Is your Galaxy Watch experiencing phantom vibrations with no alerts or notifications to cause it?
If you’ve found your Samsung Galaxy Watch alarming you with random vibrations, know that it is not the spirit of Halloween possessing your watch. Many Galaxy Watch owners have reported “phantom vibrations” that appear suddenly, unconnected to any notification or update on the device. The screen does not light up and there are no alerts to check either.
The haptic feedback connected with these random alerts on the Samsung watch can be unnerving and annoying if they start to occur too frequently. It can also be concerning for users to face unexpected issues that could be indicative of some damage or permanent issues with the device.
Image: Galaxy Watch Ultra
Galaxy Watch Users Report Random Vibrations That Set Their Device Abuzz
The random alerts and phantom vibrations have been associated with the Galaxy Watch 7 and the Galaxy Watch Ultra. Users took to the Samsung Community forum to explain this issue and posts in relation to the problem appear to have been floating around since August. The lengthy timeline suggests that users have had their watches for a while and encountered the problem frequently enough to know that they aren’t imagining the vibrations.
Most users who have experienced the vibrations say that it often takes the form of one buzz followed by three quick ones. The simple haptic feedback sounds like a minor non-issue at first, but if it keeps distracting you from your task frequently or occurs while you’re trying to sleep, it can be a real annoyance. Especially after you pay such a significant amount of money to obtain it, a smooth experience is much preferred.
There have also been a few complaints of the battery draining quickly amidst the complaints of the vibrations.
Galaxy Watch Vibration Troubleshooting
So far, there is no conclusive evidence of what is causing the issue. Users have tried to experiment with different apps to see what the source of the problem is, and while some of them state they’ve found success in getting rid of the random vibration on their Galaxy Watches, others have not been able to duplicate their results.
One explanation for the vibrations is the Google Maps mirroring option. Opening the Google Maps feature on the watch, going to settings, and turning off the mirror on the phone have helped some users get rid of the issue.
Another explanation that users have offered for the phantom vibrations is a connectivity issue between the watch and the smartphone. This detail is hard to test or correct, but a factory reset of the smartwatch could address the lingering issue.
WhatsApp has also been identified as a potential culprit, and the best way to check if it is the problem is to uninstall the app from the watch and see if the issue persists. This sounds like a cumbersome procedure, but it could lie at the heart of the matter. Similarly, some users were able to fix the random vibrations on the Watch 7 and the Galaxy Watch Ultra by disabling the Health Platform, but this sounds extremely counterproductive to owning a smartwatch.
If all else fails, the only option left after troubleshooting is to contact Samsung and ask them to provide a solution or repair the device. So far, Samsung has not commented on the issue or provided any explanation on whether this is a hardware or software problem, but with the attention the problem is garnering, the company will have to provide a permanent solution soon. Hopefully, the answer is as simple as a software update that can set things back in order.
