How would you describe a smartwatch? For me it should be a mini extension of your smartwatch, meaning you need to be able to do some parts of your daily work with the little gadget worn on your wrist. I’m talking about small tasks, replying to messages and texts, taking quick notes. Fortunately, on all these fronts the Samsung Galaxy Active 2 is nearly flawless. Not only can you send messages directly from the watch, but you can also customize your replies. Is not it beautiful?
If you have recently purchased the Samsung Galaxy Active 2 and are still struggling with the messages module, this post is for you.
Alongside the setup, we’ve also added a few bonus tips to enhance the whole experience. Lets start.
How to Receive and Send Text Messages.
Stage 1: Open the Samsung Wearable app on your phone and tap Notification. If the toggle is off, enable it. Then, scroll down and tap (you guessed it right) ‘See all’ to see all apps.
Tap Recent and select All.
Step 2: Next, change the key for the Messages app. In most cases, the default messages app is usually chosen. However, if you are using a different messaging app such as the Microsoft SMS editor (see Android Messages & SMS Editor), you must select it manually.
Once complete, send a text message to test this setup.
Stage 3: Tap the notification to reply on your watch. At this point you can go to two methods – Voicemail (first icon) and Quick Replies.
While Quick Replies are pretty good at sending short, clear replies, voicemail comes in handy when you need to send long, complex messages that Quick Replies can’t handle.
Tap the first icon to send a voicemail and start recording your message. When done, hit the Submit button. The message will be sent instantly.
To send a quick message, scroll down and tap any of the messages and hit the Send button. Note that the default messages are just one-word replies that may seem rude or inadequate to some people.
While you can edit them, typing on that T9 keyboard (yes, like in the good old days) is a task in itself.
Also, the T9 keyboard is back again if you want to compose your own message.
But considering the size of the Galaxy Active 2’s screen, I would allow it.
Setting Up Instant Messages
Instant messages, as the name suggests, allow you to reply to messages instantly. And the good news is that you can also use it to reply to WhatsApp conversations. Just tap on the aforementioned message and that’s it.
Fortunately, there is a way to customize these messages for your situation. So, if you generally answer “Let me get back to you on this”, it’s perfectly possible.
To do this, open the Wearable app on your phone and tap Notifications. Scroll down and you will see the Quick Replies option at the bottom.
Tap any of the top messages and edit them according to your need and hit the Save button.
Also, if you want to add more messages to this list, hit the Plus icon in the lower right corner and continue. You can also change the position of some messages by tapping the Edit Button in the upper right corner.
Advanced Notification Settings on Galaxy Active 2
There are several notification settings that you can tweak for your convenience.
For example, the Smart Relay feature opens the relevant application on your phone every time you receive a message. This smart feature is hidden under Notification > Advanced Settings > Smart Relay.
All you have to do is change the key.
If you have enabled messages for other apps, you should now know that in most cases both your phone and watch vibrate when you receive a message. If you’re not a fan of this setting, you can always turn it off.
Mute Connected Phone displays incoming notifications directly on your watch instead of on your phone, thus ending recurring alerts. And the best part is that this setting only kicks in when you plug in the Galaxy Active 2.
Tap Notifications to enable it, select ‘Show only while wearing’ and select Mute Connected Phone and you’re good to go.
Note that calendar events and phone calls will still be forwarded to your phone.
Do you know: Cinema Mode allows you to keep your watch in Silent mode for a certain period of time.
Don’t Miss Any Message
Apart from the above, you can also enable DND mode or Good Night mode if you don’t want to be disturbed at all. And if you want to have some great apps for Galaxy Active 2, you can check the said apps from the Explore tab at the bottom.
Next: Did you know that you can easily connect your Galaxy Active 2 if you have a Spotify Premium account? Read the article below to find out how.
