I’m after a watch that I can put on a kid when they are on their own at a park etc.
What I’d like:
- It’s own data connection so it doesn’t need a phone with it
- Home Assistant support so I can track it remotely via home assistant, automations, etc
- Some way of calling them when it’s time to come home, or them calling us when needed
- We don’t have an iPhone so I think Apple is out since it needs an iPhone for setup
- No subscriptions outside of the cost of the cellphone plan
- Preferably doesn’t need OEM servers, just connect to Home Assistant
- Handling knocks and bumps would be a bonus
- If you can run a non-google OS without tracking etc GrapheneOS style then yay but I don’t know if that exists
Any suggestions?
Having its own data connection would just drain the battery faster. In theory, a Pebble has an open SDK, even the firmware is open, so you could hack whatever you want into it (as long as the resources suffice)
Having it’s own data connection is needed for the part where I want to track it when it’s not near a phone (or wifi). If it drains the battery faster then that’s just what will happen but I don’t see an alternative.
It doesn’t need to have a long battery life anyway, I can’t see it needing to last more than 6 hours or so.
https://meshtastic.org/docs/hardware/devices/lilygo/twatch/. (or similar)
If you have a relatively well-established mesh network in the city, this could be an interesting option. I haven’t tested the watch myself, but I’ve been considering similar ideas and will likely give it a try in the future.
As I understand it Meshtastic is for messages as the bandwidth is really low at those frequencies. But it has a camera and microphone, so can you actually do video calls?
I am not convinced this is the answer I’m looking for, but I am intrigued enough to possibly buy one anyway. Would you get two so you could call between them? I’m just not really sure how this works!
I couldn’t find a map of nodes so I’m not sure how the network is here, but the main use case is near my house (so the kids can go and play with the neighbourhood kids, which they do anyway but I’d like a way to find them at dinner time). So if the network isn’t great here I assume I can put up my own node - understanding nothing about meshtastic…
it has a camera and microphone, so can you actually do video calls?
I don’t think any of the T-Watches have cameras. But you’re right about the meshtastic bandwidth, it’s more for some simple messages.
So if the network isn’t great here I assume I can put up my own node.
Yep, and a node is just another LoRa device, like the T-Watch. If it’s just near your house, it should work great. My Wio Tracker L1 picks up a repeater on the other side my suburb, and that gives me some crazy range.
It doesn’t sound like you do, but if you need intercity range, LoRaWAN might also be worth looking into. In Queensland, many city councils (Brisbane, Gold Coast, Moreton Bay) have their own LoRaWAN networks that peer with The Things Network, and you can integrate it with Home Assistant using an integration, or my preferred way is through MQTT. You would probably have to write the firmware yourself with this option though.
I don’t think any of the T-Watches have cameras. But you’re right about the meshtastic bandwidth, it’s more for some simple messages.
Sorry I misread, it said speaker and microphone. So it can do voice calls?
Was I right about just getting two watches for communication? Is there a good crash course on understanding this stuff?
So it can do voice calls?
Not over meshtastic, and not with the meshtastic firmware. The T-Watches have WiFi & Bluetooth, and are designed to be programmable. So the speaker and microphone could be used by custom firmware to do whatever, like talk over WiFi or answer calls on your phone.
Was I right about just getting two watches for communication?
If all you need is simple text based messaging then yep.
Is there a good crash course on understanding this stuff?
There’s quite a few resources and videos on meshtastic. For the T-Watches themselves, AFAIK not really.
For the home assistant thing, how would I connect Meshtastic? I couldn’t really work that part out. I assume some receiver device must exist that you plug in with a USB port in order to use the Home Assistant integration?
I don’t use the home assistant integration, but my understanding is you have to configure WiFi and an MQTT server on a node at your house with the meshtastic app (I probably wouldn’t use a T-Watch for that, something with a longer external antenna would be better), and point it to your home assistant’s MQTT server. Then there’s some more configuration to make home assistant send messages and what to do when it receives messages.
Most meshtastic compatible devices do have a USB port that presents as a serial interface though, so there’s probably an unofficial integration that makes use of that too.
Ah so it sounds like I just buy something that has an antenna and work it out from there?
The hardware doesn’t look too expensive so I might just buy some and give it a go 🙂. Thanks for all your help!
Nice! This was my first thought too.
I think Garmin makes some satellite linked rescue devices but they cost a small fortune and require a subscription. Not to mention a clear view of the sky, which seems a bit oxymoronic now that I’m thinking about it.
You could try a Samsung Galaxy Watch. I know it supports using an eSIM, can make and receive calls, and can run the Home Assistant WearOS app. I don’t know anything about tracking though, and it might also cost more than what you’re willing to spend for a device for a child.
Thanks I think I underestimated how much such a watch would cost. Holy hell, more than many phones.
Technically the watch would not be for a child, but rather that they could take with them as necessary. It could very well be my watch that I lend to them on occasion, but I’m not sure I can justify the cost for me either 😅
I might try to see if I can import the TickTalk you suggested somehow, though I’m also considering the meshtastic option someone else mentioned because it sounds like a cool thing to play with haha
We have https://www.myticktalk.com/ for our kids. It does everything you need, there are HA integrations, however I have not tried them. It’s specifically designed for kids, no games so their eyeballs won’t be glued to it. All the other watches that had the features you listed also had gamification of the usage of the watch by the kids, this does not. Every aspect of the watch and app features are configurable and controlled by the parent.
Thanks for the suggestion, I’m definitely keen on something the kids find boring! It mentions a $10 per month subscription in the US. Is that for the data connection? I assume you can use it outside the US if you get your own data plan?
Yes that $10 a month is just the option cellular data plan in the US. No issues with the tracking of the both watches we have for the two kids, both are the 5. We gave had them for 7 months. We like them because they are boring to the kids, we can restrict who they call/text and who calls/texts them.
Looks like the subscription is for an optional phone plan. The site says it’s coming soon in the US. You should be able to use any phone plan, just check that it’s compatible with the 4G/5G bands in your country.
Looks like they don’t ship here anyway 🤷
I also saw a reddit thread where everyone with the TickTalk 5 was saying how bad the tracking was. Hopefully they sorted that with the 6. But I guess for me it’s ruled out if I can’t actually buy one.
What you are looking for does not currently exist.
Get a Pinwheel watch. It’s $130 to buy, and access to their parent portal runs $15/mo. That also includes phone service. I have Pinwheel phones for my kids, their parental controls are pretty straightforward.
In the US it does, myticktalk.com. We have 2 of the watches for the kids. It meets all the requests in the thread, boring watch to the kids, video, calls, texts, full control and tracking by the parents, no phone nearby needed, and more. HA integrations (I have not tried them though). Buy the watch, and buy an optional data plan for $10. Pinwheel and the TickTalk got a lot of similarities in the watches but no games on the TT which is what we wanted. To many of the devices do gamefication of the usage of them (Garmin and Google)
Which part?
From my understanding, watches that have their own data connection and GPS do exist, and some of those run Wear OS which has a Home Assistant app. Shouldn’t any watch with these features meet most of my requirements?
I was aware getting a custom ROM on a watch like GrapheneOS would probably be too much, but I thought the general idea of a watch that independently reports to HA should be possible?
I don’t think this actually exists. But if it does, I would love to know about it!
It does exist in the US. The MyTickTalk.com watch, we have 2, it does everything Dave is looking for. They work really well. I posted more in this thread.
Well, from what I can tell, there are watches with their own data connection and GPS, and it seems Home Assistant has a Wear OS app: https://companion.home-assistant.io/docs/wear-os/
So in theory what I want to achieve should be doable outside of some of my preferences, but I have zero experience with any smart watch so I was hoping for some advice before I spend hundreds on one.
NO
Looks like yes.
I got that far, I’m looking for recommendations on what hardware to purchase 🙂
I was hoping someone had done it and could report back.
Three watches are listed.
@Dave You can access with the Home Assistant App the records from Google Health (local on your smartphone). So every smartwatch that connected with Google Health will work. I use Huawai GT 6 with Gadegt Bridge (no Huawai App)
What I am after is to live track a watch that is not near my phone. Most smart watches won’t allow that, so I’m basically asking for recommendations of watches that have their own GPS and data connection independent of a phone, though I’ve given more detail to be clear about what I’m trying to achieve.
Most mainstream smartwatches do let you use an eSIM for data and phone calls. I’m not sure about the tracking aspect though. I don’t know if the Home Assistant WearOS app transmits location data or not.
Try Pebble, or bangle.js
The very first bullet point is “it’s own data connection”.
I love pebble but how does it fit this at all?
You’re right, I totally glossed over that.
