Watch doesn't charge

I'm still having issues with the charging process and every try to contact the support was a desaster. They repeat all of their useless tipps and don't escalate the issue even if it seems to be a common problem with the scanwatch 2.

I‘ve had the charging-issues, too. I „solved“ the problem by inserting a USB-multimeter between the charging cable and the charger. It shows the voltage, ampere and power (Watt) used to charge the watch. If the charger loses contact to the watch, the energy-flow stops. Then I move the watch a little inside the charger until the multimeter shows the flow again.

As mentioned in an earlier post, the power consumption is very low (around 0.5 W), so this may be one reason, why charging stops completely with some powerbanks or wall-chargers which expect higher power-rates for charging a device…?

Thanks for your reflections. Sounds like A reasonable explanation to me.

I tried some of the suggestions already posted, including different USB chargers (USB-A and -C), cables, and factory resetting the watch. The last step worked for me. No, we didn't lose any data since the watch had been sync'ed with the app prior to the reset.

Chris

Just got the same issue last week, Scanwatch 2 not charging, I noticed this before but didn't know it was a common issue, I remember having left it charging for like 4 hours just to come back and see nothing had changed like for or so times before. But I thought it was me not fitting the watch well in the charger.

Last week it was using "spare energy" and I notice the charging message showing up and disappearing, until it "died" completely. 

So a new charger might be the fix?

Hello all

I also noticed this thread today after facing various difficulties with charging of scanwatch 2. Is seems that whenever I manage to charge my watch, it is just a random thing. I tried different cables and chargers. I was under the impression that charging stops when a notification was sent to the watch from the phone, but after reading here it seems that this happens because of the watch vibrating from the notification and this makes it lose the electrical conductivity to the charging pins. Another "trick" that seems to work is (before putting the watch in the charger) press the crown for a few seconds until the watch info (mac address , etc) is shown and then wait for this screen to disappear. This seems to do some kind of "refresh" in the software which then allows charging. I will also try the trick mentioned in a previous post with an old charger (one that might not stop the charge when the current is too low)

I would like to mention something else, regarding the user interface related to charging. When I start charging the watch, it shows the current charge % and after a few seconds this screen goes away. Is there a way to view the charge percentage on the watch itself while it is charging? I read somewhere about "double tap" on the watch! Does this actually work for you? When I double tap on the watch while charging nothing happens. Should it actually display something? I though that being just a glass on top, there is no user interface with the watch while it charges, since the crown is hidden in the charger.

update:

I just found this reddit topic about the same problem that I have that no charge % is shown when tapping while charging

https://www.reddit.com/r/withings/comments/1jry0k7/does_tapping_the_glass_on_the_scanwatch_2/

and just tested what the last post mentions "Simply tapping the watch does not work at all for me, but if I pick up the watch and tap the entire thing, charger and all, gently on my desk, it shows the charge every time" and it also works for me

Reset worked for me

Thanks

Hi,

I’ve been experiencing charging issues with my ScanWatch 2 (42mm) almost since I received it (ordered in September 2024). While I’ve usually managed to get the battery charged eventually, the process is unreliable and frustrating. I’ve often considered reporting the issue, and today I decided to do so after facing the same problems again.

Main Issue: Charging Uncertainty

The most critical problem is the lack of a reliable way to confirm whether the watch is charging properly. According to documentation, tapping the watch should show the charging status — but this rarely works. I’ve only seen it respond a couple of times; most of the time, the screen stays dark regardless of how many times I tap it.

The app (iPhone) shows the current battery percentage and that the watch is “connected,” but it doesn’t provide any real-time charging status. This would be a great place to show more detailed information.

Troubleshooting Attempts

I’ve tried:

• Applying slight pressure to the side of the watch where the charger contacts are.
• Using different chargers.

These actions seem to have random effects — sometimes it charges quickly (1–2 hours as advertised), and other times it takes 10 hours or doesn’t charge at all. One consistent behavior is that the watch always says it’s charging when connected, even if it’s not.

Today, I performed a factory reset before charging. The charging speed was very slow (about 1% per 5 minutes). After briefly disconnecting and reconnecting the charger at 18%, the battery level dropped to 17%, then jumped to 24% a few minutes later.

Suggestions for Improvement

Here are some ideas that could improve the charging experience:

1. Fix the charging reliability so users don’t have to worry whether the watch is actually charging.
2. Provide a robust, tested charger that is known to work consistently with the watch. It doesn’t need to be included for free, but clear guidance on which charger models are compatible and dependable would be very helpful.
3. Improve charging feedback:
   • Show charging status in the app (e.g. normal, slow, interrupted).
   • Send push notifications if charging is interrupted or problematic.
   • Provide more visual feedback on the watch itself.

Bonus Feedback (Not Charging Related)

4. Disable vibration notifications while charging — they’re unnecessary and distracting.
5. Disable vibration when the watch is not worn — if the watch can detect lack of pulse and movement, it could suppress notifications during that time.

Thanks for your attention to these issues. I hope this feedback helps improve the user experience.

Best regards,
Janne Tuominiemi

P.S. This time it took about 4-5 hours to get the battery full. 

Agree a lot with most of what you say Janne

I especially agree with suggestion 3. If they cannot improve the charging reliability , at least provide a reliable monitoring about what is going on.

As I mentioned in an earlier comment, the only reliable charging-feedback is available when switching a USB power meter between the charger and the cable. It shows the Ampere, Volt and resulting Watt power the watch is charging with. If the meter shows something around 0,03 Watt, I know it is not charging. Moving the watch a little inside the charger, I can see the increase of Watt power up to about 0,3-0,4 Watt. Those power meters cost between 10 an 20 € – not nothing, but acceptable for a "reliable" charging experience...

The thing in my case is the "3) make sure the contacts a ok" , before it was working alright for like 2 years, and then suddenly the contacts are not working? And yes, I have to move the watch inside the charging several times from here to there until it's charging eventually. Sometimes it says charging but when you come back it seems to have disconnected and not charged at all

Odd that we have to buy other $25 devices just to make sure this thing is charging or not... It's on Withings I guess, specially for long time customers this is really annoying. My previous two or three Withings watches still working fine, not sure why this SC2 is the only one with the issue, odd

Finally, they’re showing that charging is in progress — at last! 🥳

What a piece of garbage!! The charging has never worked well and Withings know it and yet the design flaw persists.  I will never buy another Withings product as they don't take care with the manufacture of items.

I’m having the exact same problem, leaving it on the charger for hours, and it still doesn’t charge.

Then it randomly works, then stops again.

After years of sticking with Withings, this is the first time a bug makes me seriously consider moving to another watch.

I had problems with this also. After many contacts with Withings support over a prolonged period of time, and after taking photos of the charging slot, after filming the whole 5h charging process (doing everything according to instructions) and showing that nothing happens. I got issued a replacement watch. They said it was a hardware problem.

So far, the new watch can be charged now. It has actually failed to charge once, but then I did not follow instructions (you need to reboot the watch completely before each charge - press the button until it restarts with "Hello your-name", only then you can put it in the charging dock). Also, of course, one needs to be very careful with the placement of the watch in the charger dock.

While the new watch now works, and looks brilliant with a metal armband, it is a weakness in functional design. You have to be very precise in the position, so it seems counter-productive of Withings to also have a built in vibration whenever it is correctly placed - it is like asking for problems.

Get in touch with support... best of luck!

Same Issue with my Scanwatch 2 from the beginning. Very disappointing and bad support from Withings. Never again Scanwatch, I wasted so much time with their Product and Support without any solution.....

I also had an issue with my ScanWatch 2 charging very slowly or not at all. I tried using a different cable(size C to C) and a different wall charger and this seems to have resolved the problem.

unfortunately no solution for me. I tried more than 10 cables and 8 different charger (USB-A - USB-C and USB-C - USB-C) , nothing solved my issue. 

My ScanWatch 2 also frequently experiences an issue where it fails to charge.

Right after placing it on the charger, the charging icon appears on the watch display. However, after that, charging does not proceed and one of the following two patterns occurs:

1. Even when I tap the watch, the charging icon does not appear. This is most likely a hardware-related issue, specifically poor contact at the charging terminals.

2. When I tap the watch, the charging icon appears, but even after several hours the battery percentage does not increase. This seems to be a software-related issue.

To address both issues (1) and (2), I use the following workaround. With this method, I am usually able to complete a full charge within about 3–5 hours. I have been charging the watch about once a week for nearly a year, and so far this has allowed me to keep using it.

Workaround:

1. Clean the two small charging pins on the charger with a cloth. Then place the watch on the charger and use a rubber band to firmly press the left side of the charger toward the contact pins. This can reduce the likelihood of hardware contact issues.
However, you should check the charging status in the app about once every 30 minutes. If the battery percentage is not increasing, re-seat the watch using the same procedure.
Also, avoid physically tapping the watch to check the charging status on the display. In many cases, the impact from tapping causes the contact to shift, which stops the charging.

2. If the charging percentage still does not increase after step 1, press and hold the crown for about 20 seconds to reboot the watch. During the reboot, “Hello yourname” will be displayed.
I do not know the exact reason, but there have been several cases where charging would not proceed unless I performed this reboot. This may have a similar effect to the factory reset that others have mentioned, but from an efficiency standpoint, I recommend trying this simpler step first in combination with the hardware workaround.

I hope this information is helpful to others experiencing the same issue.

I am going to repeat what I posted earlier, because in the year (maybe more) since I posted it...I've had ZERO issues charging.  All I do is blow really hard into the watch's charging port and then blow really hard into the charger's area that connects to the port.  Place the watch in immediately and I'm good to go. 

My theory is that micro amounts of anything disrupt charging.  Additionally, the minimal moisture from my breath may provide a slightly better connection...but that may just be nutty thinking.

If you haven't tried this, please do.  I tried new cables, replacement chargers, non-OEM chargers, etc., and none of those things helped.  If you're struggling, you've got nothing to lose trying this method...I haven't seen a post from anyone saying they tried it.

Eric

@Motoki Z: taping the watch has no effect since it has no touchscreen… and checking the charging status in the app during the charging is also not possible because the app only states “charging” and no percentage.

@Eric R: The watch has no charging port. The charger only connects to the crown and the outer (metal-)part of the housing. The little hole on the side of the housing is for the altitude sensor. Water inside this hole may only disturb this sensor…

The only way to ensure proper charging seems to be using a power meter as I mentioned before. If my meter shows only 0.03 W of charging power, I know the watch doesn’t charge. Then I have to move it inside the charger until charging power rises to something between 0.17 and 0.27 W which is still way far below the 0.5 W printed on the bottom of the charger.

From time to time I move the watch out of the charger and inserting it back again to check the percentage. This is very inconvenient and should be possible from within the app! I have no idea why “charging” is the only info here. I know that the watch should charge… more useful information would be very welcome like the percentage and the time it still needs to fully charge the watch or better: until 80 % of full charge (since this is better for the battery).

The charger is a whole piece of crap and should be replaced by a USB-C-Port or some kind of wireless charging (Qi). But this is only possible for a later version of the watch and no solution for all the watches sold before…

Olaf - what are the two brass connectors in the charger for if not for charging? One touches the crown but the other goes in that small port? I blow in what you describe as an altimeter and the corresponding point on the charger as well as the connector that touches the crown (they're right next to each other). This works for me and has for around a year with zero issues. Why would this work when I tried all the other solutions and they did not work? I just blow twice and put the watch in the charger and never worry about it. There must be something to what I am doing.

Totally agree with @olaf, the small port is the altimeter and the charger charging pin goes on the other side, touching the watch crown

This is very inconvenient as mentioned, and after having all the smart watches from Withings, this SC2 will be the last one I'll buy

Sorry about that, the hole is on the other side of the crown from the second pin which is just 1 mm or so away from the crown.  Maybe I just need to blow on the charger brass points, but it works ...try it.  Maybe cleaning off the crown would be helpful, too, but 1 year with no problems when blowing on the charger part has worked for me.  

Let me know if you try it and it works for you.  If you don't want to try it, I hope you find something that works for you as well as my simple trick has worked for me.  Zero complaints about charging since I started doing what I am doing.  Science needs replication, and no one else seems to want to do anything but complain instead of trying to verify a possible fix.

I dont know if it's the same issue for everybody, but again I totally agree with what @Olaf said, "From time to time I move the watch out of the charger and inserting it back again to check the percentage." Exactly this is how I charge my freaking watch. After a while I check on the phne just to find it hasnt charged a bit, then I have to move it again, until I got it up to 100%. I remember having once spent a day until I got it fully charged.

Funny thing is that my SW from 2020 or 2019 still works fine and charges like a champ

Hello again, maybe I found the reason / solution: https://imgur.com/a/8DhiOGF

Probably the brass pogo pins are just trash or rather the spring in the base. (I guess others found that out as well already and maybe posted the same solution, so credits to them 😁)

The power bank might not have the most precise meter, but as soon as I applied pressure to the base, like "compressing the watch", the wattage went from 0.1/0.2 to 0.3/0.4 and sometimes 0.5

To increase pressure, I wrapped a rubber band around it which keeps the wattage at around 0.3/0.4 for a while now.

It's not the most elegant solution but the watch has been charging without a problem for a while now.

Solution found!

As Timo mentioned, wrapping a rubber band around the watch and the charger to apply steady pressure, so it makes proper contact with the internal electrical components -> solved the issue for me.

Me gusta la marca pero el servicio para ejercer la garantia deberia estar penalizado. Es imposible¡¡

Hi folks!

Wrote here before, but finally found the way to charge the watches that works for me without any special hacks.

The thing is that you just need to wait when the "Battery Low" warning appear and charge only from that state. 

Watch just doesn't start charging normally if it has 10+% battery left, but do well if it starts on 10% or bellow. Seems like SW bug, but maybe some charging currency related issue. Didn't dig into it. 

Don't plug out the cable while charging to check charging status. Charging just wont resume if it reached above 10%. Triple tap as described in manual don't work either most of the times (at least for me). I use app to check charging status. 

Last 5 or 6 times charged like described above with no pain -)

My Scanwatch 2 also stopped charging properly after 5 months. I have tried everything mentioned in this article, except buying a new charger. Nothing works.

Also, I learnt from this thread that tapping while charging should show the charging status. That has never worked me, ever. 

I'm very disappointed about this ongoing issue. I hope Withings takes this seriously.