I'm sharing this post with the hope that it becomes easily accessible to anyone encountering the same issue that many of us have faced in the past two days.
Issue:
Since January 1st, 2024, numerous users have reported encountering problems with the Wear app. The issues range from instant crashes upon launch to getting stuck on the loading screen with spinning dots when attempting to connect with a smartwatch.
Causes:
The exact cause is unknown; it seemingly occurred spontaneously. Some users mentioned receiving an update prior to the problem, while others, including myself, did not have any updates. It does appear to be related to a date change, as it started affecting users on January 1st.
Solutions:
1. An unconventional but effective workaround, as reported by other users (@realaud and @lil-oz, thank you!), involves setting the date manually to December 31. This reportedly allows the app to launch, after which the date can be reverted to the correct one, and the app should continue working. Although I haven't personally tested this method, it might be worth trying as it could be a quicker resolution. If that doesn't work, then...
2. I'll provide a step-by-step solution in the next post. Essentially, based on collaborative efforts in these forums, another reliable option currently is to start fresh with your wearable setup. This involves a complete removal of wearable-related apps and a reset of your watch. Don't worry, though – you can easily restore everything from backup later, and the whole process should take less than 10 minutes.
Continue to the next post for a detailed solution...
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make sure that the Watch plugin in the Galaxy Wearables application is up to date; this will resolve the connection issues.
To update the Galaxy Wearables plugin:
Run the Galaxy Wearables application
If a manual update notification appears, agree and proceed with the update, then check to see if the connection problem has been resolved
To manually update the plugin:
Navigate to Galaxy Wearables > Wearable information > Update > Update
If you're still having issues try out the steps below.
I recommend trying the manual date change first, as it is a much quicker option, but if it doesn't work for you, follow these steps:
1. Reset Your Watch:
On your watch, navigate to "Settings."
Scroll down to the "About watch" section and tap it.
At the bottom, locate the "Reset" button. Alternatively, you can find the "Reset" option under "General" in "Settings."
2. Remove Wearables related Apps and Settings from Your Phone:
On your phone, uninstall the Wear app and associated plugins. Go to Settings > Apps, search for "Wear," and uninstall the Wearable app (remove plug-ins if prompted). Similarly, search for "Watch" and uninstall the Watch Manager (e.g., "Watch 6 Manager" for some devices).
In Bluetooth settings, "Forget" your watch.
Restart your phone.
Optional: Clear your device's cache partition. This is likely not required, but I did on mine just in case.
3. Reinstall and connect:
Download the Samsung Wearable app from either the Play Store or the Galaxy Store.
Open the Wear app and add a new device.
Select your watch and follow the on-screen instructions. The setup will reinstall necessary plug-ins, and you'll have the option to restore from your Watch backup if previously set up.
Conclusion:
After completing the setup, your watch should be operational again.
This process has successfully resolved the issue for multiple users, including myself with three smartwatches. If you have additional Wear devices, remember to re-add them.
The Galaxy wearable app is crashing. The Samsung message boards eventually led me to
Change the date to December
Uninstalling Galaxy Wear app on my Pixel 6 and forgetting the watch in my Bluetooth settings
Rebooting my phone
Re-installing the app
Resetting the watch
Now the watch cannot be paired to the phone anymore because the Galaxy wear app is STILL crashing.
I have advice for those reading the "solved" message boards with solutions provided by Samsung_Admins: DO NOT follow their instructions to the point that you reset your watch!!!!! All I had was a crashing app on my phone at first, and the watch was still functional. All I needed to do was just wait for the next app update and try to pair again. I would still have a wearable watch that would be functioning today.
Now I have a dead watch on my wrist. Do not reset your watches, guys, it's a dead end.
My wearable app will not launch on my phone and my time is wrong on my watch as they are not synching. I have deleted and downloaded from Google app store to no avail. Not working still.
Today it's been 30 days since my W6C successfully connected to my S23U. On Feb 1st, I'm gonna call my CC company and start a chargeback on my Watch purchase. This is beyond ridiculous.
P.S. there have been 2 Wearable updates this month (direct from Samsung) that have completely failed to rectify this situation.
I WISH I READ THIS BEFORE I RESET MY WATCH!!! Before my watch at least still connected to my phone, the time was right, date, all the basics of a watch, but now I can't connect! PLEASE SAMSUNG FIX THIS! WHY HAS IT TAKEN THIS LONG!?!?!?! DO NOT RESET WATCH IF IT STILL CONNECTS!
EDIT!
I deleted all apps that were watch, wearable, anything Samsung related on my phone. Then I reinstalled ONLY the wearable app first through the Google Play store via website on my computer (not sure if there's a difference but i'm just saying what i did step by step). After that, the app ACTUALLY proceeded to connect to the watch and download all neccessary apps. I'm still going through the motions but it seems to actually work! At least I was able to connect!!!!
My phone is the new Google Pixel 8 Pro and the watch is Watch6 Classic. APP even seems to work fine now too!!!
