Problem with iOS notifications after 1981 firmware update

Withings knows about problems with iOS and notifications but has no answer. There first response to me was to ask me to do all the things I’d just told them I’d done? Then this open ended reply which basically means they may never get back 😡
Hello,

We are reaching out to let you know that your case is currently being investigated by our specialist team. While at present we cannot provide you with an estimated turnaround time, we're committed to getting you a resolution as soon as possible.

Note that we will only reach back out once an update for your case is available. If you would like to provide us with any information which may be relevant to this case, please feel free to reply directly to this email.

I’m planning on getting a refund if they don’t fix this common and long standing problem.

Is there any news about this problem? It is getting to be very frustrated.

Can confirm this is a Withings problem not an Apple iOS problem. While Apple have in my opinion over developed iOS on the iPhone it's not the problem here.

I have a much much cheaper FutureGo smart watch which I wear while gardening etc that receives notifications perfectly from the exact same iPhone that this expensive hunk of junk Withings Scanwatch Nova refuses to. Yes "Share System Notifications" is on. Please don't come at me with "fixes" that are on the phone side.

FIX THIS PERMANENTLY!  This is my 5th Withings product. I love that it's a smart watch that doesn't look like a smart watch and I only have to charge it once a month. BUT EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM I'VE HAD ON MULTIPLE DIFFERENT IPHONES, IOS VERSIONS AND ALSO DIFFERENT WITHINGS MODELS HAVE HAD THIS PROBLEM TO SOME DEGREE. SEEMS IT'S ONLY GETTING WORSE, I'M GETTING NEAR ZERO NOTIFICATIONS NOW!

Used to be occasionally, the app would crash, you'd restart the app and notifications would work again. Another instance was correlated to holding down the crown too many times, the wrong time on the hands that would occur seems to have been fixed but the notifications are getting worse.

I do not care about all of the medical stuff in this watch, the steps, sleep and heart rate info are useful but my main reason is RELIABLE NOTIFICATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!! Getting very sick of apologising to people because it took me hours to realise they'd messaged me because it didn't come up on the watch.

I really feel for the people at Withings who make such beautiful well-constructed hardware being continually let down by a software dev effort that is surely not funded properly. If the people who did the dev for my cheap watch can get it to work reliably what gives at Withings??

Hello @everyone,

I appreciate your messages. I am sorry to hear that the ScanWatch 2 / Nova is not getting notifications that have been enabled via the Withings app. I truly value the steps you all took on your end to try to resolve this matter.

If you haven't already, I recommend checking this Help Center link, where you can find guides tailored to your device. And, if the issue persists, please note that our developers are already aware of this issue and are now working on fixing it. We recommend always ensuring that your watch is on its latest version to get the updates our team releases.

I hope for your kind understanding on this matter, and we truly hope that you will still be able to enjoy using the watch while we are working on a fix for the notification concern.

Regards,

Rona, Withings Customer Support

Hello Rona,

At this stage a simple message that „the developers are working on it” is not really re-assuring anymore as it does not contain substance.

We need a bit more depth:
1. A synopsis of what is causing the issue and what the assumed solution might be (if the developers are really actively working on a software patch, the root cause should already be known and it should not be a secret to post a bit more technical details of why this is occurring)
2. A tentative timeline on when this will be rolled out as a firmware update.

I have tried every possible combination of troubleshooting steps from all of the knowledge articles available on this issue and my notifications still work maybe for 1h after they die completely. The watch essentially is only a health tracker that uploads data one way at this stage.

I do appreciate the time taken to post an update, but we all need a bit more than just a repetition of what was already said.

That was infuriating Rona.

Stop it with the victim blaming, this watch does not work properly.

One thing I've noticed. Maybe your devs (if there actually are any with more than 5 minutes experience) would like to know. My watch after being charged over a week ago is still at 100% battery. This tells me that it's in something like Power Reserve mode because Bluetooth connectivity is the main battery draw. This indicates it's not actually connected and drawing power.

Further to this, looking at the device in the iPhone app on the screen where it reports battery charge status, IT CONSTANTLY FLICKERS like it's constantly reinitialising. My summation is that the watch is not holding a permanent Bluetooth connection, which would explain the hit and (very frequently) miss notifications and the very light battery usage.

Ryan,

That is exactly how mine behaves as well. In the Withings app its settings pane constantly flickers! The power draw seems to be very low as well compared to my previous Scanwatch 1.

Hi,
Same issue here.
I’ve had several Withings devices, all used with an iPhone. I recently got a ScanWatch 2 again (after already owning one last year and having used a Nova for a while).
For the first time, I’m experiencing this annoying problem with notifications — which are essential on a device like this. Without them, there's really no point in wearing it on the wrist.
The issue seems to arise when moving away from the phone and losing the Bluetooth connection.
When coming back within range, the iPhone reconnects (you can see it in the settings), but the app still shows a "connecting" message until it’s manually reopened, at which point it finally reconnects.
As mentioned, the iPhone already re-established the connection — it's the app that fails to reconnect properly, even though it’s still running in the background.
Cheaper devices don’t have these kinds of issues, and it’s unacceptable that there’s still no immediate fix.
The device was sold with the advertised ability to receive notifications, and since we paid for this functionality, it’s your obligation to make it work.
Otherwise, a refund for the inconvenience would be the right thing to do.

Regular check-in just to say that this still isn't fixed and to keep this thread alive.

Can we get a progress update on the software/firmware fix please?

This is the last time I will ever buy a Withings product. Love the design but I'm fed up of missing work calls and important messages. Even if they eventually manage to fix it I wouldn't be surprised if it stops working again soon.

Well, the stupidest thing is, I have a Scanwatch that I used before getting the Nova, my wife has a Steel HR if I recall right, both of us have iPhones and both these older models work without any issues.

I don't get how difficult it is to get this fixed since there's working models there as an example.

Check in after latest 18.5 iOS update in the faint hope that this could get fixed from Apple's side even though it's not their problem.

NOPE!

Notifications still don't work. Well, you can get it to work if the phone is unlocked and the app is in the foreground, and you've reloaded it within the last couple of minutes. So, not a fix but does demonstrate the hardware is even less likely to be the issue and there's a background running issue with the software probably because the app hasn't been developed properly for the iPhone. Apple is very clear about requirements.

Just reiterating: My cheap Chinese watch notifications without a hitch on the same phone, how come they can get it right?

Seems all I need to do is pay a human personal assistant to keep my phone unlocked and reload the app every minute two. Can I forward the cost of this individual to Withings as I don't believe I should be paying for them out of my own pocket? (Just in case this is lost in translation, I am being sarcastic and remain extremely frustrated that Withings devs aren't being given the resources they need to fix this, if they exist at all.)

Hmmm, I can't believe this. I just bought a scanwatch nova and had to learn, that notifications don't work. When restarting the app on my iPhone they work for a while but fail again just after a short time.

And the worst thing is, that this seems to be a permanent problem, known for ages....
I am quite disappointed...

Dear Withings!
Is there any update/news regarding the iOS issue? I have the same problem with ScanWatch2 and iPhone!

Thank you! 

Hello it has a more recent post because the notification problem with the firmware version in this post has been fixed a long time ago Here is the link to the new stations.

https://support.withings.com/hc/fr/community/posts/34929679115153-Issues-with-notifications

To summarize the version of the Withings 7.5 application on ios will fix the problem for the moment. it is in beta version.

Thank you Martin! To be honest, I would not like to play with software in beta version. I'm not sure what the consequences can be. The best way forward is for the producer company to start a clear communication campaign about the iOS issue. This should include the solution, deadlines, and of course, gifts! 

Ok seems it would be better if we changed the thread name to current firmware.

I think most people understand that this problem is most certainly not fixed. Honestly, why would we all be complaining now if it had been fixed. Makes no sense. "Maybe all these aggrieved people don't know how to update".... Nope, this watch's software is rubbish, it's always been rubbish but up until recently it's been tolerable.

It's not anymore. It's completely broken for many, many users.

So if there's a beta why wouldn't Withings contact those on this thread with the issue to test it for them? This is a binary problem presently and unless you have a very specific set of circumstances, which are unworkable, this watch will not push notifications reliably for many users.

A new version (7.5.0) of the Application came out yesterday! It seems it helped!

Hello everyone, 

Thanks for posting, I'm sorry for these issues you are currently experiencing with notifications on your watches. I would like to inform you that this thread concerns a different issue, that was resolved early last year. For the current issue you can exchange in the following thread: Issues with notifications. 

We are currently in the final phase of preparation of a firmware update that should be released starting from next week, in several batches, that will address this issue. I will keep you updated in the new thread about the advancement of the fix. 

My apologies for the inconvenience caused, have a nice day!

Best regards,

Markus, Withings Customer Service

Hello Markus,

do you have any information about the batches of the new firmware?

Thank you!

Hello @Tamás R,

At the moment we have released the firmware update to 10% of users, I don't have any visibility on the exact planning of the deployment, however the numbers will increase with all users receiving the update by the end month. 

Have a great day!

Markus, Withings Customer Service

Hello @Markus,

meantime I have got it.