after the update?
I Litterly just experienced that and thought the same thing, I looked down and before u know it, it was up and running, never even seen the Android wear animation just the Motorola one.
I Litterly just experienced that and thought the same thing, I looked down and before u know it, it was up and running, never even seen the Android wear animation just the Motorola animation… Seems a tad bit smother but wakes up a Lil more often also, so I’ll see tomorrow if that impacts battery