Joining a bunch ofstatus indicator iconsat the top of the Apple Watch screen is a handy new icon displayed when the device is on a known Wi-Fi network without the paired iPhone present.
Before watchOS 2, the wearable used to indicate that it’s lost connection with its paired iPhone but would not distinguish whether it’s remained connected to a known Wi-Fi network on its own.
As shown top of post, a brand new cloud icon in the top right corner of the status bar now indicates that the device is connected to a known Wi-Fi network.
When you see the cloud icon, it means two things:
A known Wi-Fi network is one that your iPhone has previously connected to.
Wi-Fi credentials are shared between the iPhone and its connected watch, allowing your Apple Watch to connect to known Wi-Fi networks without its paired iPhone present.
Related article:Getting to know the Apple Watch status icons
The Apple Watch typically loses the connection with its paired iPhone when it’s isn’t close enough to the handset, or when Airplane Mode is enabled on the iPhone or the watch itself.
Due to hardware limitations, thewatch can’t connect to 5Ghz Wi-Fi networks, unlike your iPhone, butthere’ a workaroundfor that. Some of the things yourApple Watch could do without its paired iPhoneprior to watchOS 2 include the following items:
Due to enhanced Wi-Fi support in watchOS 2, and the fact that native apps now run directly on the watch hardware rather than on your iPhone, your Apple Watch allows for greater independence after losing network connectivity through its paired iPhone.
This new watchOS 2 feature is called Tetherless Wi-Fi and it allows the Apple Watch and native apps to communicate directly with known Wi-Fi hotspots to retrieve network resources and more.
Check out ourApple Watch how-totutorials for more tips and tricks.
