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 and/or cellular and use the Internet through your phone over Bluetooth, which can result in slow or even failed downloads. Disabling Bluetooth on your watch, or connecting it to the charger, should help ensure a reliable Wi-Fi or cellular connection. Disabling Bluetooth is the recommended option.

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
  
  
  

What are the limitation of the phone app?

Since Wear Casts is primarily a watch app, all the data is stored on the watch and "streamed" to the phone. The phone app works best when your watch and phone are connected. If your phone disconnects from your watch, the phone goes into an "offline" mode where you will be able to listen to podcasts that have been downloaded or assigned to a playlist. Once your watch and phone re-connect, then the data will sync. You will not be able to subscribe or download new podcasts while in offline mode.


Why is this limitation in place?

Enabling true syncing between the phone and watch would require paying for remote "cloud" servers, which would increase the price of Wear Casts substantially from a one-time fee to a monthly subscription. For example, one of the most popular podcast app for Android, which syncs to all your devices, costs $40 a year and they continue to increase it every year because cloud servers are expensive.

You are also reliant on their servers for your podcasts. If their servers ever go down, you will not have access to your podcasts. Wear Casts is 100% RSS-based. This means there is no server between you and your podcasts. You will never not have access to your podcasts unless the app breaks somehow.

Will my podcasts be restored if I re-install the app?
Unfortunately, Google's Auto Backup/Restore feature does not work on WearOS. You can manually backup your podcasts in the phone app under Main Menu > Backup/Import. Then restore the backup after re-installing the app. This does not backup downloaded episodes or transferred files.

What files types can be played on Wear Cast?
Wear Casts support these file types: mp3, wav, ogg, mp4, m4a, m4b, webm and flac

Why do some episode say "This episode did not download" when trying to play them?

This is a known issue that happens to a small number of users. It seems to be related to the built-in download service in WearOS, called the Download Manager. If a download fails or is cancelled, the Download Manager automatically deletes the associated file. What seems to be happening is downloads that have completed successfully are being marked as failed or incomplete in the Download Manager and automatically deleted. As a result, the episode looks like it's downloaded to the user but the file has been deleted from the watch.

Unfortunately, there is not a fix right now. The best thing is make sure you have a good Internet connection when downloading. Downloading over Bluetooth or on a  slow connection will result in episodes being marked as failed in the Download Manager. Downloading files on WearOS is problematic in even the most ideal environments.

Why does it skip to the next episode when I try to skip ahead with my Bluetooth headset or Android Auto?

In the watch app go to Settings > Playback > Alternate Hardware Controls, to switch skip next with skip ahead X seconds.

In the phone app go to Phone Settings > Alternate Hardware Controls to enable the same functionality.

Note: The phone and watch app will show controls that are the opposite of what the Bluetooth controls are. So if your Bluetooth controls (or Android Auto) skip ahead 30 seconds the watch and phone app will show controls to skip to the next episode.

Why do downloads stop working after upgrading to a newer WearOS version?

Something in the upgrade breaks downloading so the only fix is to factory reset 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 and you never have to worry about the app going down because the servers went down.

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....