How to track GPS location of Android Smart watch (track + call a child)
HOW TO TRACK LOCTION OF YOUR CHILD wearing a Galaxy watch or Pixel watch, with a his own smartwatch and his own contact list?
Its not as easy and straight fromward as most people would think. It involves some work arounds. Most watches are for calling and tracking sport activities. Not really for location tracking. But its possible with few simple steps. But you must know this first.
Easy way out is GIZMO WATCH from Verizon
Gizmo watch will work, but its for really young kids. Its bulky and clunky. Location tracking doesn work half of the times. etc.
My 10 yr old didnt want to walk around with a big watch that still has cartoons on it. He wanted a small regular smartwatch like mine.
If I give him my watch, He will have all of my contacts, my notifications, my emails and everything. So I had to find an alternative.
SMALL SMART WATCH AS ALTERNATIVE (40 mm)
Lets start with a watch carrier LTE line (plan). Misunderstanding of what STAND ALONE LINE (LTE) is.
Problem: Word STAND ALONE should mean that watch doesnt need a phone to make it work. It should not need a phone for set up. It should not share a number with a phone. It should not be paired to phone. It should not share a number with a phone!!! Period. But carriers are misleading people and rally linking/sharing/paring the watches to the actual phone lines.
When you call around you will hear “Watch will have it own stand alone number/line”. What they dont understand that ITS NOT TRULY stand alone line. It still need to be tied/paired/sinced with another device on your plan. No matter what the carrier’s customer service tells you – Smartwatches these days DONT WORK as true stand alone units without being tied to a phone line. Yes, once you pair it or sync it, Smart watches will work separately (Phone can be off and watch will still work).
THERE IS NO WAY to make your new smartwatches these days work on a TRUE Stand alone plan with any carrier these days.
DEVICES (smartwatches)
YOU CAN NOT HAVE A ‘NEWEST’ SMART WATCH WITH ITS OWN NUMBER NOT TIED OR SETUP THROUGH A PHONE. Period.
Its confirmed. All newest watches: Samsung Watch 4,5,6,7, Pixel 1,2,3 DO NOT support STAND ALONE LINES. You can still use them without having a phone near you but that is not via pair/sync/tie to a phone number/device.
ONLY GALAXY WATCH GEAR 3 SUPPORTs STAND ALONE Carrier plans. That is the last watch that supports TRUE stand alone lines
Trust me, I have spend over 10 hrs on the phone with misc reps from ATT, Tmobile, Verizon and Samsung, Google. At first they will tell you it will work. But then you will find out you need a device to sync / pair your phone to. THEY DO NOT WORK ON THEIR OWN.
GPS TRACKING
There is no way to track your Smartwatch without it having a paid smart watch app ($10 a month), which defeats purpose of the watch. But I found a work around
How to set up tracking for your smart watch
There are only a few ways to track your Andorid Smart watch
1.
- Open up a brand new google account
- Set up your Galaxy watch on a “blank Samsung phone” with that account (if you dont do that on a blank phone – it will copy your own contacts form your phone – no there is no work around – I have been there). You must have a Galaxy wear app installed on it.
- Set up contacts on that phone with his google account only to be used by your child (Mom, Dad, sister, Friend, etc)
- Only way for you to be able to track him/watch on your own phone will be to add his newly created google account to your phone.
- Once you add his account to your phone you must use “google’s Find my phone app” from playstore https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.adm&pcampaignid=web_share
- Now each time you want to find location of your watch/kid, you must use this “GOOGLE FIND MY DEVICE APP” and pull it down from the list of devices.
* You will not be able to track the watch on a Google maps app (even after you share the location) because that option only works on with phones. It does not work on a watches. “Google maps” watch app doesn’t have capability of sharing location with your family/friends
Google doesnt allow tracking of accounts linked to Family link App!
Soif you have a google account on your kids phone that you are controlling with Google’s “Family link”, that account CAN NOT BE USED for a smart watch GPS tracking.
Google doesnt allow tracking of accounts linked to Family link App
2.
SMART THINGS APP on Samsung Devices.
I have not tried this way, but they say that if you use Samsung’s SMART THINGS , you will be able to check location of a smart watch via the Smart things app. I dont know how well that works but maybe an alternative to the above way.
HOW I MADE IT WORK
I bought a new Galaxy watch 7. I first tried to go the affordable route with Galaxy watch 4 from Ebay for $58 shipped. Then I found out that ALL Galaxy 4 Smart watches have a really short battery life. SO I tried it in for a Galaxy Watch 7. (Samsung gave me $175 trade in value so why not). So I paid $105 shipped after trade in.
Now I track my child that carries Galaxy watch 7 by simply using an app on my own phone “Find my Device) and his location shows up every time. I tried share that on google maps but sharing only works on phones, not watches. So that is the only way to track your child with Andorid Smart watch these days.
SUMMARY KEY TAKE AWAYS:
- Stand alone watches are not really stand alone. They still need a device to sync to on initial setup.
- GPS tracking on Android watch (like Galaxy watch or Pixel watch) only works with FIND MY PHONE Google app
- Tracking your child using account linked to Google FAMILY LINK app is not possible
- Samsung’s Smart Things app maybe alternative to tracking GPS location of a watch
- You can not use your own watch to track your child because he will get your contact list, your calls and your notifications.
- You have to use a blank Samsung device (with a phone number) to set up his own watch
So its possible to track your child with regular smartwatch not using a Gizmo watch.