I have a Watch 5 Pro — my first smartwatch — and initially, I was thrilled. But things went downhill quickly after upgrading to One UI 6 in February. Getting the update installed was a challenge in itself, requiring hours of research across various sites and forums just to get answers that Samsung couldn't provide.
Soon after the update, my watch stopped reading my heart rate during workouts. Eventually, it stopped tracking my heart rate entirely — then sleep tracking also stopped. I contacted tech support and received my first ticket number on February 16. They replaced several sensors, but that didn’t solve the problem. I later discovered that the real issue was the UI 6 update — not the sensors.
I received the repaired watch back on February 26. It worked well… until I got another notification to install UI 6. Reluctantly, I updated again — and like clockwork, the same issues returned. I opened another ticket on March 14. This time, Samsung skipped the sensor replacements and sent me a refurbished unit, which I received on March 24.
About a month later, I got another prompt to upgrade to UI 6. Against my better judgment, I installed it again — and surprise, it broke again. This time, the heart rate only recorded during exercise (not during rest or sleep), and sleep tracking would only start around 5 a.m.
After more research and several tech support calls, I confirmed — along with many others online — that the update was the root cause (similar to the battery drain I experienced when updating my S23 Ultra to UI 7). A simple fix would have been downgrading to UI 5 or uninstalling and reinstalling the Samsung Health app on the watch — but Samsung doesn’t allow that. When I opened my third ticket on April 26, I asked multiple technicians if this was a known issue. All of them denied it.
Today (May 14), I received an email stating I owed $252.28 — more than I paid for the watch new at Best Buy last August. The charge was based on the warranty status of the refurbished replacement, not my original purchase. I called Samsung and spent over an hour explaining the situation 3 different ways to get them to understand the issue. After being escalated through two departments and finally to a supervisor, I was told the issue was “resolved.”
In conclusion: I will never purchase another Samsung product. My Watch 5 Pro has spent more time in Samsung’s hands than on my wrist. I’ve lost countless hours trying to simply have a functioning smartwatch. I’ve been a loyal Samsung customer since buying my first Galaxy Note in 2011 — but that loyalty ends now.
I’ll be trading in my S23 Ultra for a Google Pixel 9 Pro XL when eligible, and when I finally get my watch back, I’ll be selling it (with a warning not to update the OS). That money will go toward buying a Garmin Venu 3 instead.
This is a peer-to-peer user help forum. No one from Samsung is reading your complaints and no user can help you with this issue. If you are just venting, fine, but if you are expecting assistance, none is forthcoming.
This is a heads up for others who may be having the same issues with their watch and yes, a bit of a rant. Thank you for the the suggestion and the link.
