Most recent activity
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@Gordon, Yes, the watch is now in the mail. Looking forward to receiving the replacement.
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@7kasper, Yes, I actually did exactly what you described yesterday after somehow getting it into DFU mode (even though I couldn't see it and don't quite know how I did it), getting my fw to .244.
But of course the problem persists in that it still doesn't show the boot messages. So there's no way to tell when to release the button to get it to the clock or the other modes (I'm still not sure what those are).EDIT: Mine always gets stuck at the "Storage OK" screen though. I seem to be able to get it to the clock if I try releasing the button between one of those faint flashes. But I can't seem to find a pattern in it.
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@Gordon, It is now connected, I'll send the code to you in a PM. The watch is currently showing the clock.
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Sure, I can do that. It's 14:50 here right now. I'll probably be home in about an hour. Then I'll connect it up and update this message and PM you the code. Thanks.
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Thank you for the precise intructions. I followed them very closely, alas, no luck.
The attached firmware uploaded successfully and I was presented with the "Hold button to reload" message. So I pressed the button and kept pressing it. The boot screen came up with the "Storage ok" message, and I kept pressing it. But it was again stuck in that cycle. It never gets to the clock or the "=====" as you've mentioned. I've never seen those on the screen at any time.
So I decided to go ahead and open up the https://banglejs.com/apps link and connect to the watch while it was displaying the "Storage OK" screen. That works, and I can connect to the watch. I then went to "About" on the website on my phone and chose "Install default apps" (I chose "Remove all apps" first, which also went well). This worked, and it reinstalled all apps and I once again got the "Hold button to reload". Again, it got stuck at the "Storage OK" screen. I then reconnected through https://banglejs.com/apps on my phone again, and decided to try and upload the "Cutting Edge build" firmware as you mentioned through the "Firmware update" app. This took a while, but it got uploaded just fine and I again got the "Hold button to reload" message and it would load the clock, seemingly just fine. But when I pressed the button again for 10 seconds, I am right back in that loop where it gets stuck at "Storage OK", just like before. Nothing seems to have changed, unfortunately...
I've tried keeping it pressed for a minute, it just keeps cycling back to that "Storage ok" screen.
EDIT: Just noticed it still says "2v10.219" on the "Storage OK" screen, so I guess it didn't actually update the firmware although it uploaded something. The version chosen in the updater was "2v10.244".
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Sounds great, looking forward to that. No idea myself. All I've done is connect to it through Chrome from my smartphone and also through Gadgetbridge. Yesterday I read about the firmware upgrade but never got anywhere with it. But I only did that after this problem occurred so...
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Here's the video showing a much longer press, and eventually getting to the clock:
https://youtu.be/QKHdpyny2vM
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Hi Gordon, thank you for answering. Yes, I have tried pressing in the button for much longer. Then it just keeps cycling back to the screen you see in the video. There are apps on it. When, 1 in 50 times, it actually gets to the clock, I can click the button and get the menu, settings, about app and so on.
The reason I immediately release the button when the screen changes in the video, is that I figured out that that gave me the best chances of it getting past that "Storage OK" screen.
EDIT: Hang on, I'll upload a video where I keep the button pressed and also, after several cycles, manage to get it to the clock and can show the menu.
I think the Bangle JS2 struggles with a few things that make it less relevant to me as a longtime Pebble user looking for an acceptable replacement. I too have decided to let it go after continually trying it out for a week's time every 3 months or so since I got it late 2021.
First of all, let me say that I am a big fan of all these hackable devices where there is plenty opportunity to "make it your own" in any way you can. The Bangle JS2 has potential, but there are a few things that makes it unacceptable to me as a daily driver:
Weak vibration
I could almost live with this when I just re-enabled my phones vibration. But my purpose of having a smartwatch is to also to not have to rely on my phones sound or vibration at all. So it was one of those "Ah schucks, not good, but I can probably deal with it"
Low quality
It was never any secret that the Bangle JS2 is a Chinese watch with a different firmware. And the quality is quite low compared to my Pebble.
Touch-screen instead of buttons
I had hoped this would work. Alas, it doesn't. I just prefer buttons, especially for such a small device / screen.
The experience is very hacky right now and remains so
The overall experience is not a friendly one. To me personally it's been somewhat easy to figure it all out as I am very tech savvy. But juggling Gadgetbridge versions and connecting through browsers for other stuff is not all that user-friendly. Gadgetbridge especially has been a pain for me to use - including the Bangle version. It was never stable in the connection and which messages got passed over. And I never got calls to show on the watch. So overall I just never trusted it enough to actually use it for longer periods of time.
Thank you to the good people behind the projects involved. I am happy such projects and people exist. Eventually it can lead to great things. I know Pebble didn't exactly start out as the perfect smartwatch either. I've seen their prototypes. :D