Frequently Asked Questions

You have three options to install Bridge on your Wear OS watch:

1. Google Play Store: The easiest way is to install directly from the Play Store on your watch.
2. Play Store via Phone: Use the Play Store on your Android phone to remotely install to your watch.
3. Manual APK Installation: Sideload our APK file directly (see next question for detailed instructions).

To manually install the Bridge APK on your Wear OS watch, follow these steps:

Prerequisites:

• Download the latest Bridge APK from our website
• Enable Developer Options on your watch by tapping Build Number 7 times in Settings > About
• Enable ADB Debugging in Developer Options on your watch
• Install ADB on your computer (part of Android Platform Tools)

Installation Steps:

1. Connect your watch to the same WiFi network as your computer
2. On your watch, go to Settings > Developer options > Debug over WiFi
3. Note the IP address displayed (e.g., 192.168.1.100:5555)
4. On your computer, open a terminal/command prompt and run:

   adb connect 192.168.1.100:5555

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   ⚠️ Replace with your watch's IP address shown in the Debug over WiFi screen

5. Confirm the debugging permission on your watch when prompted
6. Install the APK using:

   adb install -r path/to/bridge.apk

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   ⚠️ Replace "path/to/bridge.apk" with the actual location where you downloaded the APK

7. Wait for the "Success" message
8. The Bridge app should now appear in your watch's app list

Alternative Method (for Samsung watches):

1. Install Samsung's Galaxy Wearable app on an Android phone
2. Connect your watch to the phone
3. In Galaxy Wearable, navigate to watch settings and enable developer options
4. Use the "Install from unknown sources" option to install the APK

The Bridge app on your Wear OS watch can provide basic functionality on its own, but for the full Bridge experience, installing the companion iPhone app is recommended.

Features that work without the iPhone app:

• Basic notifications delivery to your watch
• Simple watch functions and standalone apps
• Local health tracking (stored on watch only)

Features that require the iPhone app:

• Advanced notification management and filtering
• Health data synchronization with Apple Health
• Message replies and notification interactions
• Customization options and settings
• Firmware and app updates

For the best experience, we recommend installing Bridge on both devices:

• On your watch: Install from the Play Store or sideload the APK
• On your iPhone: Download from the Apple App Store

To ensure Bridge works reliably on your Wear OS watch even when you're not actively using it, you'll need to adjust a few important settings:

1. Remove app from Battery Optimization
   • Go to Battery > Sleeping Apps
   • Tap and hold on "Bridge"
   • Select "Remove" or "Don't optimize"
2. Let app run in background
   • Go to Settings > Apps > App List
   • Find and tap on "Bridge"
   • Select Permissions
   • Turn OFF "Pause App Activity if unused"
3. Collect Health Data in background
   • Go to Settings > Apps > App List
   • Find and tap on "Bridge"
   • Select Permissions > Sensors
   • Select "Allow all the time"

These adjustments will ensure that Bridge can reliably sync your health data, deliver notifications, and maintain a connection with your iPhone without being interrupted by aggressive battery saving measures on your watch.

To pair your Wear OS watch with your iPhone using Bridge:

1. Ensure both devices have Bluetooth turned on
2. Open the Bridge app on your iPhone
3. Open the Bridge app on your watch
4. On your iPhone, tap "Scan for Devices"
5. Select your watch from the list of available devices
6. Confirm the pairing code on both devices
7. Wait for the connection to be established

Once paired, your devices will automatically reconnect when they're in range and both apps are running.

Bridge uses Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) to connect your devices, which typically has a range of about 30-100 feet (10-30 meters) depending on environmental factors.

Factors that can affect connection range include:

• Physical obstacles like walls and furniture
• Electronic interference from other devices
• The specific Bluetooth hardware in your devices

For optimal performance, we recommend keeping your devices within 15-20 feet (5-6 meters) of each other.

Bridge requires a Bluetooth connection between your watch and iPhone, but it doesn't require an internet connection for most functionality.

Works without internet:

• Notifications relay
• Health data syncing between watch and iPhone
• Message replies and interactions
• All core watch functions

Requires internet:

• Downloading app information (icons and names)
• Firmware updates
• App updates

Bridge doesn't use cloud servers to store or process your health data. All health data is synced directly between your watch and iPhone via Bluetooth and remains on your devices.

Bridge allows you to receive virtually all notifications from your iPhone on your Wear OS watch, including:

• Phone calls and messages (SMS, iMessage)
• Email notifications
• Social media alerts (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.)
• Calendar events and reminders
• App notifications from any installed app

Controlling Your Notifications:

Bridge gives you complete control over which notifications you receive on your watch:

• From your iPhone: Use the Bridge iOS app to enable/disable notifications for specific apps, set quiet hours, and customize notification delivery options
• From your watch: Control notifications directly from the Bridge watch app settings, allowing you to quickly toggle app notifications without needing your phone

This dual-control system lets you manage your notification experience from whichever device is most convenient at the moment.

Currently, responding to messages directly from your watch is not possible due to iOS security restrictions. Apple's platform limitations prevent third-party apps like Bridge from sending message responses back to iOS messaging apps.

Here's what you can do with notifications on Bridge:

• View notifications: Read full message content and see images
• Dismiss notifications: Clear notifications from both your watch and phone
• Notification management: Control which app notifications appear on your watch

While we can't provide message response capabilities due to Apple's restrictions, we continue to explore alternatives and will update Bridge if Apple changes their platform policies in the future.

Yes, Bridge will sync health and fitness data from your Wear OS watch to Apple Health on your iPhone. Health sync features are being released gradually, with step tracking as the first available metric in March 2025.

Planned health metrics for syncing:

• Phase 1 (March 2025): Steps
• Phase 2: Heart rate, distance and calories
• Phase 3: Sleep tracking
• Phase 4: Workouts and advanced metrics (blood oxygen, etc.)

Each health metric undergoes thorough testing to ensure accuracy before release. Data is synchronized in the background when your watch and phone are connected, and you'll need to grant Bridge permission to write to Apple Health when you first set up the app.

Bridge transfers your health data directly from your watch to your iPhone without storing it on any external servers. Your privacy is our priority.

Call handling is not enabled or implemented by the Bridge app on either iOS or Android. This feature is completely governed by the operating system (iOS and Wear OS/Android). For call handling to work, Bluetooth pairing must be initiated from the iPhone's Bluetooth settings, not from within the Bridge app.

1. Forget the device from the Bridge iPhone app.
2. Unpair from the Bridge watch app (required if unpairing from the iOS app did not automatically unpair the watch).
3. Go to the iPhone's Bluetooth settings and forget the watch (Settings > Bluetooth > tap the "i" next to your watch > Forget This Device).
4. On the watch, open the Bluetooth settings screen.
5. Wait for the watch to appear in the iPhone's Bluetooth settings. When it does, select it to pair.
6. Once pairing is completed, you can now select the iPhone in the Bridge watch app without needing to pair again.

Bridge supports Internet Sharing, allowing your Wear OS watch to access the internet through your iPhone's connection over Bluetooth. This feature enables your watch to browse the web, download apps, and use internet-dependent features even when not connected to Wi-Fi.

To enable Internet Sharing:

Setting up Internet Sharing requires specific configuration on both your iPhone and your Wear OS watch. For detailed setup instructions, including prerequisites, step-by-step configuration, and troubleshooting tips, please refer to our comprehensive guide:

What you'll need:

• Bridge app installed on both iPhone and Wear OS watch
• Active Bluetooth connection between devices
• iPhone with an active internet connection (cellular or Wi-Fi)

Note: Internet Sharing uses your iPhone's data connection. If you're using cellular data, be mindful of your data usage and plan limits.

Bridge is designed with your privacy as a priority. Here's what you should know about our data collection practices:

Personal Data:

• Bridge does not collect any personal information from your devices
• Your health data remains on your devices and is never uploaded to any servers
• Messages and notification content are processed locally and never stored or transmitted to third parties

Technical Data:

• Bridge includes analytics that collect error logs and app performance data
• This technical information helps us identify and fix issues that users may encounter
• Crash reports include device information (model, OS version) but not personal identifiers
• Usage statistics are anonymized and aggregated

You can opt out of analytics collection in the app settings at any time. For more detailed information about our data practices, please refer to our Privacy Policy.

When using a Wear OS watch with Bridge, you may see a persistent "phone disconnected" icon since the watch isn't connected to an Android phone. You can change how this indicator behaves through your watch settings:

1. On your watch, open the Settings app
2. Scroll down and tap on Advanced features
3. Tap on Status indicator
4. Select Hide after 2 seconds

This setting will cause the disconnection icon to appear briefly and then hide automatically, providing a less intrusive experience while still allowing you to check connection status when needed.

Note: The exact menu names may vary slightly depending on your watch model and Wear OS version. On some watches, you might find these settings under Display or Notifications sections.

If you are not receiving notifications from certain apps (such as WhatsApp), there are a couple of common reasons:

• Notifications turned off in Bridge app: You may have disabled notifications for that app in the Bridge app settings. Open the Bridge app on your watch or phone, go to Notification Preferences, and make sure notifications are enabled for the app in question.
• App protected with Face ID or Touch ID on iPhone: If you have protected the app on your iPhone (for example, by requiring Face ID or Touch ID to open it), iOS will not share its notifications with connected devices. To check this, long-press the app icon on your iPhone and look for an option like "Require Face ID". If enabled, notifications from that app will not be forwarded to your watch or other devices.

If your health data (like steps) is not syncing from your Wear OS watch to Apple Health on your iPhone, follow these troubleshooting steps:

Step 1: Check Bridge Watch App Data Collection

1. On your Wear OS watch, open the Bridge app
2. Go to Settings > Debug > Health Data
3. Look for the Steps card and notice how many records you have
4. If you are seeing steps here, it means our app is able to collect data
5. Scroll to the bottom and check for "Sync x records"
6. You can sync manually by clicking this button

Step 2: Check Watch Health Permissions

If there is no steps data collected, check the health permissions on your watch:

1. On your Wear OS watch, go to Settings > Apps > Bridge
2. Tap on Permissions
3. Check that Physical activity permission status is set to "Allowed"
4. Ensure Sensors permission status is set to "All the time" for background collection of steps data
5. Turn off "Pause app activity if unused" on this permissions screen

Step 3: Verify iPhone App Settings

1. Open the Bridge app on your iPhone
2. Open device details
3. Check that Collect Health Data is enabled
4. Under Health Settings options, check that Steps option is enabled

Step 4: Check iOS Device Settings

1. On your iOS device, go to Settings > Apps > Bridge
2. Ensure that Background app refresh is enabled
3. Go to Settings > Apps > Health > Data Access > Bridge
4. Should be turned on for all data types

If you continue to experience issues after checking these settings, please contact our support team at [email protected] with details about which specific health metrics are not syncing.

iOS places strict restrictions on background execution that are beyond the developer's control. When you move Bridge to the background on your iPhone, iOS may suspend the app to preserve battery life and system resources.

Important: Your data remains safe!

• All health and activity data collected by your Wear OS watch is stored safely in the watch's local database
• No data is lost when the iOS app is suspended
• Data will sync automatically when iOS allows background sync operations
• You can also manually sync data by opening the Bridge app on your iPhone

Background Limitations:

Apple does not provide a general-purpose mechanism for apps to run continuously in the background. iOS provides limited opportunities for background execution, such as:

• Background app refresh (scheduled by iOS, not guaranteed)
• Background notifications from your server
• Brief background execution time after certain events

Bridge uses these mechanisms when available, but the timing and frequency are controlled by iOS based on factors like battery level, app usage patterns, and system resources.

Best Practices:

• Open the Bridge app on your iPhone periodically to trigger a manual sync
• Ensure Background App Refresh is enabled for Bridge in iOS Settings
• Keep both devices charged and within Bluetooth range when possible
• Your Wear OS watch will continue collecting data even when the iPhone app is suspended

Bridge plans to support syncing a wide range of health metrics from your Wear OS watch to Apple Health. Our development roadmap includes support for the following metrics:

• Activity data: Steps, distance, flights climbed, calories burned
• Heart metrics: Heart rate, resting heart rate, heart rate variability
• Sleep tracking: Sleep duration, sleep stages (deep, light, REM)
• Workouts: Duration, type, calories, heart rate during exercise
• Advanced metrics: Blood oxygen, respiratory rate (on supported watches)

The specific metrics available will depend on your watch's hardware capabilities. Our initial release will focus on step tracking, with additional metrics being added in subsequent updates as outlined in our health sync development plan.

Note: Health data syncing features will begin rolling out in March 2025, starting with step tracking.

By default, Bridge syncs health data using the following schedule:

• Real-time metrics (heart rate during exercise): Every 1-2 minutes during active tracking
• Activity data (steps, calories): Every 15 minutes
• Comprehensive sync (all metrics): Every hour when connected
• Background sync: Every 3 hours when the app is in the background
• Manual sync: On-demand when you manually trigger a sync

You can customize these intervals in the app settings to balance battery life with sync frequency. When your devices reconnect after being separated, Bridge will automatically sync any data collected while disconnected.

Note: Health data syncing feature is coming in March 2025.