Wifi and bluetooth at the same time on apple watch?

Question

Level 1

9 points

Wifi and bluetooth at the same time on apple watch?

Hi! I just bought my first ever apple watch (s5 and no cellular) and had questions whether to keep my watch’s wifi on or not? I certainly would turn it off when im not at home because wifi connection is not stable and I always have my phone with me and bluetooth connection is not a problem. But when im at home, I always have this dilemma in which should I turn wifi on for my apple watch or not. (Wifi connection at home is rock solid and covers entire house area even at backyard and front) some articles say that if my watch isnt connected to my phone via bluetooth but is connected to the same wifi network as my iphone, they will still be connected. If so, how does it affect my apple watch battery? Which one drains battery faster? Wifi or bluetooth? How does apple watch choose what connection to use if both wifi and bluetooth is available? Thanks in advance for your answers! Cheers!

Apple Watch Series 5, watchOS 6

Posted on Jan 10, 2020 8:15 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Jan 10, 2020 8:38 AM in response to Markydoodle

Markydoodle wrote:

Does that drain battery more than having it off?

There's no need to turn WiFi off. Leaving it on also increases the accuracy of your location services even if you're not connected to a particular network.

Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Battery Drain and oth… - Apple Community

Reply

Answer 2

Randy-12

Level 7

20,163 points

Jan 10, 2020 8:25 AM in response to Markydoodle

I would leave the wifi on.

The only time I turn it off is when I'm on an aircraft.

Reply

Answer 3

Markydoodle Author

Level 1

9 points

Jan 10, 2020 8:31 AM in response to Randy-12

Does that drain battery more than having it off? I have read articles that say apple watch prioritizes connecting to bluetooth on iphone than wifi. Is that true? And also they say the only time it will try to connect to wifi is when your iphone is out of bluetoothe range from your apple watch.

Reply

Answer 4

Markydoodle Author

Level 1

9 points

Jan 10, 2020 8:40 AM in response to Randy-12

Oh okay. I still have a question and I hope you can enlighten me with this. Just searched for apple watch bluetooth and wifi on apple website and found this:

Your Apple Watch uses Bluetooth when your iPhone is near, which conserves power.
If Bluetooth isn’t available, your Apple Watch will try to use Wi-Fi. For example, if compatible Wi-Fi is available and your iPhone isn't in Bluetooth range, your Apple Watch uses Wi-Fi.

So does this mean that it prioritizes Bluetooth over wifi? Which one drains battery faster?

Reply