The XDA Developers community has discovered a hack that could enable the Wi-Fi connectivity feature of the LG G Watch R smartwatch running on Android Wear 5.1.1.
However, like other custom mods, users should be careful executing the hack as it could void their device's warranty or cause permanent damage, according to 9to5Google.
The Android Wear 5.1.1 update was rolled out in mid-May for various wearable devices and came with support for Wi-Fi connectivity. However, not all devices can support this feature due to hardware and software limitations. The LG G Watch Urbane, on the other hand, is Wi-Fi capable.
As for the smartwatch's predecessors, the G Watch and G Watch R, LG previously explained that the former device was not designed to support Wi-Fi. But for the G Watch R, a software update expected to be released this year will be able to activate the device's Wi-Fi support, Phandroid reported.
But for LG G Watch R owners who can't wait for the release of the update, developer intersectRaven from the XDA community was able to activate the device's Wi-Fi connectivity through a hack.
To do this, users must make sure that their device is currently running on the Android Wear 5.1.1 update and should have TWRP installed as custom recovery. Their smartwatch should also have an unlocked bootloader.
The first step in the procedure is creating a backup of the device's system and booting TWRP. Users should then install intersectRaven's custom kernel file then reboot the TWRP again.
After doing so, they should download and open the zip file lenok_wifi_zip-XX.zip before restarting the device.
All of the files that need to be downloaded and installed can be found on a forum post in the XDA Developers site.
However, as noted by a forum member who was able to successfully carry out the hack, following this technique might cause irreversible hardware damage to the LG G Watch R. If this happens, it will not be covered by LG's warranty since the device has been modified.
