Android smartwatches like the Samsung Galaxy Watch and Pixel Watch are the perfect devices for tracking exercise. They make it easy to record distances and walks, hikes or runs. But only if the GPS is working properly.
If your GPS isn’t working or the connection keeps dropping on your Wear OS watch, here are a few things you can try to fix the problem.
why your watch gps disconnects
The GPS or Global Positioning System your smartwatch uses depends on whether it’s able to connect to satellites miles above your head. Many things can break that connection, from tall buildings around your location to storms and heavy cloud cover.
The GPS antenna on your watch is unlikely to be very powerful, much less powerful than the GPS antenna on your phone. This means that it is relatively easy to intercept the signal. Just being indoors can cause the GPS to disconnect.
Low power or battery-saver modes can also disable GPS to help extend battery life. Check that your watch is not set to one of these modes before continuing.
1. Exit and restart the watch
If your GPS disconnects while you’re inside a building, try going outside to trigger the connection to refresh. If the GPS doesn’t automatically connect, stay outside and restart the watch. Then try viewing your location in the Maps app.
If your watch’s GPS disconnects every time you spend time inside, there may be a problem with the building or nearby buildings. Luckily when we’re inside our homes we often don’t need to use the GPS, as there’s very little you can do.
What you can try is to connect your watch to something with a better GPS antenna, which leads us to the next possible solution.
2. Reconnect your phone and watch via bluetooth
Many wearable smart devices, including watches, can use GPS independently. But they can also piggyback off
More stable and powerful GPS capabilities of your phone whenever the two devices are connected.
If your watch and phone are not currently connected via Bluetooth, reconnecting may kickstart the GPS on your watch. If you’ve connected the watch to your phone before, it should be as simple as re-enabling Bluetooth on both devices.
If not, here’s how to pair and connect Android devices using Bluetooth.
3. Update Watch OS and App
GPS errors may be a recognized issue that has been fixed or improved in recent software updates. Checking for and installing any available updates for both the Watch and Phone apps may fix your GPS issue.
Check for updates for apps on your phone, such as the Galaxy Wearables app, in the usual way. To check for updates to the watch, open Settings on the watch and look for the Software update section. If an update is available, follow the instructions to install it.
After applying any available updates, it’s a good idea to enable automatic updates for both the watch’s OS and wearable apps on your phone.
4. Try a Different App That Uses GPS
Your GPS problems may be limited to a single app, rather than affecting everything on your watch. Test it by switching to another app that uses GPS. Something like the MapMyRun or Strava apps would work.
Open your chosen app and view the map or GPS tracking tool. If your location is displayed correctly, you’ll know that the GPS is working and the app you were using previously was likely the problem. Check for updates for the non-working app, or uninstall it before reinstalling to see if that fixes the GPS failure issue.
If you want to learn more about apps that track your exercise, we’ve rated the best running apps for beginners to help you choose the best app for you.
5. Remove Your Metal Watch Band
Changing the band on your Android smartwatch is an easy task, and there are hundreds of bands to choose from. This makes it possible to match the look of the watch to your own personal style. Unfortunately, if you’ve chosen a metal watch band, this could be the cause of your GPS problems.
The GPS sensor is a highly balanced component in phones and smartwatches. Placing too much metal near the sensor, such as in a metal band, can interfere with the GPS signal.
Replace the watch band with a non-metal one. If you don’t have a spare watch band, you can still test this solution by removing the band and rebooting the watch. If the GPS works when no band is attached to the watch, you may have found a problem and may need to buy a new band.
If you can’t live without a metal band on your smartwatch, maybe consider buying an official band from the watch manufacturer. These will have been thoroughly tested with the watch to ensure no interference with internal sensors.