The 10 most annoying problems with simple solutions

Wear OS 4 is finally here, released to all compatible Android watches, including the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 and the

Google Pixel Watch

. It’s a nice upgrade, with improvements to get longer battery life, the possibility of more watch face types, and better compatibility with your phone.

But when there’s a big Wear OS upgrade, users sometimes run into problems. New releases can be haunted by bugs and compatibility issues that take a while to smooth out or by problems that affect usability. That can lead to major headaches, but we have solutions to help. Our troubleshooting guide takes you through common Wear OS woes (no matter which version you have) and the steps that can improve your situation. Let’s start with a common voice command issue.

The ‘OK Google’ command is not working

Google Assistant is an integral part of the Wear OS experience. Instead of dealing with your smartwatch’s small screen, you can use Google Assistant commands to get the job done.

Many have noticed that the “OK Google” command does not trigger the Google Assistant on the watch face. You can reboot your smartwatch and fix the issue.

1. Open
   
   Settings
   
   on your watch.
2. Select
   
   System
   
   .
3. Tap
   
   Restart
   
   from the following menu.

   
   

   
   

4. Tap the
   
   green
   
   checkmark to confirm your decision.

   
   

5. Restart your phone. Keep pressing the
   
   p
   
   
   ower
   
   and
   
   volume up
   
   buttons and select
   
   Restart
   
   from the Power menu.

   
   

If you still face issues with the “OK Google” command, clear the

Google Play

Services cache on the watch and try again.

1. Open
   
   Settings
   
   and select
   
   Apps & notifications
   
   .
2. Select
   
   See All Apps
   
   and tap
   
   Google Play Services
   
   .

   
   

   
   

3. Open
   
   Storage
   
   and select
   
   Clear cache
   
   from the following menu.

   
   

My smartwatch battery is draining quickly

Wear OS smartwatches have never been a battery champ. It stays true for the latest Pixel Watch. If you keep a high display brightness, set live watch faces, or install unnecessary apps, your smartwatch will run out of juice by evening. Here are some tips to improve the battery life on Wear OS.

Adjust screen brightness

Open

Settings

on your watch and select

Display

. Tap

Adjust brightness

and choose how bright your screen should be.

Try another watch face

Watch faces with animations and interactive abilities drain your Wear OS watch battery quickly. Select a simple watch face, and if your Wear OS device has an AMOLED screen, pick a dark or black watch face for better battery life.

Turn off irrelevant notifications

Getting hundreds of notifications throughout the day takes a toll on your watch’s battery life. To get around this, turn off unnecessary app notifications.

1. Open
   
   Settings
   
   and select
   
   Apps notifications
   
   .
2. Tap
   
   Show all
   
   .

   
   

   
   

3. Turn off real-time alerts for irrelevant apps.

   
   

You can also tweak notification categories to receive important alerts only.

Check detailed battery info

You can use your watch’s companion app to check detailed battery stats. First, ensure your watch is connected to your phone and follow the steps below.

1. Open the
   
   Wear OS app
   
   or the companion app for your smartwatch.
2. Select
   
   Advanced settings
   
   .
3. Tap
   
   Watch battery
   
   .

   
   

   
   

You can check which apps use your watch’s battery, find the estimated battery life, and view a battery life chart.

Deactivate the always-on screen

Turning off the always-on screen is another handy way to stretch your watch’s battery life.

1. Open
   
   Advanced settings
   
   on the Wear OS app (refer to the steps above).
2. Turn off the
   
   Always-on screen
   
   toggle.

   
   

   
   

3. From now on, you’ll tap your watch display to check the time.

Wi-Fi connectivity is spotty on my Wear OS device.

Wi-Fi connectivity glitches can leave you in confusion. If your Wear OS device supports Wi-Fi, follow the steps below to fix it.

1. Update the
   
   Wear OS app
   
   from the Google Play Store.
2. Open the Wear OS app and go to
   
   Advanced settings
   
   .
3. Tap
   
   
   Privacy
   
   & personal data
   
   .
4. Turn on the
   
   Cloud sync
   
   toggle.

   
   

   
   

It syncs data between your phone and your watch over Wi-Fi or the watch’s mobile network.

1. Open
   
   Settings
   
   on your Wear OS watch and select
   
   Wi-Fi
   
   .
2. Set Wi-Fi to
   
   Automatic
   
   .

   
   

   
   

3. Your watch won’t have a problem connecting to a Wi-Fi network.

I can’t download Wear OS apps

Google’s Wear OS has one of the best third-party apps support. But it’s irrelevant when you fail to download apps in the first place. You can temporarily activate Airplane mode, turn it off after some time, and try downloading apps again.

If you still face issues with app downloads, reconnect the Wear OS device with your phone.

1. Open the
   
   Wear OS app
   
   on your Android phone.
2. Select the
   
   three-dot menu
   
   in the upper-right corner.
3. Tap
   
   disconnect watch
   
   .

   
   

   
   

4. Connect your watch again from the same menu.

   
   

You can also clear the cache for Google Play Services (refer to the steps above) and download Wear OS apps without any issues.

If you have a Wear OS-powered Galaxy smartwatch, go through the steps below to reconnect Watch 4 or Watch 5 with your phone.

1. Launch the
   
   Galaxy Wearable app
   
   on your Android phone.
2. Tap the
   
   hamburger menu
   
   in the upper-left corner.
3. Check your Galaxy smartwatch and disconnect it.

   
   

   
   

Connect your Galaxy Watch from the same menu.

My smartwatch disconnects from my phone

Try the tricks below if your watch doesn’t stay connected to your phone.

Check Bluetooth on the phone

First, make sure you have an active Bluetooth connection on your phone.

1. Swipe up and open the
   
   app drawer menu
   
   .
2. Open the
   
   Settings
   
   menu (the one with a gear icon).
3. Go to
   
   Connected devices
   
   >
   
   Connection preferences
   
   .

   
   

   
   

4. Tap
   
   Bluetooth
   
   and turn on the toggle.

   
   

   
   

Turn off Airplane mode on the Wear OS device

An active Airplane mode suspends network connectivity on your smartwatch. Swipe down from your watch face and turn off Airplane mode. You should also restart your smartwatch (refer to the steps in the first section) to fix network glitches.

Reset your watch to factory settings

First, reconnect your smartwatch with your phone (refer to the steps above). If you still face frequent connection issues, it’s time to reset your Wear OS device.

1. Open
   
   Settings
   
   and select the
   
   System
   
   menu.
2. Tap
   
   Disconnect & reset
   
   . Unpairing your watch factory resets the watch settings and deletes all user data.

   
   

   
   

3. Confirm your decision and set up your smartwatch from scratch.

   
   

I’m having problems with notifications on Wear OS

Notification issues on Wear OS defeat the purpose of using a smartwatch. You won’t want to pull out your phone constantly to check the latest alerts. To fix the issue, reboot your watch (refer to the steps above) and keep it connected to your smartphone.

Turn off Cinema mode

Wear OS comes with Cinema mode to turn off the display and turn off notifications. If you forget to deactivate Cinema mode, notifications don’t appear. Swipe down from the top and turn off Cinema mode on your watch.

Check app notification settings

Do you face notification issues with a specific app? It’s time to go to the Wear OS settings and allow notification permission for relevant apps.

1. Open Wear OS
   
   Settings
   
   .
2. Select
   
   Apps notifications
   
   .
3. Tap
   
   Show all
   
   .

   
   

   
   

4. Turn on notification permission for your preferred apps.

   
   

Check internet connectivity on your phone

If your connected phone faces network issues, you don’t get real-time notifications on your phone (and your smartwatch). You can open any website to confirm an active internet connection. If you frequently run into network glitches, reset the network settings and try again.

If none of these tricks work, reset your watch to factory settings (check the section above).

Check notification settings on your Android phone

You must allow lock screen notifications on your Android phone to receive alerts on your connected smartwatch.

1. Swipe up from the Android phone home screen to open the app drawer menu.
2. Open
   
   Settings
   
   .
3. Select
   
   Notifications
   
   .
4. Tap
   
   Notifications on lock screen
   
   .

   
   

   
   

5. Select the radio button beside
   
   Show conversations, default, and silent
   
   .

   
   

Remove old Bluetooth profiles

You should remove previously connected smartwatches from your phone’s Settings menu.

1. Open
   
   Settings
   
   on your Android phone (check the steps above).
2. Select
   
   Connected devices
   
   and tap
   
   See all
   
   .

   
   

   
   

3. Tap the
   
   gear
   
   icon beside an old device and select
   
   Forget
   
   or
   
   Unpair
   
   .

Wear OS keeps crashing on my smartwatch

If your Wear OS watch suddenly freezes, goes blank, and shuts down, you may have a problem. A crash once or twice, especially after downloading a new version of Wear OS, isn’t a surprise. But if it keeps happening over and over, it’s time to do something about it. The best approach is a full wipe of the watch.

1. On your smartwatch, go to your
   
   settings
   
   and find the
   
   Reset
   
   option. For example, go to
   
   Settings
   
   >
   
   System
   
   >
   
   Disconnect & reset
   
   . There should be a similar option no matter what kind of watch you have.
2. After you reset the watch (don’t start it again), go to your phone settings and disconnect the watch from your Bluetooth. Now open the Wear OS app on your phone.
3. Go to
   
   Settings
   
   >
   
   Apps & notifications
   
   >
   
   See all apps
   
   . You’ll visit three app categories in this section:
   
   Wear OS by Google
   
   ,
   
   Google
   
   , and
   
   Google Play services
   
   . In each section, choose the
   
   Storage
   
   option and select the option to
   
   Clear
   
   data.
4. Reboot your phone entirely. When it finishes rebooting, open the Wear OS app and log in again if necessary. Pair Bluetooth with your app again, and start over. This can remove internal issues that caused the crashes.

My Wear OS watch doesn’t connect to my car

Suppose you have a smartwatch that can connect to your car’s dashboard infotainment system via Bluetooth. In that case, you may run into a problem, especially if you recently updated Wear OS or recently started using a new device with your watch. Your watch may refuse to connect or recognize the car kit it’s supposed to work with. This problem is usually easy to handle.

1. Update Wear OS and your car’s infotainment system (it typically needs to be in the range of Wi-Fi to do this). See if this fixes the problem.
2. If connection issues persist, go to
   
   Settings
   
   >
   
   Bluetooth
   
   . Your Wear OS is probably getting your car confused with other methods of taking calls.
3. Select your car from the Bluetooth list to properly pair.
4. Sometimes, Wear OS is good at recognizing and connecting to your car after this. Other times, you may have to connect every time you’re in the car.

I can’t send messages directly from my Wear OS watch

Some Wear OS watches can send text messages from the watch without using a phone as a medium. If you have this capability on your watch and a working data plan or other setup, the capability can suddenly stop working, so your messages fail to send.

When this happens, it’s usually because the watch automatically connects to your phone over Bluetooth. A watch’s network can’t send a message if the watch is connected with a phone. You need to disconnect Bluetooth and try again.

Many watches automatically connect to phones out of convenience, so this can become annoying. One option is to visit

Settings

>

Connections

>

Mobile Network

or

Data Plan

. Look for an option to always leave this connection turned

on

. But be warned: This can use up battery life and data on your plan.

Image transfer doesn’t work properly

This problem plagued Samsung Galaxy Watch users upon downloading Wear OS 4. Many used their watches to transfer images for customization, sharing, and other work. It’s a process you only want to do when you have plenty of battery power and are close to your Samsung phone so that nothing goes wrong.

This bug keeps bringing up the “Image transfer” notification with no relation to images actually transferring. It can keep popping up over and over after an image transfer has been completed. This appears to waste battery life, and users can’t be sure if the transfer is finished until they check. It also interrupts all other Watch activities.

If you experience this issue, delete the successfully transferred photo and restart your Galaxy Watch. For many users, this stops the problem. If you don’t have images on your Watch, transfer one over for the purpose of deleting it to see if this helps.

Otherwise, update your Galaxy Watch when new

updates

are available and wait for a bug fix. Until that happens, you may want to avoid transferring image files to your Watch.

Make your Wear OS experience even better

Unusual battery drain, real-time notifications not working, and network glitches on your Wear OS smartwatch may frustrate you. Revisit this post when you run into Wear OS problems. If you are new to Google’s smartwatch platform, read our dedicated post to learn the best Wear OS tips and tricks.