Watch doesn't charge

Hello.

Same here, when I put watch into charger, it starts charging but only during some minutes, it charges around 5 additional percent of batteryand then it stagnates. When I check if it's charging, I then notice that it has been stagnating (so not charging). So I have to disconnect and reconnect for it to start charging for another 2 minutes or so. Very painful process, charging seems to be very slow. I have to try all day long (disconnecting and reconnecting during the whole day) until the watch is fully charged...

This is no quality, in my opinion it is just a bad contact

Miguel

Hi @miguel r,

Thanks for your post. I'm sorry that your ScanWatch 2 is charging slowly. Please note that it can take up to 4 hours for the watch to fully charge, and it may take longer if the battery is completely drained. I appreciate the steps performed to rectify this beforehand. 

Please allow us to investigate this matter. I encourage you to contact us at https://bit.ly/3Lg5tPL and remember to mention the steps you've taken.

Cheers,

Jo, Withings Customer Service

Ok, update from my side: Even using a charger with only 5V didn't really solve the problem as others have suggested. Today I'm stuck at 6%...

I think I'll just take a rubber band and try to add more pressure to the charging process and see if that's the problem.

@Josephine: Is there any update on this issue?

I'm also experiencing problems charging my ScanWatch 2 (firmware version 2281).

I have tried:

- Two different USB cables, which otherwise works fine for charging other devices.
- Two different USB chargers, which otherwise works fine for charging other devices.
- Charging from my computer's USB port.
- Rebooting the watch by holding in the button for 20 seconds (but this does not seem to reboot it?)

None of the above combinations work.

What's EVEN more frustrating is that on this page (https://support.withings.com/hc/en-us/articles/360016900397-How-to-Get-Help-or-Contact-Withings) it says:

Email ✉️

When chat hours are closed, you are able to submit a support request and a member of our Support Team will follow up with you via email. To do this, click here and select the product and topic with which you need assistance, or use the Contact Us link at the bottom of any support article.

You will be required to confirm that you have already searched the available resources before being able to access our contact form. 

I cannot for the life of me find the actual Contact Us link with an email address or form, it all only ever goes to the closed chat or this forum!

Doing a factory reset fixed the problem for me too https://support.withings.com/hc/en-us/articles/17091423076113-ScanWatch-2-Factory-Reset-Process

Based on all feedback given here to Withings, it is clear that there is a bug in the Scanwatch´s code. If and when factory reset restores charging capability it means there are no problems with chargers/power supplies.

It seems that Withings lacks skills and attitude to fix this rather simple problem. Looks like they have joined the group of companies which have pushed all final quality testing to end users. But as an exception to others, Withings do not listen or comment or take any actions when quality issues are found.

I wonder if this new Customer Ignorance Policy is result of ownership change. While part of Nokia Corporation this had not been possible. 

Bought a Scanwatch 2 for my mom a year ago.

It started having issues with charging after 3-4 months. To me, it seems that the charger design is just bad. It seems that the watch doesn't make good enough contact after a while. Like the pins "die", get stuck due to dirt and don't come up far enough to start proper charging unless the watch is carefully pushed into place. Even that doesn't help if the pins are "stuck".

It makes just enough contact for the watch to say it's charging, but when you let go, the "spring" goes back just enough so the charge is either intermittent, not strong enough or doesn't charge at all.

Every time the issue comes up, I clean the charger, drop a bit of IPA on and wiggle the pins to make sure they move freely (sometimes they are stuck in the bottom position). So now I clean them and the watch surface every time I visit her. That usually keeps it working, but just a while ago it stopped working again.

I solved the issue - I hope permanently - with a bit of copper and tweaking, extending and widening the contact point just a tiny bit and making the charger a bit tighter. Can't recommend to others if you're not sure what you're doing, but it solved the issue for me. Will see if it last for more than 2 months this time.

The first scanwatch had a better charger style, wonder why they changed it. If the issue they "solved" was exposed contact points, wireless charging would have been one (modern) solution.

This was just my experience. Others might have softare or battery issues. For me, it was the charger pins and I maintain my opinion that the charger design is not good at all. Too many moving parts.

Hi all,

I just wanted to share something that worked for me, with the caveat that it was on my Scanwatch light, so it may not work for the Scanwatch and Nova.

My watch was working and charging fine since I got it less than 3 months ago, then this week it decided to stop charging and I experienced all the things that have come up in this thread; putting it on charge, it vibrates and says it's charging and coming back 4 to 5 hours later and it's the exact same battery %. I tried swapping cables, plugging into the wall and then my laptop and no luck. Some advice said that the pins get warn down so that it needs to be tightly put in the charger, so I stuffed paper down the other side of the watch to make it a more snug fit, but also no luck. I did a soft reset of the watch and then a full reboot of the watch and they did not work either. The only thing I did not try was buying a new charger as I resent having to buy something new to replace someone only a few months old (with a 2 year warranty!).

What worked for me was putting the watch to charge upside down so that the face of the watch faces the insider of the charger, instead of facing back at you. For some reason this seemed to work for my watch and I'm hoping it's not a one off, so I'm hoping that this will work for you as well. 

Withings, do you have any reason why this might be the case and what are you doing to address these issues?

I just tried the "charge upside down" that Alex K posted about, can't be done with the ScanWatch 2 and the standard charger - the device does not charge that way (the charge points are not aligned properly). This device is a complete mess. I had my Steel HR for 7 years before something happened and it couldn't sync anymore (and factory resetting it made it stick on setting time and never completing so it couldn't be used again after that), but at least it charged properly all the time. This is really bad. :(

Eventually, my reset didn't seem to help in the long run.  Recently, I blow really hard into the charging port on the watch and the charger unit and it seems to charge fine when I do that.  Canned/compressed air would likely work better but who carries that around with them?  As mentioned above, I think the charging parts are too small and ANYTHING that disrupts the connection is problematic.

I've managed to get it to charge! I wiggled back and forth a bunch of times, connecting and reconnecting it, and now it charges.

The charger is clearly super finnicky. Bad design. Well, now I know - if it doesn't charge, yank it around until it does. 😝

Roberth K: This is the conclusion I also came to. Bad charger design. It seems to lose its "grip strength" quite fast, and is finicky anyway. I added small "spacers" for my moms watch so it makes a tighter contact (tweaked it a bit in other ways too), as I got tired to fiddle with it every time I visited her. Hasn't had any issues charging since I tweaked it.

OK, thanks for nothing, Withings!

It does not matter if problem is on charger or watch itself, manufacturer is responsible for the proper functioning of their products. I have no use for a watch which cannot be used as its battery is flat.  

My advice to all is to return their watches to their resellers and request either warranty repair or money back. In fact, this is not a warranty issue as it is not a random failure but typical failure for this particular devise. That extends manufactures product responsibility beyond the warranty period. Let resellers and distributors deal with deaf Withings.

If and when you decide to end your relationship with Withings, remember to demand them to clear their databases of all your sensitive personal data (as GDPR advices).

I have had the exact same problem many people have experienced charging my watch, and my wife, who also has a scanwatch 2, has the exact same problem. There is clearly a problem with the watches and the problem is Withings service is appalling. I just wasted another hour on a chat with them, and after asking me to do everything I've already tried, they told me it was a problem with the watch, but they could only offer me a warranty if I lived in the USA or Canada. Honestly, they are a disgrace, and I'll never buy another product from Withings again. If you're buying anything from them don't expect any decent customer service.

Same problem this god dam watch doesn't charge. With mine, it kind of charges but it doesn't either. If you check sometimes it charges and sometimes it doesn't. I left it on the charger last night for 8 hours and it only charged to 74%. Something doesn't seem right. I'm reaching out to customer service tomorrow I'll keep you guys posted. Bought my watch in 2024

Hi

I am also experiencing this problem with scanwatch 2 just 12 months old. Chat line is not functioning ( still after 10 months ?!) and I can't get Withings to talk to me.

Should I try the factory reset? It doesn't seem to work for everyone.

I left a post some that I had the same problem with my Nova watch not charging.  After many communications with Customer Service and following their instructions, they finally determined it was a hardware problem and replaced my watch.   It's charged perfectly since. By now, I'd think they would have stopped shipping defective watches since it's definitely affecting their reputation.  I like the watch since I prefer a hybrid style smart watch, but I doubt I'd buy from them again seeing how they haven't fixed the charging problem.

Jsut came to this forum to see if anyone else is having the same issue as me and I guess so.  Charging is a real pain.  I would leave it for half a day charging only to find it was not.  and it would happen multiple times.  I suspected that it was not making connection correctly although you get the charging screen initially and then I make sure its not moved at all.  Still doesnt work 75% of teh time.  I saw you can tap the watch face to see the charging status but that does not work.  Not sure what is going on here but reading the posts, it may be something deeper.  Not tried a factory reset yet but cant see how that would work.I am at 6% now so will see in 30 mis or so where I am at.

Still 6%.  Time for factory reset.

Factory reset now and its charging ok.  I will see how I get on over the coming months.

Good luck with that. Factory reset helped me for few times but not anymore. If I keep tapping the watch so that it does not hibernate, I manage to get it charged a little bit. But who wants to do that for several hours?
Now I am waiting for my money back. Next big task is to get my medical (sensitive) data deleted from Withings databases according to my rights defined by GDPR.

I have followed Harri R advice to return the watch to the reseller I purchased it from. I printed off all the Forum comments and gave that to them along with my original invoice. They replaced the watch without hesitation. I purchased it in February 2024.

Experienced the same issue.

Thanks to commenters who pointed to the adapters suspending on low power. I've tried power adapter from vintage iphone and it solved the issue for me.

Note: Double tap works if the watch is charging. If not charging -  double tab doesn't work. This could be used to check if watch is charging without releasing it from the charging station.

when i brought the scan watch 2 I was hoping for that fast charging ability that my scanwatch had, but no i was wrong, every sunday I put the watch to charge and then spend 5 or 6 mins every now and then checking to find that sometimes I have gained 4% in a hour, sometimes 10% and others that my watch actually seems to have lost 2%. This experience has left me wondering if I want to move away from the withing brand altogether and find a more reliable and supportive company. All i ask is a watch that does not take a day to charge from 40% and lasts the week. I have 3 charging cradles, a controlled power supply that shows the draw and honestly its not anywhere as good as it should be, I was looking at the Nova but now am thinking the Pixel watch looks a better option. Do i give withing a chance to fix the watch, do i upgrade to a nova or dump the lot in the bin, export my data and use the pixel watch and fitbit. Withings prove to me you can fix this and keep you customers 

I posted this before, because my reset didn't work long term (it was probably luck it worked at all)...that blowing hard into the watch's charging port and the port it connects to into the charger works every time for me.  I've been charging maybe 3 months now without a problem.  I think the connecting port parts are exceptionally small and anything in there causes it not to connect properly and charge...even micro-particles you can't see will keep it from charging well.  Blowing hard (or using canned air cleaner if you have one of those around) works like a charm for me.

Eric

I did try that with a can of air, oddly someone over at google let me know that the health connect app means i can sync fitbit and google pixel watch data from the fitbit app so I would just need a google pixel watch and could keep the scales and BP cuff. 

The brilliant Timo K wrote

"Hi everyone,

I had similar problems and fiddled around a little. One thing i noticed: The ScanWatch charges with very low amps (power, in a certain way). I noticed that, because my powerbank indicates only for a very short time, that it's a device is using power (the charger) and then turns itself off again, thus also interrupting the charging.

How does that happen? Well, USB-C is much more complex than older USB stuff. One of its greatest benefits is its capability to support also support higher voltages, up to 20V instead of only 5V.

I personally believe, that chargers, which support higher voltages and higher amps, turn themselves off if too less power is drawn. Maybe it has to do with the negotiation of the voltages between the devices, I don't know. I have other devices with similar struggles. Some manufacturers even tell you to not use USB-C chargers that can deliver higher voltages.

Conclusion: Try a normal 5V charger (with up to 5 or 10w) for charging the watch. Just pick one, that has USB-A connector. These are always 5V only. After i switched to those, it immediately worked."

I tried this - I changed the wall plug to one from a chromecast(ironically one that stopped working a month ago and I replaced the whole chromecast with an european alternative, therefore the plug is available) and it works like a charm! Now I can tap on the watch and it shows that it is still charging, which I couldn't do before!

Even though Timo K mixes up voltage with amperage and watts this tip might actually have something to it. As a fast-charger is probably wired to "cut off" small watt drainage (the charger charges with 0,4A I heard someone say, while most "fast charger usb a" plugs are designed for phones to draw about 2A (10-15W). Try this. It worked for me.

Hey everyone,

I found the issue—it’s a bug. Apparently, if you hold the crown for too long, the device enters “factory reset mode.” However, if you don’t complete the reset and just leave it, that’s when the bug occurs. After this, a software issue is created that prevents the device from charging properly.

Fix:

Press and hold the crown for about 5–7 seconds to trigger a proper factory reset. Once the reset is completed, the charging bug is resolved.

To Withings Support,

Please consider changing the activation method for factory reset to something less accidental—such as requiring three quick presses of the crown followed by a 5-second hold. Right now, it’s too easy to trigger factory reset mode unintentionally.

It took me two days to identify and fix this issue. Many customers have been reporting this problem for over two years, yet it seems like it hasn’t been addressed. Frankly, that’s quite disappointing.

Kindly take this feedback seriously—it would go a long way in improving user experience.

Hey everyone,

I found the issue—it’s a bug. Apparently, if you hold the crown for too long, the device enters “factory reset mode.” However, if you don’t complete the reset and just leave it, that’s when the bug occurs. After this, a software issue is created that prevents the device from charging properly.

Fix:

Press and hold the crown for about 5–7 seconds to trigger a proper factory reset. Once the reset is completed, the charging bug is resolved.

To Withings Support,

Please consider changing the activation method for factory reset to something less accidental—such as requiring three quick presses of the crown followed by a 5-second hold. Right now, it’s too easy to trigger factory reset mode unintentionally.

It took me two days to identify and fix this issue. Many customers have been reporting this problem for over two years, yet it seems like it hasn’t been addressed. Frankly, that’s quite disappointing.

Kindly take this feedback seriously—it would go a long way in improving user experience.

Dear BV,

I've been following the comments on this topic for a long time because I have the same problem with my scanwatch.BV, your comment so far the most helpful is where I felt a faint ray of hope that I might be able to use this watch again someday.

I bought a brand new scanwatch two years ago. I used it for about a month, loved it, and only charged it once then I didn't use it for a long time. I decided to give it to my father when I was faced with the problem that nothing happens when I put the watch on the charger. My first thought was planned obsolescence, especially after reading your comments and realizing that this is a problem for others as well. But let's not be so paranoid. Obviously I was nervous, confused, and felt disappointed and cheated that I had an almost brand new watch that was practically perfect, but still couldn't be use. I tried charging it with all the existing chargers but nothing happened. Until BV posted his comment three days ago about a possible solution.

So! I did the factory reset exactly as you wrote. I hadn't even thought about it before, but it seemed like everything was finally solved now!!! The little charging icon flashed on the screen, which I haven't seen in a year! I really missed it! My heart was beating fast! I said to my wife: HE'S FINALLY BACK TO LIFE!!! It was late at night when all this happened, so I happily went to bed, leaving the watch on the charger, dreaming that the next day my dad would be running around in the scanwatch.

Unfortunately, here comes the sad part of my story, because when I look at the charger in the morning, the first little bar is still flashing, nothing happened. It didn't charge anything. The small faint battery icon indicating charging is in the middle of the screen and the first charge indicator bar is flashing. That's all that happens. After pressing the crown (or taking the watch off the charger and putting it back on) another screen comes up with a strong light: HELLO, BONJOUR.. and below it you can see a battery icon which is also flashing at the first charge level, similar to the above. But it still doesn't charge. Factory reset was actually useful because something happened but nothing happened unfortunately. This is my story, thanks for reading. I will continue to follow this topic to see if something happens although I don't have high hopes. My watch is too drained to do anything with it even within the factory settings.

Regardless, the comment and help above was very helpful! You gave me some hope! I hope others have more success! Have a nice day!