Galaxy Watch 3

[emigrating]

Another post most likely better off posted in the UK forums, but here goes.

I recently bought a Galaxy Watch 3 (45mm LTE). Watch worked just fine, but as it had defaulted to the French region during setup I decided to do a factory restore so I could choose a different region and activate Samsung Pay.

Said and done, everything seemed to work just fine, battery life almost doubled compared to when it was running the French region firmware. Samsung Pay is working great.

However, Bixby (and Galaxy Store plus some other apps) does not work and keeps telling me I have to sign in to my Samsung Account on my phone.

Obviously I am signed in on my phone, and searching the net it seems this is a semi-common problem for people after a factory reset. I have tried all the solutions posted out there (clear cache/data from Wearables and Watch add-in app, Un/Re-install, Factory Reset watch again, Force sign-out and sign-in on phone) to no avail.

Anyone else come across this and have other suggestions for a fix? I'm about ready to send it back and just get a new one, but seeing as I'm not sure if this is a Watch problem or Samsung Account issue, well...

I've had issues with my Samsung Account in the past (such as Find My device telling me I had no devices registered at all (during my S9+ year) or my region being defaulted to the UK even on a Swedish phone/SIM (I have UK account due to previously living there and using SmartThings) etc.

[ElinH]

Hey @emigrating 👋 Seems like you've done a fair bit of research and tried most of the suggestions I was going to give you - but I thought I'd share with you one last tips so that we can hopefully get this sorted ASAP.

Best place to start, like you said, is doing all those actions that you mentioned above - log in and out of your account (both on phone and app) and clear cache/data.

The next thing you can try is to log into https://account.samsung.com/membership/contents/device/device-gate via a web browser and have a look at what connected devices you have here. If you've been a dedicated Samsung fan for a while there might be some old devices that you can clear out. Try signing out of your Samsung Account and disconnect all devices via the above link in the web browser, and then add/sign in to the devices you want to keep again. This will probably mean that you have to add Samsung Pay etc. again so be aware of that 😊

Let me know how this goes and if you're still pulling your hair out I'd suggest contacting customer service!

[emigrating]

Thanks Elin, I used that link when this first happened and cleared it out completely, apart from my current phone.

Are you suggesting I remove my Note20U from there as well? Will this not have any adverse effect on my UX at all? I did this a few years ago and was then left without a working Samsung Account. Or, rather, "find my mobile" stopped working and kept telling me I had no registered devices, even though I had since added my phone again etc. Proper pain in the *** that was.

Was that experience an anomaly or...

As for contacting support, I have already done so, but we both know what my experience is with them so...

[ElinH]

Oh, I didn't realise you had used the link already! As you experienced issues with removing all devices in the past I'd probably advice to not remove your current phone from there.

I will keep an eye out on the UK forum for you for any updates that might come up there, in the meantime, here are a few more tips on how to get started with your Galaxy Watch. You could also send an error report in the Members App, so that we can dig a bit deeper into the issue 👨‍🔧

[emigrating]

Update, to see if you have any further ideas

I received my contest prizes today, so I found myself with two GW3's. Ideas started forming and I decided to add the new watch to my account as well to see if that would work. Classic troubleshooting technique, process of elimination.

So, the new watch adds to my account just fine. Bixby and everything else works (well, apart from Samsung Pay because I received a EU watch, not a Nordic one...... I'll PM you to see what I need to do).

I then decided to check the device gate URL again and I found that my original watch, ie. the one which complains about "failed to sync" is not listed at all. It is however listed on the findmymobile map and says connected, I can ring it etc.

The new watch does show up on the URL above however. So, being the IT person I am, I was wondering if the erroneous watch is somehow in limbo in my account. Kinda removed, but not quite.

Is there anyone I could speak to to figure this shiznits out? I did get a reply to my Members app request finally, but they simply told me to call the repair center, whom did not pick up when I tried calling... Any ideas?

[ElinH]

Hey again @emigrating 

I chatted to my colleague today and he mentioned that the issue could potentially be that, like you said, your Samsung Account is registered as a UK account due to you previously living there. Have you tried to create a second Samsung Account in Sweden and check if this works? It's likely that it's where the problem lies.

Check this, and if not, I would (again) suggest you to contact customer support as they should be able to troubleshoot this for you and see if it's possible that the watch would not be Swedish (you mentioned that the default was French). I know you've had a hustle with support and I am sorry for this, but I am not able to do the troubleshoot for you.

Have a nice weekend:)

//Elin

[emigrating]

So, the fact that my account is originally from the UK does not seem to be the issue, as the watch I won was also a EU rather than Nordic model (exact same as my original 845F) and that watch works just fine - apart from the fact it is a EU model, so I cannot select Sweden as a region meaning I have to use Spanish Samsung Pay etc...

I already contacted support and they basically told me they don't know but call this number (Samsung Service) and they'll help you. Said and done, I called the Stockholm number only to be told, while waiting, that they cannot help with technical queries. I stayed on the line anyway and ended up talking to a nice lady telling me I would be welcome sending my watch(es) in to them and they would take a look at them, but really they can't do much about either off them and it's really up to Samsung Support, she then conceded that the only way to contact them is the 0771 number that takes forever and a day to get thru to someone - and ultimately just pass you on to some other department again anyway.

Not asking you to do any troubleshooting for me, but you can pass along the information that customer support is practically not available in Sweden, and no matter how much Samsung wants to blame CoViD-19, ComHem or other external factors that, in the end, does not matter. CoViD has not really affected these types of businesses in Sweden and if your call-centers are abroad due to costs, that's not your customers problem. If ComHem proved too challenging for most users and put undue strain on your support workers, hire more. I think the reality is that Samsung Nordics is a small afterthought with a very limited number of employees, because every time I actually get in touch with someone it seems to be the same people. Of course, it really doesn't help that they try to differentiate from the rest of the EU market either. Perhaps release a watch (or phone, TV, or even worse FRIDGE!?!) that would work across ALL of the EU. In the case of the fridge for example, it's the EXACT same model as in Germany, but with a different model no., only to try to scare people into warranties will not be valid in Sweden etc. We're all in the EU, well, apart from Britain soon, and everything is the same in terms of warranties, customer protection, safety aspects etc.

Sorry for the rant, but I'm soooooo sick of huge multinational companies that give up on you once you've handed over your money. Kind of like how you (Samsung) fought hand and foot in Norway when it came to the "upgradeable" TVs a few years ago. Not at all aimed at you personally, or even as an employee.

[ElinH]

Hi again! I am still wondering if you should try to create a Samsung account in Sweden to see how that works with your watch. Definitely worth a try since this is the first recommendation I was given from technical support. In addition to this I have escalated the issue again and will get back to you as soon as I can. Regarding your other EU watch I have sent you a private message about it 😊

And as for customer service - I can not do anything else than apologise. I am really sorry for your experience and I don't want to make excuses. What I can say is that I am, and my colleagues are, doing the best we can to help every one considering the situation we are in.

[emigrating]

So, I reset the watch yet again and connected it to my youngest sons phone/account. Exact same issue. Doesn't really matter anymore, the watch is already packed up and on it's way back to Amazon for a refund. Meanwhile the other EU watch is still working just fine, apart from the fact I am stuck with Spanish Samsung Pay (and the spanish rewards points programme - why do we not have this in Sweden?!).

Currently on the fence about purchasing another GW3 directly from samsung.se or not. At least, by getting it from Amazon I am guaranteed my consumer rights. But there are some other makes that look interesting also. If anyone else is reading this, what smartwatch do You rock, and what can it do that Samsung's TizenOS cannot?

[ElinH]

Okay! I'm happy you managed to get a refund, but apologise again for all the trouble you've been through. As for the rewards points programme - I will take this feedback to the Samsung Pay team 😊