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Galaxy Watch LTE duplicate messages

M

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

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Best answer by tmo_amanda 4 December 2018, 23:58

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157 replies

M

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.

D

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!

tmo_amanda
Rank
Userlevel 3

@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.

M

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.

M

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. 

M

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.

M

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.

D

How is it working? Still good??

tmo_amanda
Rank
Userlevel 3

Thank you for the thorough update, @magenta6238774​! How's the battery life on your Watch now?

Has anyone noticed improvements in the Watch behavior after the latest update? For those that have worked with our DIGITS team and found success, I'd like to see if you'd be willing to share your T-Mobile ID with me (only via PM) so I can pass that along to the team I've been working with. I'd like to see if I can get solid information written internally so others don't have to jump through hoops to get this solved.

M

Hi dupsla-

It is still good. There seem to be some message synchronization behaviors I am not familiar with (i.e., would have implemented differently) but the core issue of getting a stream of duplicates when going onto LTE hasn't come back. Did your update work?

M

Hi Amanda-

Battery life has gone back to multiple days since I leave the watch connected to the phone by bluetooth most of the time. The original issue of duplicate messages hasn't come back when switching to LTE, so major step forward. As before, I don't think this can be called solved until a reproducible process is in place. In that direction, how do I PM my ID to you?

Also, I'm not sure if the current update solves the independent line issues, detailed nicely by magenta6898941.

D

Hey, hey! I have noticed a difference from the end of November update. (R815USQU1BRJ6). Also so far no duplicate messages. I would be happy to send my info if you let me know where to send it. Also, thank you Amanda for following thru on this for all of us that hung in there! Hopefully tmobile will continue to update and it will continue to progress!

tmo_amanda
Rank
Userlevel 3

@dupsla and @magenta6238774 , thank you both! I sent a PM your way which should be in your inbox. I also agree about the latest update which is something I'll include in feedback because I do think @magenta6898941 has a great point.

A

Hello @tmo_amanda​ I dont what happened since my last update, however, my watch battery is not even lasting me 1 day. I have not changed the settings from before. And now, my watch turned off because it said it needed to cool down. anybody else with similar issue?

T

I just had these steps done to my watch and it did not work at all. Still getting duplicates and the DIGITS support team argued that the steps do not work and then DIGITS thinks it is acceptable to keep the watch in LTE mode all the time. Is there a specific person that knows what to do or maybe a support ticket reference number that can assist the person to perform the proper steps to fix.  I am getting tired of messages via bluetooth and then going into LTE mode and my watch overheating because of the amount of messages that I receive.

J

I landed here after a search for the same issue. I just got the Galaxy watch LTE this week and each time my watch disconnects from phone and switches to LTE, I get flooded with message notifications for every text I received since the last time my watch connected to LTE. Like others stated, I understand that this is because when paired with phone the message notification is from my default sms app on phone mirrored to watch from my primary number. When watch connects to LTE it's getting a native notification from tmo for the secondary digits line. What I wish was pretty simple, the watch should not receive native sms notifications sent during the time it was connected to the phone. Getting flooded with old messages each time the watch occasionally connects to LTE is rediculous. Pixel 2 XL with Android Pie and Google messages app.

M

Purchased 2 Galaxy watches this week for Xmas.  42 and 46 mm. Same issue on both watches. Neither of us are running DIGITS. I tend to believe root cause was explained by @magenta6898941 above. Using LTE full time defeats the basic purpose of why these watches were marketed and sold to the TMobile customer community. It’s sad to see this thread go on for over 3 months now and no official update that the issue has been acknowledge as a TMobile problem and a fix is being taken seriously and being worked on. Having hundreds of messages buzz our watches every time we lose a BT connection just isn’t sustainable.

I had a Gear S3 on Verizon prior to this and it worked just fine. The fact that this was discovered and reported by the customer community is also troubling. This is a blatant problem. I really enjoyed moving over to TMobile and the experience but they have really missed the mark with not addressing this prior to release. Its really frustrating not to be able to take advantage of the latest technology.  I’ll give it another week and scour other forums for a fix before we return both devices. If I find anything I’ll post here. Good luck all.

M

It's now February and the issue is ongoing. T-Mobile doesn't seem to have a fix yet and said they are working with Samsung to resolve the issue.

M

Hello

I am having the same issue when my watch is disconnected - I receive all my old text (BTW the one I already deleted - Which I am not happy about)

if I delete the text either from my phone and/or my watch it shouldn't be saved -  @ @tmo_amanda 

when we will receive an update to this bug and why my text messages is being saved once I deleted them ?

N

Hello,

I just got my Galaxy watch 2 weeks ago.

I am also having the same issue with duplicate texts coming through once my galaxy watch disconnects from Bluetooth & connects to LTE. I had Samsung Gear 2 before this & I never had a problem with duplicate messages in the 2 1/2 years I had it. @ @tmo_amanda thinking about returning my new galaxy watch....

Please help us!!

R

Just jumping in here.. TMob LTE S3 with Digits. S9+ with Pie. Running BT most of the time because Im rural and the watch eats battery searching for a tower. Dump of texts whenever I pickup LTE. Same song and dance from TMob when I call. Had the watch for a year now and if I knew what I know now I wouldn't have gotten it. Lets see where this goes...

M

Just got off phone with Digits support. New update allows for LTE always on with no spooled message dump issues. I tried this before, but I was getting duplicate messages at the same time they came in on watch (1 from bluetooth notification, second from LTE on watch notification).  Now keeping LTE to always on has seemed to prevent this, according to my testing  Digits rep says Samsung and TMObworked it out in latest update.

R

I haven't received a T-Mobile update in awhile.  We'll see when I get it. Hopefully they ģot this fixed. When is this update supposed to be dropped?

M

February 22 was the last watch update drop date. I dont know if that was 100% their version of a "fix" or if they have something going on the back end too.

Only issue with LTE always on is when I receive and pick up phone call on phone, watch give missed call notification. would rather have that then duplicate texts tho.

R

Same here. Someone said it's due to the watch being designed to work as a

stand alone number, not with Digits. Dont know about that. I've had issues

with connectivity and battery life since I've owned it. If I had to do it

again I probably wouldn't. A lot of work for good looks.

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