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

Settings > Downloads > Auto-Download

Why can't I use the phone app without my watch?

To sync data between devices, remote "cloud" servers are needed, which are very expensive. This is why any app that syncs between devices must charge their users a high fee, usually in the form of a subscription or selling their private data. Wear Casts basically streams your podcasts from your watch to your phone to avoid using remote servers. This keeps the price of the app low but the trade-off is some inconvenience.


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....