Hi! I’m developing a Connect IQ app that relies heavily on a mobile companion module for internet access (watch sends commands → phone performs HTTPS requests → response goes back to the watch). I’m trying to understand the best development workflow for this setup. Currently my project includes a mobile JS companion, and I use Communications.transmit() from the watch. However, I’ve noticed that when I sideload the app via USB, the mobile module is not installed on the phone, so the communication path doesn’t exist. Questions: What is the recommended workflow for developing and testing apps that depend on the mobile companion? Do you always install via Beta / Connect IQ Store to get the mobile module onto the phone? Is there any supported way to test watch phone communication locally without repeatedly going through store/beta installs? How do other developers structure their workflow to iterate quickly when the app depends on internet access through the phone? Do you mock the transport layer on the phone side (fake watch messages) during development? Any best practices or examples from real projects would be greatly appreciated.

Best workflow for developing/testing Connect IQ app with mobile companion?

5766387 2 hours ago

Hi!

I’m developing a Connect IQ app that relies heavily on a mobile companion module for internet access (watch sends commands → phone performs HTTPS requests → response goes back to the watch).

I’m trying to understand the best development workflow for this setup.

Currently my project includes a mobile JS companion, and I use Communications.transmit() from the watch. However, I’ve noticed that when I sideload the app via USB, the mobile module is not installed on the phone, so the communication path doesn’t exist.

Questions:

What is the recommended workflow for developing and testing apps that depend on the mobile companion?
Do you always install via Beta / Connect IQ Store to get the mobile module onto the phone?
Is there any supported way to test watch phone communication locally without repeatedly going through store/beta installs?
How do other developers structure their workflow to iterate quickly when the app depends on internet access through the phone?
Do you mock the transport layer on the phone side (fake watch messages) during development?

Any best practices or examples from real projects would be greatly appreciated.

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0 jim_m_58 1 hour ago

If you just need to do a https request, why not use makeWebRequest on the garmin and skip the companion app on the phone?

0 5766387 1 hour ago in reply to jim_m_58

Yes, you’re right — I’ve already come across makeWebRequest

Let me explain how I got there. I started by developing a watch face and originally planned for it to fetch data from the internet on its own. Then I found out that a watch face can’t do that directly. Somewhere I read that you need a mobile module and a separate watch app to update properties for the watch face. So I went down that path and built an app with a mobile JS component.

Only later did I realize that for my use case I could have used makeWebRequest and simplified the architecture a lot.

0 jim_m_58 1 hour ago in reply to 5766387

With a watchface, to do a makeWebRequest, you need to do it with a background service, which will run at most every 5 minutes and for at most 30 seconds at a time.

See VERY Simple sample of a watch face with a background process.

for the basics of doing a background service.

0 5766387 1 hour ago in reply to jim_m_58

Yes — but on low-battery devices like the Instinct this isn’t available, so it’s not really a universal solution

0 jim_m_58 1 hour ago in reply to 5766387

It's there on the instinct2/3, And if you are concerned about battery, have the background run less often. In my weather widgets, I default to every 15 minutes.