I am the owner of a Ticwris Max and more recently of a Lemfo LEM10. I have struggled with those devices mostly on the battery usage and there was a lot of trial and errors. Here’s my own personal Todo list when you acquire a new Android smart watch.
Reset to factory default before doing anything
Update to the latest firmware
If you use a SIM card for cellular access, disable the sleep feature of the wifi when the screen is off. The things is that the watch is trying to get data over 4G instead of the WIFI and uses more battery overtime.
I personally prefer the Square Home launcher, it’s worth the price and it is not ressource hungry. (Also, better access to notifications and other features)
Install Google Message to handle the SMS.
Install Google Keyboard as you’ll have access directly to dictation.
Go in the settings, Plus… Background Clean… Tap on the text and disable for Google Message, Keyboard and other you may need. (That I found out really late…)
Do a complete discharge of the battery up to 3-4%. Let it recharge up to 100% and repeat a second time. Battery life will increase dramatically. On my LEM10, I went from 4 hours to 15+ hours
Disable Bluetooth, GPS when not needed
On the LEM10, the brightness is quite high even at the lowest level, there are some apps to get it lower, available for free.
In the Google Play Store, go in Parameters, then scroll down to Play Store Version and tap on it. Google will trigger an update if the current version of the Play Store is not to the latest version. On the Ticwris MAX, some apps were not available until I had executed that step.
Further battery saving, disable pedometer, and wake on wrist.
Disable the account synchronisation in the Settings, Plus… Accounts… This will help a lot.
In Square Home, you can also disable to background update on the icons in the settings of the launcher.
Disable the Google Assistant in the settings. It is listening to the wake word every time you turn on the watch, thus using more battery.
Install Hidden Settings from the Play Store, it does provides more access to some hidden settings like Accessibility.
Since the keyboard is really small on the LEMFO10, there is a free keyboard called MessagEase Keyboard on the Play Store. It does require a bit of practice but will solve the entry typing issue on such a small screen.
Using dictation does help a lot with text entry. The Lemfo10 and Ticwris Max do support really well the feature (3Gigs of RAM).
The setting for the power mode does not seem to use more power overtime. Actually, it seems to improve the battery usage of the watch as it executes its functions faster, thus using less wifi time or cellular time. I am still testing but it may worth it to keep that setting to power mode instead of normal.
I’ll update the list as I remember other tips I may have used. Following these, I can use the Ticwris MAX for almost 2 days with a normal usage. As for the LEM10, which has a smaller battery, I am able to last all day unless the cellular signal is really weak.
I hope this will help you figure out how to optimized your smart watch to your liking.
If you have any suggestions, please leave a comment as I am trying to create a quick sheet for any new owner of a full android smart watch.
I’m going to disagree with one point here. Not that I’m an expert on Lithium ion batteries but I did spend many years on a forum with experts on them. Discharging a Li-ion battery down completely or to 3-4% is not advisable based on what I learned. I’ve used Li-ion batteries extensively since the 90’s. I know there is some info out there which advocates this deep discharge. I believe it has originated from the idea that Li-ion batteries have some similar function to Ni-Cad and NiMh batteries - which they do not. They are very much the opposite.
Also this is from one of the premier sources of battery info - Battery University:
The largest capacity loss occurs when discharging a fully charged Li-ion to 25 percent; the loss would be higher if fully discharged.
There is a sharp rise in internal resistance when increasing cycle depth of Li-ion. (i.e. discharging to a lower level).
You are absolutely right as it is not needed for the battery itself. It is for the device that this step is required. I think that the system does not calculate properly the real capacity of the battery until you do a full discharge cycle. It’s more about the battery management than the battery capacity.
Hello.
I register to say THANK YOU for this valuable list!
I installed the MessageEase on my phone, it’s great, thanks!
And, a question…
On play store there are various “hidden settings” apps.
What of these do you mean on your list?
(I need to access “allow oem unlock”, in there is, hidden on my LEM10)
Regards
M.A.
One question
As it is mentionned in several technical papers related to battery management :
Charging no more than 80%
Dicharching min level 20%
What about to root the watch in order to be able to modify the original values ( 0% 100%) with a dedicated app?
Yes but each and every time you charge your watch, the goal is to get systematically and automatically a charge which stops at 80%, so you Need to modify internal parameters only if you are root
You are right, I am looking for such an app, I read that exists but you need a rooted device.
I got problem with the power Bank delivered with my LEM15, one week after the delivery it did not work anymore, I realised also the battery capacity of the watch had a strange behaviour for instance :
… my measurements for the same configuration :
SIM Card 4G Data On
Netflix through Internet for listening music
earbud JABRA élite 65T connected through BLUETOOTH
TEST duration 1hour
The 2021/08/26 battery leakage from 91% to 57% so 34% of decrease in 1 hour
The 2021/10/02 battery leakage from 77% to 2% so 75% of decrease in 1 hour !!!
So I guess there is also a problem with the battery inside the watch, I contacted Bangggood aftersales originally only for the faulty power Bank, they decided I had to return the power Bank and the watch , up to now I 'd liked to underline the friendly relationship and professionnalism of bangggood after sales. I 'M waiting for my new Lem15 and its power Bank.
As I guess battery management is probably a weakness of the smart watch, I 'l try to limit charge and discharge levels in order to save battery capacity and avoid overheating.
I ’ ll try first with my smartphone.
Some apps are available, but the main problem is probably to root the smart watch… Unlock the bootloader and then the rest …? Has someone already rooted android 10.7 on lemfo lem15 ? Is there a description of the différent steps to do ?
Thanks
Root is not possible or useful for Android 10 and the bootloader cannot be unlocked any more. As far as I know.
My advice for you is to visit xda developers forum and truly understand what the implications of root with a locked bootloader means - for Android 10 and above.
Once you have researched it you will understand terms like system as root, DMVERITY, and VBMETA mean.
Along with secure boot, full SE LINUX and signature enforcement.
Ok Pablo 11,if too much risks for the gain, I ''ll do it differently, for instance à programmable plug to limit the charge duration of the watch…
Thanks
