Apple Watch and distance from phone

[tl01]

I bought my kid an Apple Watch bc I am somewhat traumatized by the recent school shooting near us. I want him to be able to call, message, or get help if he needs it.
I bought him a 38mm series 3 cellular. With one wall between he and his backpack with his phone in it...show far is the Bluetooth likely to reach? I would prefer the watch be connect to his phone vs on cellular all day.
(Please no opinions about whether or not he should have an Apple Watch. I am
Not looking for parenting advice.)
Thank you!

 

[MisterSavage]

I leave my phone on my desk at work all the time and I've been really surprised at how far I can be from it where I still get notifications for texts, calls, etc. If I had to guess I would say roughly two or three classroom's length away.

You could actually test this out yourself. Just keep watching the watch as you walk further away from the phone. On the top shows a red icon of a phone with a line through it when it can't talk to the phone anymore.

 

[PugMaster]

Depends. As long as the phone and the watch are in the same wifi (can you use the school's wifi?!), they are connected, even if they are in opposite sides of a huge building. If the watch is connected through bluetooth only, it depends. I find the bluetooth range of my watch/phone not that amazing, if I leave it on my desk and go to the kitchen (less than 10 meters but 2 walls between), they are disconnected if it wasn't for the wifi. So I think you'd have to test it. One wall could be okay to stay connected.

 

[MisterSavage]

Depends. As long as the phone and the watch are in the same wifi (can you use the school's wifi?!), they are connected, even if they are in opposite sides of a huge building. If the watch is connected through bluetooth only, it depends. I find the bluetooth range of my watch/phone not that amazing, if I leave it on my desk and go to the kitchen (less than 10 meters but 2 walls between), they are disconnected if it wasn't for the wifi. So I think you'd have to test it. One wall could be okay to stay connected.

That's a really good point. I didn't mention I was referring only to Bluetooth connectivity. WiFi is much better.