This support article covers the Pocket Casts Wear OS integration for smartwatches on the Android ecosystem.
If you’re looking for information on the watchOS integration for Apple Watches, please visit this page: Apple Watch.
Requirements
Here’s what you’ll need to get started:
- Pocket Casts Plus or Patron
- Smartwatch or other wearable device that runs Wear OS 2, Wear OS 3 & Wear OS 4 – examples include a Pixel Watch, Samsung Galaxy Watch, and other Android smartwatches
Getting Started
Download & Installation
The Pocket Casts app can be downloaded and installed to your Wear OS device/watch in one of two ways:
- Using your Wear OS device:
- Head to the Play Store
- Search for Pocket Casts
- Tap “Install”
- Using your phone:
- Head to the Play Store
- Search for Pocket Casts
- Find your WearOS device in the list of available devices
- Tap “Install”
- Using a desktop browser:
- Open the Pocket Casts Play Store page
- Click “Install on more devices”
- Select your Wear OS device from the list of devices
- Click “Install”
The Pocket Casts Wear OS app cannot be installed from the Play Store app on your mobile phone.
Logging In
We offer the following login options within the Wear OS app:
- Log in with Google (Sign in with Google)
- Log in on phone
- Log in with email (temporarily disabled)
Playing Episodes
Once you’re logged in to your Pocket Casts Plus account, all that’s left is to make sure your Wear OS device is connected to a Bluetooth speaker or headphones, if that’s your preferred method of listening.
With Pocket Casts version 8.3 or later, we also support playback from your Wear OS device’s built-in speaker.
Downloading Episodes
Automatic downloads are not yet supported in the Wear OS app. However, you can manually download an episode by looking for it in either:
- Podcasts > the podcast of your choice
- Playlists > a particular playlist
Then, tap on the download icon. That should then start the download.
You can then check and manage all the episodes downloaded to your watch from “Downloads.”
If you would like to see auto downloads in the Wear OS app in the future, please submit it as a feature request.
Troubleshooting
Before anything else, please check that:
- Your Wear OS device is running the latest version of the Pocket Casts app
- The Pocket Casts app versions on your phone and your Wear OS device match
Nothing happens when I try to log in to the Wear OS app using my phone.
Please try logging out of the Android app on your phone and logging back in while it is being paired with your Wear OS device.
Logging in is slow.
The very first time you log in to the Wear OS app can take from around 45 seconds to even two minutes. So, please give the process some time to complete. We are also looking into how this can be improved.
If the watch app shows “Login failed”, “Unable to log in”, or can’t start Google sign-in – for example on a brand-new watch – check the following on the watch itself:
- Internet: Make sure the watch is connected to Wi-Fi (or has mobile data) and can reach the internet on its own. As a quick test, open the Play Store on the watch and confirm it loads.
- Google account: Check that your Google account is added to the watch. “Log in with Google” can’t start without it.
- Updates: In the watch’s Play Store, install any pending updates (including Google Play services) and make sure the Pocket Casts version on the watch matches the version on your phone.
- Retry: Restart the watch, then try “Log in on phone” again with your phone unlocked, Pocket Casts open on the phone, and the watch right next to it. The first login can take up to two minutes.
Note: Watch logs can’t be sent while you’re logged out – the Settings > Help and feedback option in the watch app only appears once you’re signed in. If you still can’t log in, contact our support team and include:
- A photo or screenshot of the exact error shown on the watch
- The Wear OS (or One UI Watch) version and the Pocket Casts version on the watch
- The app logs from your phone, which you can send from Profile > Help & Feedback > Contact Support (see Collecting App Logs)
Can I log in with “Continue with Google”?
If you have used the option to log in with “Continue with Google” on Pocket Casts, and have added an email/password log in option, you can use either method to log in to your account on WearOS.
If you don’t have an email log in you can follow these steps to add one. The email address for the Google account should match the email address that is added for the email and password log in.
My watch is out of sync with my account.
First, make sure all your devices have synced recently:
- The web and desktop apps will always have the latest information from our servers.
- On the mobile apps, you can check the Profile tab for the “Last refresh” time. You can also click “Refresh now” to force a manual refresh.
Next, you can trigger a manual sync in the Wear OS app by following these steps:
- Swipe to the leftmost screen in the app
- Scroll down and tap “Settings”
- Tap “Refresh now”
You can also enable “Background refresh” in the settings to have your watch automatically refresh more often.
Playback is skipping or choppy.
If episodes are not downloaded, playing them can result in some choppiness or skipping. This normally happens when the network connection is not fast enough to keep up with the episode. For the smoothest playback experience, we recommend downloading episodes to your Wear OS device.
My custom files are not showing up.
Only files that are available on your cloud storage will show up in the Wear OS app. You can check whether your custom files have been uploaded to your cloud storage in the following ways:
- Using the web or desktop apps, view your Files. All the files you see here have been uploaded to your cloud storage.
- Using the mobile apps, go to Profile > Files. You’ll know if the file has been uploaded to cloud storage if it has a gold cloud icon under its title. If a file was also downloaded, it will have a green checkmark next to the cloud icon.
I can’t change the order of the episodes in my Up Next queue.
Changing the order of the episodes in your Up Next queue isn’t possible using the Wear OS app. It’s only possible to add and remove episodes. You can, however, change the episode order from your mobile app. You can then go back to the Wear OS app’s Settings and do a manual refresh. This way, the changes you’ve made to your Up Next queue can immediately be reflected in your Wear OS device.
FAQs
Can I control playback on the Wear OS app from my Android device?
Using your Android device to control playback on the Wear OS app is not currently possible.
Are Bookmarks supported on the Wear OS app?
No, the Bookmarks feature is not yet supported on the Wear OS app.
Can I hide archived episodes on the Wear OS app?
No, hiding archived episodes is currently not possible on the Wear OS app.
Can I activate the Pixel Watch Skip buttons?
Go to General > Customize media actions > Toggle on “Pixel Watch skip buttons”.
Need more help?
We’re right here! You can get support for the Wear OS app by following these steps:
Note: These steps require the watch app to be signed in with a Pocket Casts Plus or Patron account – Settings > Help and feedback isn’t available on the login screen. If you can’t log in, see I can’t log in to the Wear OS app instead.
- Make sure that Pocket Casts is also installed on your Android device. You can download the Android app here.
- Place your Android device next to your Wear OS device.
- From the Wear OS app, head to Settings > Help and feedback > Contact support. This will cause the Wear OS app to send app logs to the Android app.
- On your Android device, a share dialog will pop up. Please then select the app you wish to use to send us a message.
