14 DAY TRIAL // Samsung’s Gear Fit health-centric band has been made available in stores across the world and pre-orders are already shipping out to early adopters.
All nice and well, but a major caveat exists when it comes to Samsung’s latest wearables (which includes the Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo smartwatches). As you might be well aware, these devices are pretty much useless unless they are paired with a compatible smartphone.
Sadly, Samsung is limiting users to its own garden. To be more exact, the company will only allow Gear Fit owners to pair the wearable with its own smartphones, including the newest flagship Galaxy S5.
However, for every problem there’s a workaround, so if you’re not a Samsung smartphone user, but have been impressed by the Gear Fit’s beautiful curved display and wouldn't mind owning one, there’s a way to pair the wearable with your Android smartphone too.
The good news is that according to 9to5google, owners of smartphones such as the HTC One M8 will be able to take advantage of almost the complete set of Gear Fit functions.
After performing tests, it was revealed the Android 4.4.2 KitKat updated HTC One M8 and M7 could be paired with the wearable. This doesn't necessary imply you’ll need to have updated to Android 4.4 KitKat and it’s highly likely that the work-around works with other Android devices too.
Unfortunately, the same method did not work on the Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo, but that’s not to say one won’t be discovered soon.
The work-around is not extremely complicated.
1) First off, you’ll need to download the Gear Fit Manager app and sideload it onto your particular device; 2) After that, download the Gear Fitness app and install it too; 3) Launch Gear Fit Manager and connect the Gear Fit via Bluetooth following the instructions; 4) After the two have been paired, look for the Notification section and tap on the General Notifications bar; 5) This will allow you to enable system-wide notifications to the Gear Fit; 6) Choose the specific apps you want to receive Notifications from.
However, note this is a work-around, so not all features will be fully functional. For example, quick reply options and alarm notifications might not work.
Also, not having an official supported smartphone means you’ll be missing out on the official updates coming from Samsung.
Anyway, it’s not just the HTC One M8 and M7, as the guys over at Kiip have found a way to pair Samsung’s device with the Nexus 5 smartphone, so we can assume more models will be added soon.
