STOP THE HANDS FROM MOVING!

In perfect customer service fashion, I realized I've been banned from this forum for starting this thread. Every time I would login I got an "internal error" which I chalked up to my VPN. Then I tried to just make another account, and alas, instant login. Great work, Withings. Silence any dissent. Perfect. What could go wrong? 

So. I went to the big fancy Withings booth at CES in Las Vegas this past month and complained loudly (to anyone who would listen) about this. One guy that worked at Withings started by laughing at my anger about this issue, but finally came around when I showed him this thread, full of like-minded folks who simply want their watch to function... LIKE A WATCH.

Well. He gave me his card and encouraged me to follow-up with him about it. And so, thus, I am naturally encouraging ALL OF US to follow-up via email him as well.

Again... it is fundamentally INSANE that this is STILL AN ISSUE. I of course told everyone at their booth how terrible their customer service has been and how they've bricked a fantastic product with a firmware update, only to then completely abandon their would-be loyal customers on an issue that would take literally SECONDS to fix. Unbelievable. Hopefully our dear friend Thibaut grows tired of the emails and escalates this internally and rapidly. 

+1. Please action. It seems the development and release cycle process is stuck in 1990 here. Please let me know if you need any assistance demounting the untestable monolith of spaghetti this seem to be. Changing something like this and pushing it should be part of a bi-weekly or monthly cadence, not once in the lifetime of the product. Considering the minimal amount of actual features and ux in the apps both in hardware and devices, I think you need a second developer on the team to spread the load a bit

It doesn't make the developers, the support team or the whole company look good. I thought that making it clear we were actively telling people to NOT buy these watches would make some difference, but it has been so many many many months for such a small thing.

I'm a software developer too. I understand that it's not easy to rollback/rollout changes at scale. That said, the fact this wasn't fixed within 2 months or we weren't simply told "this feature will never comes back" speaks volumes on how worthless our time and feedback and custom are to this company.

What has really bothered me for the last year: why don't they just delete our frustrated comments (or this whole thread) in shame? I think over the last year I've started to prefer the idiotic moving of the hands on my watch to this endless, masochistic nightmare of a support thread. Are we part of some psychological experiment, or some game show, to find the world's most patient and pathetic group of consumers? Will there be a prize?

Anyway, sorry for complaining folks. I guess I'll see you all here in 2026.

@Markus & Withings

Please can we have an update on the release. Echoing everyone’s observations, it is very frustrating when a notification comes through on the watch, going from meeting to meeting, only to have a panic that the time has shot forward to 10mins after 10 for any morning or early afternoon time of day. I get the allure of the auto hands feature for new sales, but in practice it is very misleading for a watch. We have all suffered, in a loyal fashion, waiting for the update to be released. Can we please do so and put this issue to bed. Many thanks, Hugh

Hello everyone!

I don't have news to share since my last post unfortunately, the possibility to make the 10:10 hands position optional again will be available in the next firmware update, and it will be deployed very soon. I can understand that this might seem long, but be assured that we are working to make this available as soon as possible for you. Thank you for your patience, I will let you know as soon as I have a date. 

@withings2: I am sorry for your experience, we do not block users or delete posts in this forum, except under very rare circumstances like spam, violence, language, etc, it seems like your account might have been deleted by our automatic spam detection due to your username, but it was not deliberately done. Please accept our apologies for this. I would also please ask you to edit your last post mentioning the full name and e-mail address of one of our employees.

@Joseph H: Thanks for your feedback, our customer's opinion is very important to us, this is why we have decided to make this feature available again, after seeing so many comments asking for it. We just need a little more time, as this will be part of a larger firmware update. As for your question why we do not delete this thread, we see this Forum as a place where users can share their experiences, voice their opinion and give feedback. Whenever we can we reply to questions, though this is not always possible, due to the large number of posts. We do not delete posts as a principle, except for spam, obscene language, advertisements, etc.

@Hugh R: Thanks again for your patience, I'm very sorry for the time you already had to wait.

I will let you know as soon as I know the date of the firmware update.

Thank you all, wishing you a nice day.

Markus, Withings Customer Service 

I'm not buying a Withings watch (mostly) because of this, because I know this will frustrate me. The fact that there isn't a sollution over a year later, doesn't make it better. But now there is firmware 3.0, so if should be fixed now, right? According to Google Play, the app is updated on feb. 17, so 5 days after Marcus' last post. If not, I'll just give up and look for another brand.

If it is fixed however, the '(mostly)' part comes. I've got some questions which i will contact chat-support for. I do hope it is fixed. The product is (maybe almost, that's why i want more info) exactly what I'm looking for, but I simply don't want the frustration that comes with it. 

"Next firmware update will be deployed very soon", eh? It's been over a month since the last update from Markus, and we still haven't received the update. It's also been 8 months since the last firmware update... Which is a shame. We still haven't received the features promised since the watch's release date. The hands are still moving. Why is it taking you so long to issue ANY updates? Do you really want your customers to give up on Withings and switch to the competition?

Hello everyone,

Thanks once again for your patience and for taking the time to share your feedback with us. I am happy to let you know that firmware 3.5 has been released on ScanWatch 2 / Nova. Among other changes, this firmware update includes the possibility to make the movement of the watch's hands to the 10:10 position when the screen is active optional. 

Please note that this firmware update will be deployed progressively in batches, you might not yet see this update as available, if this is the case the update will come to you very soon.

Have a great day everyone!

Markus, Withings Customer Service

Finally!! This is great news, I had seriously started to lose hope. Thank you for sharing Markus, much appreciated

In the future please don't remove functionality from watches you've sold if it's going to take YEARS to rollback the mistake. I hope that the feedback you've received after months of silence and inaction help you improve. I doubt I'll buy a Withings product again.

ok. So when / how do we get this update? and where to look for this option ?

4 days later and I still haven't received the update?? But hey what is 4 more days after waiting for a year...

Hello everyone,

The update is currently being rolled out progressively in batches, it will soon be available for all users, however this will still take some time. You can find instructions on how to update your watch, once the update is available under the following links for iOS and Android.

Thank you for your patience and have a good day.

Best regards,

Markus, Withings Customer Service

Good day @Marcus,

Thank you for the update. In your experience of other similar releases, are the batches determined by region, model, or some other grouping? I am trying to understand the batch rate, and whether the whole roll-out may take a month, for example, or it is supposed to be complete already. Just trying to set my expectations, as I have yet to receive the update. Kind regards, Hugh

I got the update yesterday. Can confirm the issue is fixed. Took long enough, but at least it's resolved now. I’m in FL, USA, for what it’s worth.

Hello @Hugh R,

First of all sorry for the wait for the update. The batches in which firmware updates are rolled out are random, not depending on the region. The deployment of the new firmware is still in progress, so it is normal to not yet have received the update. In this case you should receive it in the next few weeks. For any further questions you can contact us by chat via this link.

Have a great day!

Best regards,

Markus, Withings Customer Service

Thanks Markus,

The update did reach me about a week afterwards.  I was very happy to update in the morning.  You will laugh however.  When I looked down at my first text received later that morning, the watch hands appeared at 10 & 2.  I was initially a little frustrated, only to realise that the time was in fact 1012 hrs.  Funny.  It's all working perfectly now. 

Many thanks to all (inclusive of this community group) involved.

Thanks, Markus and everyone.

I received my update before Easter 2025. Apologies for not updating earlier.
It works just fine AT LAST!
Software version 2651 gives now back the long-desired option of switching the 'Hands' moving function OFF/ON as desired.

Hope updates are released soon to all users. 🤞

A tip: Don't check many times daily (...) in the App's 'Software version' for the upcoming update.
Once received, a message will be clearly displayed on the App.

Many thanks, Markus, Withings Team and everyone in the community for their efforts. 😊

Best wishes

I have 2651 and do not see the option to stop the hands from moving anywhere in the app.

Where is this setting???

Thanks,
Eric

You'll find the setting for that in the menu from your Watch, there is no app setting any more AFAIK.

Thank you....that would have been helpful to know. How weird it's not in the app anymore!

When will the update be released to all? It's been two months since it's been announced, and no ETA yet when it'll arrive to the rest of us.

If your app shows Software Version 2651, you have the update and can set the hands not to move when notifications come in.  However, unlike when the watch first came out, the setting is NOT in the app this time but under settings in your watch.  In settings, there is a screen that says "Hands"...just set that to off.  When I first looked for it, I couldn't believe it just said Hands, which makes it sound like you'll turn off the hands working at all, but it only turns off the hands moving when a notification comes in.  

Unfortunatelly I have the same issue as Tanya C. I am not getting the update.

It´s already been more than a month since Markus confirmed the updated started rolling out.

My Software version is 2281.

I would really like to know how the update is being pushed, because it is taking waaaay to long.

Either you are selling a huge amounts of watches (which I doubt) or you don't have the server power to update them in less than a few months.

Either way, I would like to know if there is any estimate for the Spain rollout.

Thanks.

I've been a withings user for many years now, and been up till recently been very impressed with the products.

Unfortunately my previous watch screen got so scratched that I decided to upgrade to a Scanwatch 2. I am so disappointed that a company that I used to rave about to friends has gone so downhill.

My watch (along with many others-see related thread) has serious issues charging, which is annoying on its own.
Add to that a feature that renders the watch unable to tell the time when you accidentally press the crown (which is easyto do due to poor design) and the whole thing is utterly substandard.
Then top it of with patronising platitudes from a feckless customer service and you start to wonder if someone is deliberately trying to sabotage the product.

Utter crap.

If anyone else has been waiting patiently for this to no avail - I went into application settings to turn on all the "experimental features" of "My Device" and "New Home Page" - and that gave me the update. 

I’ve been experiencing some charging issues, though I don’t believe the problem lies with the watch itself. The issue seems to be related to the USB-C connection, as often, simply unplugging and replugging the cable resolves it.

To check whether the watch is charging, I sometimes turn off the power, wait briefly, and then turn it back on to monitor the charging status. I can also check the status in the app. I’ve tried removing and reattaching the watch to the charger, which sometimes helps as well. However, the issue is usually resolved by adjusting the USB-C plug, as I always end up unplugging and replugging the USB-C connection anyway.

It's unclear whether this is a mechanical issue or something related to the charger itself, but I believe the Withings team should take a closer look.

Currently, I’m running software version 2651 and have noticed that a new update is pending. If anyone has already installed it, please feel free to share your experiences - especially if you've noticed any improvements or new issues.

Regarding the hands settings: earlier in 2024, the hand calibration option was available directly under Settings on the watch. It was later removed and replaced by the 'Big'/'Auto' digit size setting. With version 2651, the "hands on/off" feature has been reintroduced along with the calibration option.

I hadn’t seen any hands-related controls in the app previously, as I was only using the setting on the watch itself. However, in version 2651, I noticed the app now includes a 'Hands Position' feature, which allows the watch to move the hands to the 10:10 position. I find this feature useful, but it appears that the watch's setting overrides the app's. I’ve currently set the app’s option to ON (default) and the watch’s setting to OFF (I haven't checked the app's functionality on this yet).

Ideally, I think both controls should work interchangeably - so that if you toggle the setting on the app, it reflects on the watch, and vice versa.

I’m also using a couple of experimental features, though I haven’t noticed any link between those and the firmware update. As far as I remember, I enabled them after receiving the update - but I’m not entirely sure about the sequence.

Hope this helps others too.

Hi Markus,

If it doesn’t already exist or isn’t publicly available, it would be really helpful for Withings to maintain a dedicated page listing all previous and current firmware versions for both the watch and the app - including detailed changelogs and feature updates. This would make it easier for users to track changes, understand new features, and troubleshoot issues more effectively.

Cheers

Hello @Konstantinos P,

Thanks for your post and for your feedback. I'm happy to inform you that we do have the release notes for our app and firmware updates on our Help Center. You can find the release notes for ScanWatch 2 / Nova under this link, for app versions under the following links, according to your operating system: iOS | Android.

I hope this helps, have a great day!

Best regards,

Markus, Withings Customer Service

Is this option (STOP THE HANDS FROM MOVING) already available for the Withings ScanWatch Light? If not, when will it be for the Light version?
Thank you for your reply in advance!