Samsung Galaxy Fit (Gear Fit)

After the iOS15 update, my Galaxy Fit no longer functions. The app says it can’t find the Fit, the Fit has a tendency to get stuck in a loop of trying to restart itself. After it gets out of a loop it can still take 30+ minutes before it can connect to the app and even display the correct time. Even when it does manage to stay connected for a few hours without restarting itself, the battery no longer holds a charge for a full day. I have updated the software on the Fit, uninstalled and reinstalled the app (while restarting my phone in between). I’m not convinced that a factory reset on the watch will make a difference. It was already pretty annoying that I had to switch between this app and the Samsung Health app to access different features (why aren’t the features rolled into one app like on a Fitbit?) but this is obnoxious. I’m really disappointed.

I like almost everything about the Samsung watch: small, light, comfortable, with 2 week battery life (a key requirement for me). The app does a good job of supporting it, with one inexplicable flaw. Good Night mode is useful to keep the watch from brightening every time you move your arm at night. But why isn’t it tied to Do Not Disturb mode, which can be set to automatically activate at specified times like overnight? It’s an obvious association, yet you have to turn Good Night mode on and off manually. And if you forget to turn it off before you leave in the morning, it’s almost impossible to adjust in outdoor daylight. Samsung, this should be an easy fix.

The Galaxy Fit app is pretty solid, other than the occasional bad update (some updates have made it impossible for my phone and Fit to connect). In theory, this app controls the device, and Samsung Health tracks your fitness data. In practice, you jump back and forth between the two to manage your settings. Also, one can lost the connection, and the other doesn’t, so I question how good the communication is between the two apps. It’s easy enough to quit one and restart it, but it is annoying as crap when I’m sitting in a meeting and my Fit notifications start going off constantly. This is almost always a sign that the Fit app crashed, but the Health app is fine, and my phone is dumping every notification it can to my phone (I have email and most app notifications turned off). I’m scrambling to open my phone and force Fit to quit and restart, to get it to stop before my arm vibrates off...