How to turn on the LG G Watch

With no obvious power button, switching the G Watch back on can be a little tricky
The LG G Watch is designed to be an always-on device, whether it's on your wrist or resting on its charging cradle. But sometimes, for whatever reason, you might need to switch it off completely. Maybe you're traveling somewhere without Internet connectivity, or you're using a different watch and want to save the device's power. Switching the G Watch off is easy enough, but turning it back on again is a bit of a head-scratcher. With no buttons on the front or side of the smartwatch, it's not exactly obvious how you're supposed to return it to life.
Fortunately we've got everything you need to know down below.
Powering off the LG G Watch
First things first — shutting down the LG G Watch is easy, though the option is hidden beneath a few layers of menus in the Android Wear OS.
- Tap on your watch face to get to the "Speak now ..." page.
- Scroll down to "Settings," the second to last option.
- In the Settings menu, scroll down to "Power off." (There's also a dedicated Restart option if you just want to power cycle)
- Tap the check mark to confirm.
Switching the LG G Watch on — the easy way
If you're near your charging cradle, it's easy enough to power on the G Watch with the method you probably used when first taking it out of its box. Make sure the charging cradle is connected to a power source, for example a computer or power outlet, then place the powered-down watch onto it. It'll immediately wake and start booting up.
If it doesn't, double-check your power source, as it's the power that turns on the watch, not the charging cradle alone.
Switching the LG G Watch on — the slightly less easy way
If you're not near your charging cradle or a USB power source, you can still turn your LG G Watch back on — providing it still has a charge — using a tiny power switch on the back of the smartwatch. Take the watch off and look at the back — you'll see a small silver dot above the five gold charging contacts.
Using something like a SIM tool or paperclip, or even a sharp pencil, press this switch in for a couple of seconds and your watch will spring back to life and boot as normal. That's it — the silver dot works like a regular phone or tablet power button, albeit a really tiny one in a less than obvious location.
As we said, the G Watch and other Android Wear gadgets are a supposed to be always-on wearable accessories, so with any luck you won't have to deal with switching them on and off very often. But if you do, you might want to keep a SIM tool around to make things a bit easier.
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Alex was with Android Central for over a decade, producing written and video content for the site, and served as global Executive Editor from 2016 to 2022.
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I was just wondering this last night, thanks for the post!
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I understand that it's designed to be an always on device, but that power button is insane lol. Posted via AC App from my S4 mini WITH an LED CrackLight ;-)
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Wondering if Android L will bring better battery life?
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I think currently battery life for these watches is mostly dependent on hardware...could be wrong of course, but that's what it seems like. Posted via Android Central App
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This should answer your question!
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/07/examining-project-volta-we-put-an... -
Great find. With android I've learned you either 1) buy a developer Nexus or Google edition to get prompt OS updates or 2) buy the other type of android and wild card as to when we'll get the new android. According to the link, about a 36% improvement on battery life. Pretty good. The $1 million dollar question, when will this update reach google wearables?
Apple commits to 3.5yrs of OS updates for their phones, google 18 months, and the others, some times 12-18 months (with a 6 - 12 month lag). It seems like the best thing to do is to wait for the Apple watch and then see when Android L reaches wearables. -
At least as far as Wear, Auto go, Google has indicated that they will not allow OEM's to alter the UI which would theoretically mean they could more directly and easily update the Android version on these devices.
I would go as far as to say that both Wear and Auto would be more like Nexus devices....as far as updates go... -
What about the Samung Gear Live? (The one I ordered). I'm assuming that it can be powered on using the button on the side.
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That's correct Posted via Android Central App
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Cool. Thanks.
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so it has a power button, now we just need a volume button and then we can enter the bootloader, lol.
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^ Rooting an Android Wear watch lol Posted via my M9, XT912, N910, G906, D6653, D870, G4, or G Pro 3
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that would be awesome, not really much we could do with them yet, but in due time someone will figure things out. :)
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Why would it be awesome? Posted from the Avengers: Age of Droid Ultra
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same reason modding our phones, make it more us, less everyone else, and just cause we can. truly i say why wouldn't it be awesome.
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Soon there will be literally millions of ways to mod your watch without entering the bootloader, so what would make it so special on a smartwatch?
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Being in its infancy, not a clue, until things take off or are made possible, time will tell.
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So it might not be awesome. It might completely suck.
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Is there a reason you want to rain on my parade, did I do something at sometime to make you want to argue with me, do I know you, what is it I can do to please you! Otherwise please stop.
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I'm just trying to understand why someone would want to get into the bootloader for a smartwatch because I truly don't understand. So far no one has been able to give a legitimate reason. I'm not trying to argue, I'm trying understand the reason, but apparently no one really has one.
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Cause the bootloader is where we need to go to unlock the device in order to flash a custom recovery if it ever becomes possible, just the same as our phone, exactly the same, which then we could root the device, and everything that follows. Again that's if it's possible
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The same reason you would do it on a phone, genius.
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He's trying to rain on your parade simply because he's a jackass... a known jackass... always has been, in my eyes, and always will be. For no real reason, he enjoys being a jackass. No reason to ever respond to him. It's pointless. Posted via Android Central App
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I understand, but for what it's worth, it's has begun, loll.
http://www.androidpolice.com/2014/07/05/how-to-android-wear-enable-debug... -
He does that with everyone
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This is android. It's been around for years, and this is how it's done. This is the mature, best way. Why would we need anything different than what we've already got with an already familiar firmware?
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Ummmm. adb reboot bootloader fastboot oem unlock It's that simple.
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Oh, that's simple, but turning it on is so difficult it deems a whole tutorial pasted to the homepage??
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Sounds like a pain in the a$$. Posted via Android Central App
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Nice! I watched a review somewhere, maybe the verge, and the guy slammed it for not having a power button...whatteya know. Posted via Android Central App
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I sure hope the motor 360 does not use a proprietary charging dock for message as its sole source of charging. That is one thing that will prevent me from buying a Smart Watch. I don't need another charging cradle or something else to remember if I'm leaving the house for a few days. I could handle a QI charger, but that is the extent of what I'm willing to do. Posted via a beautiful Ebony backed Moto X or the amazing Nexus 10 using the totally awesome Android Central App
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How is that tricky to turn on. Push a button not that hard. A pen would also work Posted via Android Central App
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I said the same thing, then I remembered this is Android Central....the preschool of Android blogs. Now everyone grab a juicebox while Phil teaches us how to tell time with a smartwatch.
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If it had a physical button on the front we would not have this problem! /kidding
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This is called an oversight (why would I need a pen or any pointy object to turn something on my wrist on?). This is one of the several reasons I see all these smartwatches as experimental products and why I keep saying it is not yet time to buy a smartwatch.
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Why not just use one touch like Sony and use NFC? Posted via Android Central App
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Is that really a reset button.? What happens if you hold that button with power on? Does it restart or shut off, Or explode? Posted via Android Central App
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"Always on" with less than a day use from the battery no thanks Posted via Android Central App
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Did we really need a guide detailing how to push a button? Sometimes I wonder if you guys write these articles because secretly you want to get trolled. Now....in case you're curious what an article looks like when it's not totally useless to everyone except blind people in retirement homes, have a look here: http://www.androidpolice.com/2014/07/05/how-to-android-wear-enable-debug...
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It provided me value. Like I mentioned above, other blogs are claiming it doesn't even have a button. They are saying you can only turn it on by setting it on the charger. Posted via Android Central App
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Even the comment section of that article was more friendly and helpful... Posted via Android Central App
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good to know, for future reference! :)