I have a x5 (and several other types) sadly the firmware isn't really mature

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1

I have a x5 (and several other types) sadly the firmware isn’t really mature and does have bugs in it, which probably will never be resolved.

So, I did some testing to see if the watch would be useful for me.

the goal for me was (is) to have a messaging device around my wrist, so that my wife, family and friends can sent a message via whatsapp (or similar service). I usually mis messages because i am not glued to my mobile phone all day.

My setup is as follows :

Finow X5 with the latest firmware.
Whatsapp
chatsim unlimited sim card.

It would be nice to get the messages as soon as they are send, but the x5 disconnects the 2g /3g / wifi data link as soon as the screen goes to sleep. If I have the “conspire screen on” function enabled then the 2g/3g datalink will be disabled and you have to go into the network settings to enable it again. So that is not going to work for my.

I discovered that without the “conspire screen on” function enabled, the 2g/3g datalink will reconnect in about 15 second. the same will happen when you receive a sms. So I told my wife that if it is urgent she needs to send a sms and then continu via whatsapp. If it is not urgent then I still receive the messages when I check the time on my watch by pressing the middle button.

I set the screen timeout at 30 seconds, the 15 seconds is just to short for reconnecting.

I use a chatsim unlimited card because it gives me unlimited chatting in about 150 countries and I do travel a lot for work.
last week I could test it in russia and it became my primary way for communication. you can also buy “credits” for multimedia so you can make whatsapp audio calls and sent / receive pictures. etc.

To use my whatsapp account on my “normal” phone, I put the X5 into wifi hotspot mode and connected my phone to it. It works like a charm for chatting. typing on a X5 is not so easy as on a galaxy note 4.0.

So the combination of a X5 and a chatsim unlimited gives me a small and working device to communicate around the “world”. It took some work and testing but I am happy with it. Maybe it is useful to you.

If you plan to use a chatsim please consider using my coupon code during activation CAM5YLAL This will give you and me 1000 multimedia credits. If you don’t us a coupon code you won’t get any.
Also don’t register 2 cards on the same account, you will not get any credits for that, I found out the hard way.

The last thing about the X5 that I had to solve was the connecting pins for charging and connecting. If it is warm and you sweat a bit the pins start to rot away very quickly. Not sure it this is a production fault, but i will become a problem very quickly.

I have a background in watchmaking and goldsmithing so I tackled the problem by gold plating the pins and now they are protected. you can buy DIY gold-plating solution and if you follow the instructions it works fine. You can push the copper pins gently out of the black socket and gold-plate them completely, just make sure that the surface is smooth and fat free. I plated them about 12 minutes a piece. and pushed the pins back in the black socket. now they stay shiny without corrosion.

I am not sure if all of the x5’s have this problem but it would make our watches unusable and it not why we buy them for.

2

Thanks for the info on Chatsim
Do you know that if you add the extra data for phone calls dose the credit last for it last a year or will it expire in 30 days weather you use it on not.
I’m looking for a SIM card that I put credit on it and it lasts until I’ve used it all up rather then just 30 days.

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I dont think it will expire as long as you keep the card active which costs 10 euro per year. but check the website to make sure.

4

Andrew, I checked the website and the only information I could find was on “my personal page”. My multimedia recharge will expire one year after the recharge, but at the same time my card also expires, so not sure if it has to do with my card expiring or that the multimedia recharge is valid for one year. I will send them an email with this question. if I get the answer I will post it here.

5

Thanks for getting back to me
I looked on the website but couldn’t find anything. Also read a few reviews which weren’t that good. How have you found it data usage wise?

6

Andrew, I have used (and tested) the card for the past 4 months in the following countries : the Netherlands, Germany, Russia, Italy, Belgium.
It all work perfectly. From the 1000 initial credits I have 586 left. The trick is to set you APN correctly and disable background sync processes (mainly the Google data (grabbing) sync services).

I also read some (bad) reviews and I think it will depend on what your situation is. I live in the Netherlands and work in Germany (daily travel), I travel for work to russia, china, and some european countries, on holidays we go to the carribean.

So If I have to get a prepaid simcard for al of those countries it will cost a fortune and Russia and China it is very difficult to get one that works throughout the entire country (they have roaming within the country).

Perhaps people just want everything for nothing. For me it is the perfect fit, although I was skeptical at first.

In regard to the multimedia recharge, it is valid 1 year from activation / purchase. I just activated a card for my wife and used my coupon code, now the expire date moved to 19 august 2017 (today + 1 year). And the 586 previous credits are also included. So If you recharge once a year everything gets extended one year. Thats very nice :wink: nothing gets lost.

7

Thanks again for your help
Think I’ll order one when I get home from holiday as I have a few 100 minutes of talk time & about 500mb of data left and it runs out in a few days and I always find these prepaid sims a con as I feel it is no different to a contract minus you don’t get a phone. Many many years ago I had a phone which had credit on it that lasted till the credit run out & I guess that’s the type of sim I’m after now

8

Got my Chatsim sim today and used your coupon code so you should get another 1000 credits
Anyone who reads this and gets a card my coupon code is CAMZNAKN.
Thanks again for all the info. I’ll be giving it a test over the next week