WhatsApp is a messaging application that is developed for the phone, but that does not mean that it loses interest in other devices. Over time, the app ended up reaching tablets after being perfectly adapted to computers and any web browser. Now, WhatsApp takes a giant step towards smart watches as a native application. Do you have a Wear OS? Well, we are going to teach you how to install messaging on the smartwatch.
With the arrival of WhatsApp for Wear OS, it has become clear how much an accessory improves when given independence: We have been able to test the messaging from the watch and the truth is that it works really well. This allows us to forget about the mobile when we are under a WiFi network, for example, also leaving the house without the smartphone as long as the Wear OS watch has access to mobile networks.
Still in beta, but fully functional
We have installed the WhatsApp application for Wear OS on our Samsung Galaxy Watch4 without too much trouble, although the process is not as simple as downloading an APK file and installing it: since the target device is a smartwatch, installing an app on it that has not yet been officially distributed makes the steps difficult. Still, it’s not complicated. And it’s safe: the app is official.
To use WhatsApp independently on the watch you need Wear Installer for your Android mobile and that your Wear OS smartwatch is connected to the same WiFi network as said mobile. Once you meet these two premises, you must download the WhatsApp beta from this link to APK Mirror. Download the file to your phone.
Do you have everything ready? Let’s walk through the process to install the WhatsApp standalone app on your Wear OS smartwatch:
- Access your watch settings, go to “Connections”, make sure WiFi is turned on and enter the network you connected to.
- Write down the IP address of your watch. You will need it later.
- Go back to your Wear OS settings and scroll down to “About watch”.
- Go to “Software Info” and tap on “Software version until the” Developer Options” are activated.
- Go back and enter the new “Developer Options”.
Active debugging on the watch
- Turn on “ADB Debugging”, “Debugging with WiFi”, and finally “Wireless debugging”.
- Now go to your phone and enter the application you installed, Wear Installer.
- Make sure that the IP address is the same as the one you pointed to from the watch and click on “Done”.
- Now go to the “Custom APK” tab and choose the file with the WhatsApp beta for watches that you downloaded.
- Accept the installation from your watch face and wait for the process to complete.
Installation process using Wear Installer
- Once you have WhatsApp installed, go back to the developer options on the watch and disable debugging. If you don’t, your smartwatch will spend much more battery.
Clock registration in WhatsApp account
- Now everything is ready, it’s time to carry out the synchronized process with your account. Open WhatsApp on the smartwatch and follow the steps: you will have to add the device to your account for it to work independently. The process is similar to that of WhatsApp Web, for example.
Clock registered to the account and running independently
Once you have the app installed on your watch, you will no longer need your mobile phone to access WhatsApp messages: you can read them from your smartwatch. You can also write new messages and send audios; as long as the conversation was already started, you cannot open new chats. And there is another negative aspect: the consumption of your watch will increase with the WhatsApp application activeyou should take it into account.
In Xataka Android | 15 tricks for your Wear OS watch