The full version of the watch app (sideload only). Copying music from the phone needs the phone app in the Standard or noLegal edition.
Playing Music on the Watch - With or Without the Phone
Put music on the watch, open a home server as music, check the volume before you tap, and play a track that keeps going with the screen off or the app closed - with the phone left at home.
Why You'll Love This
Going for a run, a swim or a walk to the shop, the phone is the first thing you'd rather leave at home. With a few albums on the watch itself, or a home server the watch can reach over Wi-Fi, the music comes along anyway: headphones paired to the watch, and nothing in your pocket.
This recipe is about getting music onto the watch and choosing it there. Once a track is playing, the controls are in players and viewers on the watch.
- The watch app installed and paired - see installing and pairing the watch.
- The full version of the watch app. *Sideload version only* - see the noLegal edition.
- Bluetooth headphones paired with the watch, or a watch with its own speaker.
- Music on the watch, or a network resource with music on it - SMB, FTP or SFTP.
Put your music on the watch
The simplest way is from the phone. On the watch, open Phone, then Audio, and play a track; open the track's menu and pick Copy to watch. The copy lands in the watch's own storage next to your other music, so it plays with the phone switched off and stays after you close the app. How copying works in detail - names already taken, not enough room, Move to watch - is in phone and network folders on the watch.
Everything that is on the watch shows up under Local on the home screen. Tap Audio there to see all your tracks at once.
Round watch, Local section, Audio category open, a list of tracks stored on the watch.
Open a home server as music
A network resource on the watch can hold anything: holiday photos, films, albums. Tap it under Resources and the watch first asks what you'd like to browse, with Video, Audio and Images among the choices. Pick Audio and the list holds your tracks and nothing else.
The choices follow the kinds you have switched on under Media Types in the watch's settings. Leave only one switched on - just Audio, say - and the watch skips the question and goes straight to your tracks. If you switch every kind off, the list tells you so: All content types are off in settings. Turn one on to see media here.
Round watch, Resources section, media type question after tapping an SMB resource, Video, Audio and Images rows.
See how loud the next track will be
A thin volume bar runs along the edge of the file list, showing the watch's media volume at the moment you open the screen. Glance at it before you tap a track, so a song doesn't blast into your ears in a quiet room.
The bar only shows the level; it doesn't change it. Turn the volume up or down in the player with the crown or rotary bezel, or with the watch's buttons.
Round watch, Local Music list, volume side bar at the screen edge at about half level.
Play a track and let it carry on
Tap a track and the audio player opens with its cover art. When one track ends, the next one in the list starts by itself, and the list starts again from the top after the last one.
Want to put your wrist down and save battery? Tap Screen off in the player - the music keeps going. Switch on Keep playing in background in the watch's settings and a track keeps playing even after you leave the app, until you pause it. The watch then needs permission to show notifications; if it doesn't have it, it says Turn on notifications to let playback continue in the background.
Every button of the player is described in players and viewers on the watch.
Round watch, audio player, local track playing, cover art and control row with Screen off.
What You Get
Your music lives on the watch or on your home server, and the watch plays it on its own - pick a track, check the volume, put your wrist down and go.
Tips and Troubleshooting
- A server full of photos and music? Keep only Audio switched on under Media Types and the watch stops asking every time.
- Running low on space? Music takes room fast - copy albums over one at a time, and delete what you've heard enough of (press and hold a track, then Delete).
- Prefer the radio? Live channels play on the watch too - see streaming radio on your wrist.