Hi @aibd and @Fox! I thought I’d update you with news that I finally ‘figured it out’. The solution in the end was just to delete both Health and Wearables, install the Aurora store, and then install Health from there. Doing the connection from Health successfully prompted the install of Wearables via Aurora, as well as other dependencies.
Of note, just to function at all, these apps are very heavy on their required permissions. I certainly don’t want any of them having internet access given they basically have access to all my files, contacts, location, etc. So, I went into settings and cut internet access for Health and Wearables. I wasn’t able to find the other plugin thing it installed (I don’t remember the name) in the Applications list, though, which does worry me a bit. If it’s its own app but sneaking under the radar, phoning home is a concern. If it’s somehow part of one of the other two (I hope it’s this one), its internet access should be cut off too so it’s fine.
In conclusion, as far as I can tell, I have successfully created a privacy-respecting smartwatch setup that also respects my boycott. I really appreciate you guys taking the time to answer and troubleshoot so thoroughly. For posterity, I may post an update here later on as well.
Thanks guys!
EDIT:
I was being silly when I wrote this yesterday. I could explain my flawed thought process, but it would likely just be more confusing. I’ll just correct what I said yesterday:
- This process did indeed download ‘Galaxy Fit3 Plugin’. I have blocked internet access for this as well as Health and Wearables.
- To the best of my knowledge, I have fully blocked internet access to all the Samsung software needed to use my smartwatch. The only consequence of this is that certain Samsung Health features (like online challenges between friends and strangers and the workout videos) are unavailable and just show a page that tells the user the phone is not connected to the internet. The weather is also not properly displayed on my watch because it can’t update because, again, no internet. Otherwise, it all works fine and I’m happy with my setup.