For over a year, I’ve been dealing with **persistent and suspicious wearable connections** on several of my Samsung devices, including the S21+ 5G, A13, and others. Despite never pairing a wearable or owning a Galaxy Watch, these devices consistently show logs and activities related to **Galaxy Watches, Tizen OS**, and **virtual connections**—even connecting to apps like **Samsung Wallet, Instagram**, and **Google Messages** without my consent.
### **Summary of Issues:** 1. **FakeModelName Linking Watch and Phone** - Across multiple devices, I’ve discovered a recurring **FakeModelName** that combines the model numbers of my phone (e.g., SM-A136U) with that of a **Galaxy Watch 4** (SM-R870). This seems to indicate a **virtual or rogue pairing** of a wearable. Here’s a key log entry:
This same pairing occurs across different devices, including my Samsung S21+ 5G and A13, making this suspicious.
2. **Google Messages Syncing with Wearable** - I’ve noticed repeated logs of **Google Messages** syncing with an unknown wearable, particularly through **CallInSync** and **Companion Data Transfer** during calls. These logs suggest an **unauthorized transfer of call data** to a rogue wearable.
3. **Samsung Wallet Wearable Connections** - Logs indicate that **Samsung Wallet** is consistently interacting with a wearable, even when no such device has been paired. The **PayPal account** linked to Samsung Wallet seems to be particularly tied to these wearable activities, while other cards are not.
``` 2024-09-20 19:36:29.262 29463 29463 com.samsung.android.spay I SAMSUNGWALLET : [AbsWatchManager] isConnected called ```
4. **Instagram App Reference to Wearable Not Reachable** - I’ve come across multiple instances where **Instagram logs** mention a wearable that’s **“not reachable”**. While Instagram is not an app I associate with wearable devices, it seems to be interacting with one in my case.
5. **Galaxy Store and Tizen OS** - I’ve also found references to **Tizen** and **Galaxy Store-related wearable connections**, which is strange since I’ve never owned a device running Tizen. Here are the relevant logs:
6. **CallInSync and Companion Data Transfer** - During calls, I’ve detected activities suggesting that **call data is being transferred to a wearable**. These activities occur consistently and raise concerns about the integrity of my communications.
### **Why This Matters:** Despite never pairing a wearable myself, these logs show **persistent unauthorized connections** to various wearables, particularly Galaxy Watches. I have taken the step of downloading the **Samsung Wearable** and **Google Wear OS** apps to trigger logs and investigate further, but the issue seems to have been ongoing long before that.
### **Key Log Entries:** To give more context, here are some additional logs showing suspicious wearable-related activities across different devices: ``` 2024-09-26 06:27:20.656 20903 20903 com.samsung.android.app.watchmanager I IDS_TAG : Getting Shared Preference for com.samsung.android.app.twatchmanager.TWatchManagerApplication@3a792fa uid = 10305 ``` ``` 2024-09-20 19:36:29.262 29463 29463 com.samsung.android.spay I SAMSUNGWALLET : [AbsWatchManager] isConnected called ```
Has anyone else experienced similar issues with **rogue wearable connections** or **virtual wearables** on their Samsung devices?
