Galaxy Watch users complaining about skin rashes and battery issues

Samsung’s newest addition in their club of smartwatches, Galaxy Watch, is turning out to be a downer for some of its buyers. After spending a good dime, what they are getting in return are skin rashes, burns and even blisters in some cases.

See for yourself how, for some users, Galaxy Watch affected the skin area that came in contact with the wearable.

This matter has been recently put across by concerned Galaxy Watch users on Samsung’s European help forum. Going by reports, both 46mm and 42mm variants of the watch are accused of causing skin issues.

And here’s how some of complainants word the issue:

I received my pre ordered Samsung Gear 46mm 2018 watch on September 7th 2018 and have been wearing it often. Remove it for showering and charging and sometimes I sleep with it. Recently iv noticed this rash developing and it slightly irritates me. The rash area is sore red and it looks like the skin is stretched or burnt. The picture does bit show as clear as seen in person.

I’m experiencing exactly the same thing. I also have the 46mm bluetooth version. I’ve had my watch less than a week and I already have a small rash on my wrist in exactly the position of the watch.

I have the same exact problem with my Galaxy Watch 42mm. I am using the rubber armstrap as well. I have a red circle right under the watch where the sensors lays on the arm with a small, not irritated point in the middle (presumably where no nickel or plastic makes contact with the skin. I also have small red and irritated stripes on both sides of my arm where the strap is.

I got my Galaxy Watch LTE 46mm 2 weeks ago, and today I have a rash around my wrist like a copy of the watch outline. It is especially bad under the watch, and on both left and right side, but noticeable also on the rest.

The rash went down a bit as iv not been wearing it for a week now and decided to wear it again. It not only made the rash worse it actually caused a new rash on the strap line!

Strap causing sore spots and rash here too. Never had any issues before.

We understand that people with sensitive skin are more vulnerable to such kind of allergic reactions. But the complainants have clearly mentioned that this is not the first time they are using a smartwatch. Rather, they reportedly never had any such issues with smartwatches from other companies which they used earlier.

I’ve used diver watches before, without any problems, and use stainless steel watches daily for 30years without any issues, and I don’t have any contact allergies that I know of.

I wore a Seiko divers watch with rubber band continuously for 3 months during summer, with swimming, working out, and without doing anything to dry either the watch or my wrist, without getting as much as a irritated hair on my wrist. After 10 days with my new galaxy watch, taking it off every second night to charge, i get a rash so bad, that I have to use 5% hydro cortisone to make it heal.

Given the seriousness of the issue, the matter is being actively monitored by Samsung forum moderators. While one of the mods informed the affected users that the matter is being looked into:

We are still looking into this and will get back to you as soon as possible.

We will look into this also. In the meantime, we recommend seeking medical advise.

Another one came up with some precautionary tips from the official product guide.

In a look out for more information, we found out this is not for the first time that rash or burn issues like these are coming to light. Similar problems with Samsung’s watch models like Gear S3/S3 Frontier, Gear Sport have been chimed earlier (and continue till date).

But nothing much appears to have been done by the company to cater the issue, as their newest smartwatch is also replicating the same. We hope Samsung takes notice and acts swiftly to resolve the matter.

Sadly, users are reporting more problems with Galaxy Watch. Read on.

Battery backup not that good, say users

Moving on, Galaxy Watch’s (both 42mm and 46mm) poor battery performance is another matter that has caught our sight. Users say they are not getting anything close to the battery backup that Samsung promoted/promised.

42 mm black LTE HORRIBLE battery…I get maybe 10 to 12 hours with basic use…i.e. using it as a watch….if I use it for working out 30 min or so, I get about 6 hours of battery life.

I have a 46mm LTE, at 8h 12m I was at 8%. That is with wifi off, screen brightness 1, always on – off. No working out or anything. Just did a factory reset, about to return mine and cancel the order for my wife. This thing can’t even last a work day, much less 7 days. At 50% (little over 4 hrs after pulling it off the charger) the app was reporting it was last another 16 hours. This watch is garbage. My 1st gen Huawei watch could last all day with the screen always on.

Is yours LTE? On my LTE 46mm version I’m barely getting 14-15 hours.

About a month back, one of the Samsung Moderators (on the official US help forum) stated the matter is being looked into, and asked the users to share more information (probably to diagnose).

But nothing new has come to light since then.

Note that the problems highlighted in this story are not the only issues plaguing the wearable device. Samsung has already acknowledged faulty pedometer and heart rate sensor problems.

Like always, we are keeping an active tab on all these issues, and will update the respective stories as and when anything newsworthy comes to light. Meanwhile, drop a comment and let us know if you are facing any such problems on your Galaxy Watch.

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