The Samsung Galaxy Watch companion app is broken for some Pixel owners

Summary

• Some Google Pixel smartphones are experiencing a bug that prevents them from using the Galaxy Wearable app with Samsung’s smartwatches.
• The bug seems to be affecting multiple models of the Galaxy Watch, indicating that it could be a widespread issue.
• Users believe the problem emerged on their Pixel phones following the January 2024 update that began rolling out this week.

Samsung arguably makes some of the best smartwatches in the Wear OS ecosystem. However, the way it pairs with Android devices is less than ideal, requiring the Galaxy Wearable app and a corresponding app (or plugins) specifically designed for the smartwatch you own. A strange new bug has now come to light, wherein some Pixel smartphones are unable to access the Galaxy Wearable app.

At least three users have reported issues with the Galaxy Wearable app across the Google Pixel and Galaxy Watch subreddits. The trouble seemingly started after the January 2024 update that rolled out to Pixel devices this week. To make things worse, the Galaxy Watch reportedly unpairs itself and refuses to pair again with the Pixel smartphone. Based on user reports, the bug seems to be affecting Galaxy Watch 4, Galaxy Watch 5, and the more recent Galaxy Watch 6 models, indicating that this could be a widespread concern.

Some digging by 9to5Google uncovered another possibly related issue that’s affecting Galaxy smartphones. Thankfully, it doesn’t appear to be that widespread at the moment. Some remedies are being pitched in the same thread, with one of them talking about changing the date to December 31, 2023, to access the app, though we can’t vouch for its feasibility. It’s also unclear whether the user in this case experienced the issue following the January 2024 update, which has already made it to at least one Galaxy device this week.

It’s hard to tell what’s behind these troubles with the Galaxy Wearable app, but most signs point toward the January 2024 update being the culprit. This suggests the solution either lies within next month’s update for Pixel phones or Samsung, which can save users the long wait and potentially roll out an updated version of the Galaxy Wearable app carrying the fix.

Given that Google and Samsung haven’t acknowledged this particular issue at the time of this writing, we can’t say when the fix will arrive. But as user reports continue to grow, the two companies may not be able to stay silent for too long. It’s worth pointing out that these issues only affect Samsung Galaxy Watch models and none of its other products, like earbuds, for instance.

Despite some of these issues, Samsung’s most recent smartwatch has entered the new year as our best smartwatch of 2023. Although there were some initial stumbles with its new One-Click watch bands, Samsung was quick enough to provide a resolution to the impacted customers.