Quick Answer
There are a few common reasons why your Samsung watch may not be receiving WhatsApp notifications:
- WhatsApp notifications are not enabled on your Samsung watch
- WhatsApp notifications are blocked on your Samsung watch
- There is a software bug preventing notifications from coming through
- Your watch is not properly paired or connected to your phone
- Your phone’s WhatsApp notifications are silenced or turned off
The most likely culprit is that WhatsApp notifications simply need to be enabled on both your phone and watch. Check your settings to make sure notifications are turned on for WhatsApp on both devices and that they are successfully paired. If the issue persists, try rebooting both devices or removing and re-pairing the watch.
WhatsApp Notifications Not Enabled on Samsung Watch
One of the most common reasons for missing WhatsApp notifications on your Samsung watch is that WhatsApp notifications have not been enabled on the watch itself. Even if WhatsApp notifications are working properly on your paired smartphone, you need to explicitly enable notifications for WhatsApp on your Samsung watch through the Galaxy Wearable app. Here are the steps:
- Open the Galaxy Wearable app on your smartphone.
- Go to Watch Settings.
- Tap Notifications.
- Tap the toggle next to WhatsApp so it turns green.
This will enable WhatsApp notifications to be pushed to your Samsung watch whenever you get new WhatsApp messages on your phone. If you currently have the toggle off, simply enabling it should resolve the missing notification issue.
WhatsApp Notifications Blocked on Samsung Watch
Another possibility is that WhatsApp notifications are currently being blocked from showing up on your Samsung watch. Even if you have notifications enabled in the Galaxy Wearable app, you may have inadvertently blocked WhatsApp notifications directly on the watch itself. Here is how to check and unblock WhatsApp notifications:
- On your Samsung watch, open the Settings app.
- Go to Notifications.
- Tap the WhatsApp icon.
- Make sure the toggle for “Notifications” is enabled.
If Notifications are disabled here, turn them back on and your WhatsApp notifications should start coming through again. You can also customize other settings like notification vibration and sounds on this screen.
Software Bug Preventing Notifications
In some cases, a bug or glitch with the WhatsApp, Galaxy Wearable, or Samsung watch software may prevent notifications from coming through reliably. Software updates for any of these apps could introduce new bugs temporarily blocking notifications until a new patch is released.
If you’ve already confirmed notifications are enabled in Settings but they still don’t come through, it’s likely an underlying software issue. Try the following troubleshooting steps:
- Make sure WhatsApp, Galaxy Wearable, and your Samsung watch are updated to the latest software versions. Install any available updates.
- Force close and restart the WhatsApp and Galaxy Wearable apps on your phone.
- Restart both your phone and watch.
- Unpair and forget your watch in Galaxy Wearable, then pair again from scratch.
Restarting the apps and devices or re-pairing can often resolve temporary software glitches and get WhatsApp notifications delivering to your watch again.
Watch Not Properly Paired to Phone
In order for your Samsung watch to receive notifications from your smartphone apps, it needs to be properly paired and connected to your phone via Bluetooth. If the pairing connection gets disrupted or lost, notifications will stop coming through.
To rule out pairing issues, open the Galaxy Wearable app on your phone and check that your watch is shown as “Connected” under the Devices tab. The green dot and Connected status indicates an active pairing.
If it says “Not Connected”, try manually re-connecting your watch in the app. If that doesn’t work, unpair the watch and forget it from your phone’s Bluetooth settings, then pair again from scratch. This should restart the Bluetooth pairing and reconnect the devices.
WhatsApp Notifications Off on Phone
A simple explanation for missing notifications on your Samsung watch is that the WhatsApp notifications are silenced, disabled or turned off at the phone level. If your phone isn’t receiving WhatsApp notifications to begin with, then your watch certainly won’t get them either.
To rule this out, open the WhatsApp app on your smartphone and go to its notification settings. Make sure notifications are enabled and that the notification tone or vibrate mode is on. You can also open your phone’s main Settings > Notifications and verify the WhatsApp app has notifications enabled.
If WhatsApp notifications had been disabled on your phone, turning them back on should fix the issue and allow notifications to flow to your watch as expected.
Other Troubleshooting Steps
If you’ve verified all the settings above and WhatsApp notifications still don’t appear reliably on your Samsung watch, there are a few other troubleshooting steps worth trying:
- Uninstall and reinstall the WhatsApp and Galaxy Wearable apps
- Clear cache and app data for both apps under phone Settings
- Remove and re-add your Samsung account on your watch
- Factory reset your watch to clear out any corrupt settings
Factory resetting your Samsung watch should be a last resort, as you’ll have to set up the watch from scratch again. But if no other step works, it may be necessary to reset the watch to clear out bad notification settings.
You can also contact WhatsApp or Samsung customer support for additional help troubleshooting notification issues between the apps and your devices.
Conclusion
WhatsApp notifications not coming through on a Samsung smartwatch is usually caused by incorrect notification settings, misconfigured app pairing, software bugs, or other connection issues. Follow the troubleshooting tips outlined to check notification settings on your phone and watch, re-pair devices if needed, update software, and restart apps/devices. Enabling notifications in the Galaxy Wearable app is also key. In most cases, a settings adjustment, app update, or re-pairing should get WhatsApp notifications reliably delivering to your Samsung watch again.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are my WhatsApp notifications showing on my phone but not my Samsung watch?
If WhatsApp notifications work on your phone but not your Samsung watch, the likely cause is that notifications are not enabled for WhatsApp in the Galaxy Wearable app or they are blocked on your watch. Open Settings on both devices to make sure WhatsApp notifications are allowed.
How do I re-pair my Samsung watch to my phone?
Open the Galaxy Wearable app on your phone and tap Unpair to forget your watch. Then tap Pair New Device and follow the on-screen instructions to pair your watch to your phone again from scratch via Bluetooth. This can resolve connection issues causing missing notifications.
What do I do if uninstalling and reinstalling WhatsApp doesn’t fix the notifications?
If reinstalling WhatsApp doesn’t work, try uninstalling and reinstalling the Galaxy Wearable app instead. You can also attempt to clear cache/data for both apps or reset your Samsung watch to factory default settings. Check for any available app updates as well.
Why do WhatsApp notifications randomly stop working on my Samsung watch?
Intermittent issues with WhatsApp notifications on Samsung watches are often due to Bluetooth pairing problems, bugs from app updates, or RAM management features on Samsung devices that can aggressively close apps and disrupt connections. Try rebooting your phone and watch and re-pair if needed.
How can I customize WhatsApp notification sounds and vibrations on my Samsung watch?
Open the Galaxy Wearable app on your phone and go to Watch Settings > Notifications. Tap the WhatsApp icon to access customization options for notification sounds, vibrations, indicator lights, and more app-specific settings for your watch.
Summary Table
| Issue | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Notifications not enabled on watch | WhatsApp notifications disabled in Galaxy Wearable app | Enable WhatsApp notifications in Galaxy Wearable |
| Notifications blocked on watch | WhatsApp notifications blocked in watch Settings | Unblock WhatsApp notifications in watch Settings |
| Software bug | Glitch from app update on phone/watch | Update apps, restart devices, re-pair watch |
| Watch not paired to phone | Bluetooth pairing lost or disconnected | Open Galaxy Wearable app and re-connect watch |
| Notifications off on phone | WhatsApp notifications disabled on smartphone | Enable WhatsApp notifications in phone Settings |
Conclusion
Missing WhatsApp notifications on your Samsung smartwatch can be frustrating, but the issue is usually easy to resolve. The most common fixes include adjusting notification settings, updating or reinstalling apps, restarting devices, re-pairing your watch, or ruling out Bluetooth connection problems. With the right combination of notification configurations on both your Samsung phone and Galaxy watch, you should be able to receive WhatsApp messages and alerts right on your wrist.