unable to add payment card to to watch after One UI update

[MeaEp_55]

I have a Galaxy Watch 6 and the One UI on the watch just updated 1/4/2026. Since then I have had issues with the watch. Initially, the watch wouldn't connect with my phone, and then once it did connect with the phone the Find My Phone wouldn't work. I did a reset on the watch, and uninstalled and reinstalled all the Samsung watch apps. I finally did get the Find My Phone to work after I wiped the system cache partition on the phone.

My latest issue is I can't add a payment card to my watch. The message I get is "Registration denied. Your request wasn't approved by the card issuer. Try another card or contact your card issuer for more information." 

I have made sure that NFC is on. I have cleared the cache on the wallet app, and have done a full cache partition wipe on the watch. I still get the same message when trying to add a payment card.  

I have called my bank  twice, and they tell me it's not on their end and to contact Samsung.  

I had my card on my watch before the update and it worked just fine, I had no problems with it. 

Very frustrating. 

[theblackcobra]

Are you using a VPN on your phone? If you are turn it off and go through the steps to add the card to your watch.

[MeaEp_55]

I am not using a VPN

[nullandvoid]

If the request is being denied by the card issuer, then it's a card issuer problem regardless what they say.  And, yes, a VPN may interfere with the process.  Most banks will let you add a card to a digital wallet from the bank side.  Go to the card information section, look for a setting akin to "manage account" and then look for the digital wallets section.  Should look something like this, depending on your bank.

[nullandvoid]

Also, are you trying to add the card from the watch, or from Samsung Wallet on the phone?  First the card must be added to Samsung wallet and then imported into the watch.

[MeaEp_55]

Yes, I have added the card to my wallet on my phone. That's why the bank says it's not them, it's Samsung. They see it in my digital wallet on their end. I just can't add it to the watch.

Also the Find My Phone feature stopped working again. 

I previously had a fitbit watch and when Google bought fitbit and pushed out an update that messed up everyone who had a fitbit's watch, I said enough and got a galaxy watch. Now here I am again, only I paid a lot more for this watch than I did the fitbit and I can't use all the functionality. After an update. Again. 

[nullandvoid]

The find my phone not working is a known issue since OneUI7.  The developer's only response on the matter to my error report was to suggest resetting the watch, de-registering it from the wear app, uninstalling and reinstalling the wear app and reconnecting the watch.  A whole lot of trouble to go through for something that should not have happened in the first place and is not a first priority issue for me, so I have no idea if that is the actual solution.  I suggest putting in an error report of your own, so as to add another voice to the many that are complaining about this.  You will need to put in separate reports for the wallet issue and the find issue, as the developers only seem to be able to focus on one issue per report. https://us.community.samsung.com/t5/Tips-Tricks/How-to-Send-Feedback/ba-p/3001692

As for the cards.  Do you see the card in your wallet on the phone, and you can't add it to the watch via the + on the watch?  Since I haven't added a card since they updated the watch app, I just tried adding a card to the watch with the + on the app tile, and it opened the wallet on my phone, but it says I have no payment cards to add.  There are, in fact, 6 payment cards in my wallet (which are on both my watch and phone), but given that the "import" section isn't seeing them certainly makes it a Samsung issue, not a bank issue.  When I go to the wallet on my phone through quick access, all my cards are there.  I will be putting in an error report of my own right now. It occurs to me, though, that they may not be showing in the import section because they are already on my watch.  Which is not the same issue you are having.

[MeaEp_55]

Thank you for the link
First, let me say I have reset the watch already & still the issues persist. 
Second, yes the card is in my wallet on my phone. My bank can see that the card is added to the wallet on my phone which is why they are telling me the issue is with Samsung and not them. 

[nullandvoid]

If you just need to hear to the tone to locate your phone within your vicinity, pull down on the watch's quick panel and tap the find my phone icon (I had forgotten that feature).  If you need to know the actual location of the phone, you will have to use Google find from your Google account on another device.