SAMSUNG Galaxy Watch Active 2 : Disability Issues and Sleep/Heart Monitoring!

[VikingAle]

I've had this SAMSUNG Galaxy Watch Active 2 ("GWA2") since 06/01/2020, and it seemed OK, once I had got my head around the many features, and had disabled all those that I did not want.

I am now 60, with lower limb disability issues due to old motorcycle accidents (17 operations) and later added injuries when in UK Forces.

I was kindly given the GWA2 as a 60th Birthday Present to help with monitoring my very poor sleep, and also this years efforts to improve health and fitness via non-impact exercise, such as, initially, Physio, then hopefully later on things like Rowing and floor based exercises with weights, and maybe later this year some swimming and cyling, all in preparation for major surgery to replace a whole knee (yes the entire knee, which is a bigger one than even a Total Knee Reoplacement), probably a hip or two, and maybe an ankle.

I am also looking forward to the ECG feature, but appreciate this will take a few weeks yet whilst various Certifications are sought.

I have also recently discovered that I have serious Sleep Apnoea issues, so bad that it triggered Atrial Flutter one night, and put me into Intensive Care for 10 hours with my heart stuck in a 2:1 Block at 150bpm for 10 hours...which is basically what can happen when you neary suffocate!

All being well, I should get a CPAP (Constant Positive Air Pressure) machine soon, which should cure the sleep issues, and allow me to finally get some decent restorative sleep. Usually I am getting just 1-20 mins of Deep Sleep a night because of this, and the thrashing around I do in bed because of lower limb pain. Total sleep is usually between 1-5 hours if that, so I tend to be a bit tired during the day!

I was using a Polar A360 to mainly keep an eye on sleep, or the lack of it, and to help monitor activity and so on, when I will combine that with a Polar H7 Chest Strap if I can get onto the Rowing Machine (hips/knees allowing).

Anyway, the GWA2 seemed to be OK until this morning, when it suddenly elected to stat Monitoring me having a run, which was curious, because I was just sitting in front of the PC doing some admin!

It did not seem to want to stop, so I just went for a reset via my SAMSUNG Galaxy S10's App linked to the GWA2!

A PITA, as I then had to re-set a lot of features and widgets up all over again.

However, then it did the same again!

This time I was able to stop it, and then disabled the Multi-Workout Running widget, which seems to have calmed the thing down.

The GWA2 is fully patched with the latest updates as of today (10/01/2020), so I am writing this in case others have experienced the same odd behavior. I have it paired to a SAMSUNG Galaxy S10 Mobile (also fully patched).

I will update if it does it again, and will post up any other feedback related to this watch in terms of sleep monitoring issues and a disabled bloke starting to get fitter!

VikingAle

[VikingAle]

Hello LinuxLad!

Model = SM-R825F

Software = R825FXXU1ATA1/R825FOXA1ATA1/R825FXXU1ATA1

I agree it's probably Software, shame it's taking so long, but no doubt the Kung Flu issue is partly to blame for the delays rolling out updates.

Mine is still doing this, one temporary workaround is to switch the watch off, count to ten as one does with most IT Kit to deplete energy and allow saved temporary data to fade, and then re-Start it. This only takes 30 seconds or so, and seems to jog the watch back into life so that it starts measuring Heart Rate sensibly again without the 100% doubling.

Just hold down the lower left button until the screen changes to show the switch off icon, press that, count to ten, and then re-press the same button, and the watch will re-start. This is simple, and avoids a full Re-Set which takes ages to restore all of the various settings.

YouTube has video Posted by user TechnoProz who is I think based in South Korea, and he shows the Blood Pressure App is now working and approved in that Country. This App should Roll Out soon, all being well.

I hope to see the ECG App follow on from this, because as I keep saying, I suspect the Update may well include some changes to the Heart Rate Monitoring aspects of the Software. I say this on the basis that the ECG App is unlikely to have been Approved if the underlying Heart Rate Monitoring is flaky.

I have also noted that the Sleep Monitoring can be somewhat patchy, a day or so ago, the watch stopped logging my sleep for the last hour or so, when I know I was asleep, because I also now wear the CheckMe O2 Device, and that logs things like movement, heart rate and blood oxygen saturation. No idea why the watch just missed the last hour or so.

Spooky, as I type this, the Heart Rate has elected to add the 100% error, showing a resting Heart Rate of 105 bpm, when I know it's half that. I have just powered it down. Now I have powered it back up...that's better, now showing 52 bpm, so a re-start fixed that.

VikingAle

[LinuxLad]

Hi VikingAle,

Thanks for the tip. I am able to get the watch to read heart rate accurately if I power off and then on after a few seconds.

It will be intersting to see how long it remains in this state. Thanks again.

LinuxLad

[Shiy]

Restarting the device is not really a solution as the problem keeps happening shortly afterwards... Every day and at every moment my measurements keep oscillating between the actual values and double that number, making it completely useless! Everytime that a high rate is measured I can easily verify that the actual heart rate is half! 

This is just an example of a lazy day resting at home:

[LinuxLad]

Hi Shiy,

I completeley agree with you. I have reluctantly returned my watch to the retailer. I still think that the Samsung Active 2 watch is the best on the market and I will happily purchase another one, if and when, this problem is fixed.

However let me just say that I have tried several other brands and they all exhibit the same problem. This to me indicates that the problem is as much to do with my physiology as it is with the algorithm and technology  used by smart watches.

Having said that, I fail to understand why a £20 SpO2 & Pulse meter that I own can reliably indicate my true pulse rate where a £250 Smart Watch cannot.

I will continue to read these posts with the eager anticipation that one of you stalwarts will herald a eureka moment when the problem has been fixed by Samsung.  Take care and stay safe.

[VikingAle]

Hello Folks!

Model = SM-R825F

Software = R825FXXU1ATA1/R825FOXA1ATA1/R825FXXU1ATA1

Nothing major to report, Software/Firmware has not been updated now for quite some time, so the 100% Heart Rate Random Error is still happening, randomly!

For other reasons, I am now logging my Sleep fairly comprehensively, so I am keeping a Log of when I hit the sack, and when I wake up either during the night, or in the morning.

I have noted that the SAMSUNG GWA2 can sometimes either fail to Log a matching Sleep Record, or it fails to Record the whole session, at least as it is shown on the SAMSUNG Health App on my SAMSUNG S10 Mobile.

The SAMSUNG Health App does offer the option to your enter your Sleep times yourself, via the Record Manually option. I was initially disappointed by this, because it initially just shows the Sleep via Blue Bars, without any Sleep Analysis in terms of REM Sleep, Light Sleep or Deep Sleep.

However, I can say that if you know when you have been asleep, and enter the Start Time and End Time, if you then leave it a while, the SAMSUNG App seems to communicate with the SAMSUNG GWA2, and the Sleep Data is then updated, so the Blue Bars are replaced with the previously missing Sleep Analysis.

This suggests that the SAMSUNG GWA2 is holding the Data, but there is some bug between the SAMSUNG GWA2 and the SAMSUNG Health App, when it comes to Reporting Sleep. Entering the times manually when you know that you have been alseep, seems to nudge the two sides into communicating better and the Sleep Data is then correctly displayed.

This looks like another Software Bug, so I hope the SAMSUNG Developers are still watching this Thread.

VikingAle

[VikingAle]

Hello Shiy!

Model = SM-R825F

Software = R825FXXU1ATA1/R825FOXA1ATA1/R825FXXU1ATA1

Sorry for slow response, your Heart Rate min/max example is interesting, and does seem to show the odd elevated Heart Rate. I looked at mine today, and knew I had re-Booted the watch, so it shows similar readings as yours, then a spell with normal Heart Rate, before it started messing around again with the silly 100% inaccurate readings.

May be worth doing that yourself, re-Boot the watch, wait an hour or so, and then look at the same Chart, it will probably show the same issue, i.e. that a re-Boot temporarily fixes the issue, before it loses the plot again.

My Sleep Logging suggestion last Post should be ignored, I tried entering Sleep Data manually today, because I know the watch was out by an hour or so, having stopped the Sleep Session Log too early (I was still definitely alseep), so I manually added the missing hour. That is sadly still showing just a Blue Bar, without the Sleep Data Analysis that I was hoping would appear.

The watch therefore also seems to have issues Logging Sleep, because I know it can sometimes stop Logging for no apparent reason, even though I am still asleep.

SAMSUNG needs to extract a digit and fix these bugs. There has not been a Software/Firmware Update since January, although I gather the Blood Pressure Feature is about to be rolled out Globally, so with any luck, that might come with a few tweaks to the existing Software/Firmware.

Still no sign of the missing ECG Feature, which is poor.

VikingAle

[VikingAle]

Hello Folks!

Model = SM-R825F

Software = R825FXXU1AT5/R825FOXA1ATF5/R825FXXU1ATF5

For those who have not yet noticed, there was a new Firmware Update available for the UK Model this Morning, my SAMSUNG Galaxy Watch Active 2 is now running the above version.

Similar reference, with the last A1 Digits changed to F5, what that means in terms of the various bugs such as the overstated Heart Rate issue, I have yet to see. Ah, just as I typed that, I checked my resting Heart Rate (measured Continually), and saw it jump from around 52 bpm to 99 bpm...so that's not looking good at all. I'd say that suggests the above bug remains.

The last version was updated in January, and was this one:

Model = SM-R825F

OLD Software = R825FXXU1ATA1/R825FOXA1ATA1/R825FXXU1ATA1

It's still reading 97 bpm as I end this, so this latest long awaited Update does not seem to have fixed what is a core problem with this watch. Everything that depends upon an accurate Heart Rate measurement, has to be regarded as suspect until this bug is fixed.

Now it's reading 105 bpm, so at least 100% overstated, as before.

VikingAle

[LinuxLad]

Hi VikingAle,

Thank you for the update. Hopefully something will be done about the problem soon.

Keep safe everyone.

[VikingAle]

Hello LinuxLad!

Model = SM-R825F

Software = R825FXXU1AT5/R825FOXA1ATF5/R825FXXU1ATF5

I noted that the ECG Feature has now been Approved in Korea, along with Blood Pressure.

24/05/2020 SAMSUNG Newsroom Korea - Electrocardiogram Monitoring Cleared for Galaxy Watch Active2 by...

SAMSUNG say the ECG Feature will be rolled out elsewhere, but it looks like that is not likely to be soon.

The watch was bought for me as a present, specifically because of the coming ECG Feature, so it's frustrating to have had to wait so long, and to have such a dubious Heart Rate bug.

VikingAle

[LinuxLad]

Hi VikingAle,

Thank you again for keeping me updated.

Hopefully there will be evidence that the heart rate discrepancy will have been solved with this update.

Keep safe everyone.