Wear OS: The 10 most annoying problems with simple solutions

Wear OS: The 10 most annoying problems with simple solutions

Wear OS 4is finally here, released to allcompatible Android watches, including the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 and the Google Pixel Watch. It’s a nice upgrade, with improvements to get longer battery life, the possibility of more watch face types, and better compatibility with your phone.

But when there’s abig Wear OS upgrade, users sometimes run into problems. New releases can be haunted by bugs and compatibility issues that take a while to smooth out or by problems that affect usability. That can lead to major headaches, but we have solutions to help. Our troubleshooting guide takes you through common Wear OS woes (no matter which version you have) and the steps that can improve your situation. Let’s start with a common voice command issue.

The ‘OK Google’ command is not working

Google Assistant is an integral part of the Wear OS experience. Instead of dealing with your smartwatch’s small screen, you can use Google Assistant commands to get the job done.

Many have noticed that the “OK Google” command does not trigger the Google Assistant on the watch face. You can reboot your smartwatch and fix the issue.

If you still face issues with the “OK Google” command, clear the Google Play Services cache on the watch and try again.

My smartwatch battery is draining quickly

Wear OS smartwatches have never been a battery champ. It stays true for the latest Pixel Watch. If you keep a high display brightness, set live watch faces, or install unnecessary apps, your smartwatch will run out of juice by evening. Here are some tips to improve the battery life on Wear OS.

Adjust screen brightness

OpenSettingson your watch and selectDisplay. TapAdjust brightnessand choose how bright your screen should be.

Try another watch face

Watch faces with animations and interactive abilities drain your Wear OS watch battery quickly. Select a simple watch face, and if your Wear OS device has an AMOLED screen, pick a dark or black watch face for better battery life.

Turn off irrelevant notifications

Getting hundreds of notifications throughout the day takes a toll on your watch’s battery life. To get around this, turn off unnecessary app notifications.

You can also tweak notification categories to receive important alerts only.

Check detailed battery info

you’re able to use your watch’s companion app to check detailed battery stats. First, ensure your watch is connected to your phone and follow the steps below.

you may check which apps use your watch’s battery, find the estimated battery life, and view a battery life chart.

Deactivate the always-on screen

Turning off the always-on screen is another handy way to stretch your watch’s battery life.

Wi-Fi connectivity is spotty on my Wear OS device.

Wi-Fi connectivity glitches can leave you in confusion. If your Wear OS device supports Wi-Fi, follow the steps below to fix it.

It syncs data between your phone and your watch over Wi-Fi or the watch’s mobile network.

I can’t download Wear OS apps

Google’s Wear OS has one of the best third-party apps support. But it’s irrelevant when you fail to download apps in the first place. you could temporarily activate Airplane mode, turn it off after some time, and try downloading apps again.

If you still face issues with app downloads, reconnect the Wear OS device with your phone.

You can also clear the cache for Google Play Services (refer to the steps above) and download Wear OS apps without any issues.

If you have a Wear OS-powered Galaxy smartwatch, go through the steps below to reconnect Watch 4 or Watch 5 with your phone.

Connect your Galaxy Watch from the same menu.

My smartwatch disconnects from my phone

Try the tricks below if your watch doesn’t stay connected to your phone.

Check Bluetooth on the phone

First, make sure you have an active Bluetooth connection on your phone.

Turn off Airplane mode on the Wear OS device

An active Airplane mode suspends network connectivity on your smartwatch. Swipe down from your watch face and turn off Airplane mode. You should also restart your smartwatch (refer to the steps in the first section) to fix network glitches.

Reset your watch to factory settings

First, reconnect your smartwatch with your phone (refer to the steps above). If you still face frequent connection issues, it’s time to reset your Wear OS device.

I’m having problems with notifications on Wear OS

Notification issues on Wear OS defeat the purpose of using a smartwatch. You won’t want to pull out your phone constantly to check the latest alerts. To fix the issue, reboot your watch (refer to the steps above) and keep it connected to your smartphone.

Silence the buzz! Manage Android smartwatch notifications with modes like Do Not Disturb, Bedtime, and Theater

Turn off Cinema mode

Wear OS comes with Cinema mode to turn off the display and turn off notifications. If you forget to deactivate Cinema mode, notifications don’t appear. Swipe down from the top and turn off Cinema mode on your watch.

Check app notification settings

Do you face notification issues with a specific app? It’s time to go to the Wear OS settings and allow notification permission for relevant apps.

Check internet connectivity on your phone

If your connected phone faces network issues, you don’t get real-time notifications on your phone (and your smartwatch). it’s possible to open any website to confirm an active internet connection. If you frequently run into network glitches,reset the network settingsand try again.

If none of these tricks work, reset your watch to factory settings (check the section above).

Check notification settings on your Android phone

You must allow lock screen notifications on your Android phone to receive alerts on your connected smartwatch.

Remove old Bluetooth profiles

You should remove previously connected smartwatches from your phone’s Settings menu.

Wear OS keeps crashing on my smartwatch

If your Wear OS watch suddenly freezes, goes blank, and shuts down, you may have a problem. A crash once or twice, especially after downloading a new version of Wear OS, isn’t a surprise. But if it keeps happening over and over, it’s time to do something about it. The best approach is a full wipe of the watch.

My Wear OS watch doesn’t connect to my car

Suppose you have a smartwatch that can connect to your car’s dashboard infotainment system via Bluetooth. In that case, you may run into a problem, especially if you recently updated Wear OS or recently started using a new device with your watch. Your watch may refuse to connect or recognize the car kit it’s supposed to work with. This problem is usually easy to handle.

I can’t send messages directly from my Wear OS watch

Some Wear OS watches can send text messages from the watch without using a phone as a medium. If you have this capability on your watch and a working data plan or other setup, the capability can suddenly stop working, so your messages fail to send.

When this happens, it’s usually because the watch automatically connects to your phone over Bluetooth. A watch’s network can’t send a message if the watch is connected with a phone. You need to disconnect Bluetooth and try again.

Many watches automatically connect to phones out of convenience, so this can become annoying. One option is to visitSettings>Connections>Mobile NetworkorData Plan. Look for an option to always leave this connection turnedon. But be warned: This can use up battery life and data on your plan.

Image transfer doesn’t work properly

This problem plagued Samsung Galaxy Watch users upon downloading Wear OS 4. Many used their watches to transfer images for customization, sharing, and other work. It’s a process you only want to do when you have plenty of battery power and are close to your Samsung phone so that nothing goes wrong.

This bug keeps bringing up the “Image transfer” notification with no relation to images actually transferring. It can keep popping up over and over after an image transfer has been completed. This appears to waste battery life, and users can’t be sure if the transfer is finished until they check. It also interrupts all other Watch activities.

If you experience this issue, delete the successfully transferred photo and restart your Galaxy Watch. For many users, this stops the problem. If you don’t have images on your Watch, transfer one over for the purpose of deleting it to see if this helps.

Otherwise, update your Galaxy Watch when new updates are available and wait for a bug fix. Until that happens, you may want to avoid transferring image files to your Watch.

Make your Wear OS experience even better

Unusual battery drain, real-time notifications not working, and network glitches on your Wear OS smartwatch may frustrate you. Revisit this post when you run into Wear OS problems. If you are new to Google’s smartwatch platform, read our dedicated post to learn thebest Wear OS tips and tricks.

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