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As the title says I am getting duplicate messages to my galaxy watch. When im connected to bluetooth everything works fine, texts sync properly when read on one device. However whenever i disconnect from my phone and switch to LTE i get every text ever all pver again. Literally 1000's. You would think the solution would be to leave lte on all the time? Wrong. When i leave lte on all the time then my watch and phone dont sync! If i read the text on my watch it wont update ththe phone anand vice versa. The point of the watch is to be able for the phone and watch to sync AND to leave your phone behind. Ive read dozens of users experienceing the same problem whats the fix tmoble? Ps this isnt an issue with the apple watch lte

After 3 days between TMobile and Samsung, i have some concrete info finally. It's NOT a resolution, but it is an explanation. The initial duplicate messages issue, where i was also registering answered calls as missed calls even when connected to Bluetooth, was resolved following a full reset on the watch and, i suspect, completely setting up my Samsung account on both devices. It also stopped putting all my group messages into separate threads once reconnecting to LTE. Even on LTE, the phone and watch syncs remotely as long as both have signal. But thru LTE, ONLY the notification panel is synced.

That brings up a separate issue. Phone calls and text messages received while the watch is on LTE are treated as independent from the main phone line. That's why connecting to LTE floods the watch with a backlog of text messages. If the watch software is working correctly it will put them into their respective threads and not show as unread on the watch face or notification panel, but does show as unread within the messaging app itself. Why? Because it received them as messages to the independent watch line itself, not as a mirror (like thru Bluetooth). This is the same reason why, when connected to LTE, calls answered on the phone show as missed on the watch - it's registered as a missed call to the WATCH line. As an example, if (while on LTE) you don't answer a call on either the watch or the phone, then your watch registers 2 missed calls at exactly the same time. 1 missed on your watch line and 1 missed on your phone line. If you clear the missed call notification on your phone, then you'll automatically clear one of the notifications on your watch, the one reflected from your phone. Vice versa works also, if you clear the correct missed call on your watch relating to the missed call on your phone it will clear the notification on your phone. But you cannot clear notifications to your independent watch line from your phone. The same thing is happening with text messages.

Basically, phone calls and text messages are not data features, they're line level features and are forwarded to the watch thru DIGITS. There is currently no ability to sync remotely the messages or phone calls thru DIGITS. In fact, AT&T is currently the ONLY carrier capable of this with Android thru it's NumberSync service. Apple watches don't have this issue because everything is proprietary and they manage their devices directly (in essence). For Android, it's dependant on the service providers sharing service.

Again, currently AT&T is the only one able to sync calls and messages remotely, as well as have your message replies delivered as if from the main phone's number. I asked TMobile Advanced Troubleshooting about it and they said they've requested information on that specifically but have not gotten a response. It could be that it's in the pipeline but they haven't been told anything about it at all, so it could just be the way it is.

And that kind of stinks. I'm usually connected via Bluetooth and on the occasion I'm out of range, my watch starts buzzing for 10 minutes straight with all my spooled messages. And even though it doesn't use the notification panel, it still shows them as unread in the watch messaging app. Plus, if i reply from my watch, it comes from a different number and doesn't post to my phone. Additionally, ten minutes of constant buzzing kills your battery before you're even out the gate! Switching LTE on & off manually, only when you know you'll need it, could prevent unnecessary LTE switching (because you walked across your apartment or something and out of Bluetooth range), but for that i start to wonder the value of the more expensive LTE watch plus a monthly service cost. If you have to actively avoid the LTE, then it's kinda self-defeating.

I'll be asking TMobile if they'll honor the BOGO special if i suspend DIGITS until there's a fix, but i have a feeling they'll say no   . This was VERY long, sorry but hope it helped.


Hey Guys

Even though I'm not a t-mobile user I was experiencing the same issue as everyone else with receiving duplicate txt messages from my watch that I dismissed hours ago whenever my watch would switch to mobile data. And I discovered  (at least on AT&T) that this has to do with the text app you're using and Numbersync (AT&T's equivalent service for DIGITS).

I use the textra app on my phone instead of the built-in messages app. However, I decided to disable textra and then use messages. When I started digging through the settings I noticed that the messages app on my AT&T branded note 8 has a service for AT&T message sync (allows you to check and send text messages online with your AT&T phone number and must be enabled to use numbersync)

So I tested by

1) Sending myself a text message from another number

2) Dismissing the text on my watch while still connected to bluetooth

3) Waiting for 5 minutes and then disconnecting bluetooth

4) Waiting for 10 minutes and confirmed my watch no longer received a duplicate notification

I went back to my phone switched my default message app back to textra and executed the same steps above and within 5 mins I received duplicate messages again. When I reached out to AT&T support they told me that their message sync service only works with the default texting app on my phone and not 3rd party texting apps. This obviously is not the answer I wanted to here since textra is far better than the samsung messages app so I kept trying things and found a workaround that works for me.

I leave textra as my default app but I went into the samsung wearables app and blocked notifications from the default message app. I then ran the test again and no duplicate messages. I only get the notification from textra. I also tested to make sure I would still receive new txt messages by connecting to mobile data only and then sending myself a message and sure enough I only receive notifications from textra now.

Hope this helps

Note: I'm on the latest watch firmware released on 11/26 (R815USQU1BRJ6). I force checked for the update in the samsung wearables app.


I will try this and give them a call.  When I first noticed this issue that was my first response and the DIGITS team told me that it was set up correctly and was Samsung's fault.  I will hold out hope that their outlook has changed and that they can follow your steps.

I will give them a call tonight and let you all know if it works or not. 


Hello everyone! I'm happy to report an additional example of progress. Following dupsla's urging, I called T-mobile support and eventually got connected to the DIGITS team. We did the following:

  • Verify that my watch software was up to date. This was R815USQU1BRJ3, the release from mid/late October. I should note that after being on bluetooth connection with the phone again (yay!, as I had been doing LTE-only), the watch did update yesterday to R815USQU1BRJ6.
  • Unregister then re-register the watch with DIGITS. This is more than de-associating and then reassociating the watch with the phone number in DIGITS.

With those changes, I can go back to bluetooth connection between phone and watch with messages synchronizing, while not getting duplicates when switching to LTE. So far so good for two days, which did include a watch software update. I will indeed follow up if things stop working.

I don't think this is ready to be considered solved, as the steps taken for my watch are similar but different enough from what it sounds like worked for dupsla. Also, it took a good deal of discussion to get from the general support to the DIGITS team; this might of course vary between callers and who is on both ends, but it would be good to make this issue more findable to the support teams. Until a clear, reproducible path to making this work is demonstrated, I would suggest this not be considered solved.


@dupsla​, I'm so incredibly happy to read your update! Thank you for encouraging others to call in to get this resolved as we have zero account access on our end to make any changes. I'm very curious what they changed to cause it to work when we've had multiple teams working on this.


Hi everyone, I just got off the phone with T-mo for another issue so I had them transfer me to the digits dept. They are aware of the problem. He said it is on their back end and have had success with a fix with others. He took my numbers and said to give it 48 hours and do a restart of both devices. Also he said you have to call in so they can expedite a fix. PLEASE call them and let them know your issue! They need your phone number and digits number for the fix. I guess I'll find out Thursday if it was fixed!


Hello, if there was an option to mark all missed incoming messages as read when the watch connects to LTE, that would be a great (but probably not final) step towards a solution. It seems like something that could be implemented in DIGITS or the watch messages app.

This problem has become more annoying as we enter the holiday season, as folks are comparing functionality between watches and carriers in their gift decisions. I'd love to be able to tell others that this increasingly-heard-about problem is solved for the LTE Galaxy watch on T-mobile.


Just picked up a 46 and a 42 and immediately noticed the same issue. Additionally, group messages sometimes come in as separate messages from each sender. In some cases appearing in both the group thread and separately, other times in only one or the other. I'm assuming that happened when the watch switched between Bluetooth/LTE. An under 2 day battery life would be a dealbreaker for me too. Any update on this? I now have 6 days left to decide!


It's either a defect with the watch software or defect with T Mobile digits.  Either way we should be credited since it is not working as designed.  It's been two months. 


Great call out, @magenta6238774​! The Samsung team is also already working with the DIGITS team to determine if that's the underlying issue. Unfortunately, I do not have any updates at this time. They're currently going back and forth trying to find a permanent solution that also doesn't drain the Watch battery.

For those asking if there are any options to return the device outside of the buyer's remorse period - currently, we do not have any update to extend the buyer's remorse period for the Galaxy Watch. If that changes, I'll most definitely update this thread. I have passed the request along but cannot make any promises that the return period will be changed.


I'll echo this. I have the watch and I have the same problem. Past the 14 days, what options are we given?


Me, my wife, and my sister in law are all having this issue with our watches. I wish I had known about this issue sooner as it would have been a deal breaker for me and I am past the window for a return. Our household has now spent ~$800 on two of these watches and only recently did I discover this problem, as I'm usually on BT.

I acknowledge that the always on LTE/Disable Bluetooth settings do fix the flood of notifications issue, but it still duplicates the notifications on both phone and watch which is almost as annoying. As mentioned above, I also do not accept this as a solution.

If this issue isn't resolved, what are my options as a customer past the 14 day mark? Just sell the watch privately? I don't think that's fair since this is a defect in the software/system and not just because "I changed my mind". Reading about all these returns makes me regret my purchase.


Is it possible to pursue a solution with the DIGITS team as well? While connected to LTE, I'm getting messages on both my phone and watch (a good thing, as they are not being delayed in delivery) but messages don't synchronize as being read across devices. I'm thinking this involves DIGITS as the DIGITS app on an iPad and Win10 computer shows the same behavior.

We look forward to a solution to this problem!


It's me again! I'm super sorry for the repetitive posts, but I want you guys to know that I'm staying on top of this. I don't have any updates as of yet but we also just returned from a long weekend so other parties that I'm working with may not have had the chance to reply back to me. I'll update you as I have more info. If you have notice any changes in how your Watch is functioning battery-wise or duplicate message-wise, please let me know.


You're right, @magenta6596678​, this isn't a permanent solution. That's what I'm working on with the internal Samsung partners. Trust me....I'm being a squeaky wheel and doing my best to get everyone answers ASAP.


Not at all! I got what you were saying. 😊


Sorry I didnt mean to come off rude to you I just wanted to make sure they didnt take this as a solution 😊


After about a little over a week of having the replacement mine has leveled out to about 5% an hour.


Mine does the same thing. Hopefully there will be an update soon.


The settings I posted was at the recommendation of the Samsung rep when I got my replacement. I was just putting out there what he recommended.  I understand it's a quick fix and does need to be followed up on.


Just want to be clear that an it's not an acceptable fix for this issue to simply turn on mobile networks always on.  I think that suggestion came from a user not an admin but want to make sure this thread doesnt derail bc of it.  That setting kills battery life from 3 days 2 nights down to less than 24 hours and doesnt actually fix the issue.  We need to be able to use "automatic" mobile settings, connect via bluetooth when in range, and not get duplicate messages when out of range. 

It's been weeks since this thread was made and it's a fairly well known issue that has existed since release, surely theres an update to be had?

Thank you for your time,


after changing the settings to @dupsla 's suggestion.. my battery was at 5% at midnight. Which means it lasted me about 17 hrs. i was getting the text messages on both my phone and watch, however, if i read my messages on my phone it didn't mark them as read on my watch and if I read them on my watch, it didnt mark then as read on my phone. Kind of annoying.


I switched my settings to match yours right now Dupsla..hopefully that works better. about 1 hr has passed since I tried the previous settings and my watch is down to 77%. Almost 10% batter drained in a little over 1 hr.. that's crazy!!


No it didn't Amanda.


I have a post above how the samsung rep set up my second watch and it does help with the duplicate message problem. I am getting 15-16 hours average, maybe a little more. Mine is the 42mm. I have 6 hours 37 min 27 seconds since last full charge and I'm at 78%.


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