# Does Apple Watch Track Movement/Activity when not On, but still Connected?



## SaMaster14 (Mar 18, 2011)

Just wondering. I had my Apple Watch in my backpack all day since I knew I was gonna be heading to the gym later, but didn’t wear it until then. 

I noticed when I put it on and checked the activity app, it seemed to have been tracking calories/workout/stand time/etc. without actually being worn. 

Does it do this by being connected to my phone while it’s counting steps and what not? 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


----------



## BarracksSi (Feb 13, 2013)

You know, I’m not sure. I was going to say that it’s just reflecting the activity your phone was logging, but I think the phone’s activity logs don’t directly translate to the watch. That is, you need to have an AW to fill the Activity rings.

However, I think that when I’ve had the watch on without unlocking it, it still logged my movement. It would just store the data until I unlocked it, then it thinks, “Ok, that’s the owner,” and then synced to the phone. I’ll bet yours was doing the same sort of thing.


----------



## Derek411 (Dec 12, 2015)

My Apple Watch is on airplane mode all day. I track walks, bike rides and steps. If I need info I connect. It tracks every movement. Walking is accurate on its own. Cycling needs GPS to really work. I like the 2 plus days battery and it’s all about fitness for me.


----------



## SaMaster14 (Mar 18, 2011)

Derek411 said:


> My Apple Watch is on airplane mode all day. I track walks, bike rides and steps. If I need info I connect. It tracks every movement. Walking is accurate on its own. Cycling needs GPS to really work. I like the 2 plus days battery and it's all about fitness for me.


I understand that, but what about when it's not being worn, but is connected to my phone?

The watch was in my backpack (so not monitoring anything), but when I put it on and unlocked it and checked the activity app before my workout, it had readings for the day (stand time, exercise minutes, and calories).

It does NOT do this when it's left at home, even though my phone is tracking steps/movement. So I can only assume that only when it's connected, it takes data from the phone? Or through gps knows it's moving around with me, even if not on?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


----------



## BarracksSi (Feb 13, 2013)

Something else to check -

Go into the Health app and check the raw data. It'll show which device it used for the data source.


----------



## BarracksSi (Feb 13, 2013)

Ok, I did an experiment this afternoon.

Don't laugh about the low step counts; I'm working from home today. ;-p

I wore the watch and left the phone on the coffee table. The extra trick: I did NOT unlock the watch - I left it locked with my PIN while it was on my wrist.

I also took it off for a little while and carried my iPhone instead.

The watch logged my movements while I wore it, then the phone took over when I took the watch off.

Also, the phone recorded no Stand data. That's the job of the watch.


----------



## SaMaster14 (Mar 18, 2011)

BarracksSi said:


> Ok, I did an experiment this afternoon.
> 
> Don't laugh about the low step counts; I'm working from home today. ;-p
> 
> ...


But did the watch record movements while you didn't have it on, but while it was moving with you (in a backpack for example). That's what it seems like mine did

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


----------



## BarracksSi (Feb 13, 2013)

SaMaster14 said:


> But did the watch record movements while you didn't have it on, but while it was moving with you (in a backpack for example). That's what it seems like mine did


I don't have any pockets in my teleworking attire (ahem...lol), so I didn't bother replicating that. I figured that if it's on-wrist but still locked, it might behave as if it were in a pocket or bag.

I think I was mistaken, though, because digging into the HR data shows that the watch did its usual periodic readings except for the short time I wasn't wearing it.


----------



## SaMaster14 (Mar 18, 2011)

Looks like I've confirmed my theory. Posted a screenshot.

I took the watch off the charger when I woke up, but threw it in my bag on the trip to the gym. Didn't actually get in on my wrist until 9:15ish.

So it was definitely counting steps... and it seems like it was counting calories as well.

Looking at the heart rate data, there are also a couple of dots of data from before I put the watch on.

So... I guess the watch must think it's on while walking with it, even if in a backpack, for example? It was providing the walking data to my phone/the health app... odd.










Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


----------



## MuckyMark (Aug 9, 2015)

Interesting. I had mine in my backpack while driving for 4 hours. When I went to put it on I noticed it showed 0 stand and exercise but about 150 calories of movement. Where in the health data are you getting these screenshots?


----------



## SaMaster14 (Mar 18, 2011)

MuckyMark said:


> Interesting. I had mine in my backpack while driving for 4 hours. When I went to put it on I noticed it showed 0 stand and exercise but about 150 calories of movement. Where in the health data are you getting these screenshots?


Go into the health app, click the metric you want to look at (stand, exercise, steps, etc) and find the 'show all data' and it should get you there!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


----------



## scarrz (Jun 13, 2012)

Interesting find.


----------

