Have to unlock Watch multiple times after putting it on

[nrz]

Does anyone else have issues with their watch re-locking multiple times after putting it on?  I sometimes have to unlock it 2-3 times right after putting it on, and on some days when it's being really stubborn up to 10 times.  Once I've finally got it unlocked after the multiple sequence, it remains unlocked for the rest of the day/night until I take the watch off.

This bug came with an update probably a few years ago.  I was hoping a future update would fix it, but the fix never arrived.

Has anyone found a work-around for this bug?

About my situation:
● I wear my watch tightly
● I am entering the password correctly each time (the lock icon goes away until I tilt my hand away)
● Once it finally decides to remain unlocked, it does not lock again until taken off
● I did not have this problem before whatever update created it
● I have reset my watch once on my old phone (S9) and again on my new phone (S24)

Thanks to anyone that can help.

[maird]

Yes, I have a similar experience until my watch is secured. That sometimes requires more than just changing the band tightness, e.g. if there is room in the band then I can often lock it by just sliding it a few centimeters on my arm.

[nrz]

That hasn't helped me since my watch is already tight.  Maybe the hair on my arm is a problem?  It shouldn't matter though since it used to work fine before that update and it works fine once it finally registers the password.

[Bronco2]

I have the exact same problem with two smartwatches - the Watch4 Classic and the Watch6 Classic. The problem appeared after some update and it is definitely not related to a watch malfunction. For example, today I had to unlock the watch with a PIN about 10 times before it finally settled down. I've tried everything - I did a reset after a firmware upgrade, I tried changing the watch's position on my wrist in various ways, I tried letting it sit for a couple of hours after it booted up and only then tried to unlock it - nothing changed. I have to unlock it an unpredictable number of times until it is satisfied. And then everything works fine and it unlocks on the first try, regardless of where it is on my wrist, i.e., whether it is quite loose or tight. And this problem has been tormenting me for a very long time. I hoped it would be fixed with the next update, but so far, nothing has changed.

[nrz]

I'm still looking for a way around this bug if anyone can help. Thanks.

[Bronco2]

I have found a solution. I changed the unlock method from PIN to Pattern and the problem does not reoccur. Apparently, the bug only affects the PIN unlock method.

[nrz]

I've tested that workaround the last couple of days and it does appear to accept the pattern lock on the first attempt.  It's very annoying because I hate pattern lock, but I may stick with it because I also hate entering my PIN multiple times every time I put the watch on.

Do none of the Samsung software engineers actually use their watches?  Or do they never lock them?  Who am I kidding?  They probably use Apple watches.

I've had my Watch4 for nearly 4 years and I'm still waiting for the software to get out of beta testing.

[nrz]

Today I had to re-enter the swipe pattern twice before it accepted it.  It's definitely been more reliable with the pattern lock than the PIN lock, but they still need to revisit their entire locking system and finally fix this bug.

[nrz]

Since my last post, I've had several more occurrences where I had to re-enter my swipe pattern twice before the watch accepted it.  It's still generally more reliable than the PIN unlock, but because it usually takes me at least a couple of attempts to drag the correct swipe pattern in the first place, I'm still wasting about the same amount of time as re-entering my PIN multiple times.  There have been a few times where I have to re-enter my PIN five or more times, and that's definitely longer.  But, in general, each method wastes approximately the same amount of time.

I'd love to see an actual solution to this bug.  Now the question is: will Samsung provide working watch software before the hardware fails.  I'm not taking that bet.

[Bronco2]

I completely agree with you, this bug is truly unacceptable, and we are just trying to live with it somehow. As I mentioned, I use two Samsung Smartwatches, and the aforementioned bug with the PIN occurs on both, but the Pattern method works quite well. I only encountered having to enter it twice once, whereas with the PIN, I would consistently struggle 6-10 times, depending on the mood of the penguins in Antarctica or the direction of the wind 🙂 So, it definitely wasted more of my time than entering the Pattern. In any case, we hope that Samsung will finally fix this problem because entering a PIN on a small watch screen is certainly more convenient than a Pattern.