This year, Samsung launched the Galaxy Watch 7 and its first Galaxy Watch Ultra to compete directly against Apple’s counterpart. Both wearables have received generally positive reviews, praising their reliable measurements and the wealth of features they offer. However, for some time, Galaxy Watch users have been reporting random vibrations with no apparent explanation.
Galaxy Watch users reporting random vibrations with no pending notifications
The company’s latest smartwatches are not the only ones experiencing this issue. Reports on Samsung’s official forums indicate that random vibrations suddenly occur on several Galaxy Watch models, seemingly indicating the receipt of a notification. However, users report that when they check, there are no pending notifications. The random vibrations occur repeatedly, one after another, sometimes up to three times in a row. The situation can be quite frustrating, as there does not seem to be an easily identifiable cause.
One of the users affected by the potential bug mentioned that not even Samsung’s technical support is sure what the source of the problem is. When contacted, the agents offer generic troubleshooting steps. People have tried most (or all) support team suggestions. Ultimately, the agents recommend factory resetting the watch as a potential solution. Some folks claim that this solved the problem for them, but others say it didn’t.
Some reports suggest that the Google Maps mirroring feature could be the cause (or one of the causes) of the problem. If you are one of the affected individuals, you can try disabling the option from the Google Maps app settings and continue using the watch for a while to see if it happens again. This workaround hasn’t been effective for everyone, but you might be one of the lucky ones.
WhatsApp seems to be the most likely cause of the issue
There are also reports suggesting that WhatsApp is the culprit behind the random vibrations on Galaxy Watch devices. One user claims that he tried all of the measures suggested throughout the forum thread, but nothing worked. The user then uninstalled WhatsApp from the watch, and the problem disappeared. Upon reinstalling WhatsApp, the random vibrations reappeared. So, there’s a high chance that the messaging service is the source of the problem.
You can try uninstalling WhatsApp from your Galaxy Watch to see how things go. Uninstalling the app doesn’t mean you won’t receive notifications, as they’ll still reach your watch as long as you have it linked to a smartphone. The only problem is that you won’t be able to start new conversations using traditional methods. To do so, you’ll have to resort to Google Assistant commands.
A problem that has been present for months
Whatever the source of the problem, let’s hope Samsung is working on an official fix. Users shouldn’t be the ones seeking solutions to issues on expensive devices, especially when potential workarounds involve losing access to certain features. Similar reports have been circulating for nearly 4 months, so the company is taking its sweet time.
Anyway, if WhatsApp is the root of the problem, it is possible that the fix will have to come from them. So, we encourage affected users to send reports to the WhatsApp dev team too.
