Quick wins for a faster PC:
Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Some links on this page are affiliate links: if you buy through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
If your smartwatch freezes, reboots, loses GPS, or fails to save a workout, start with a charge and force restart—not a factory reset. Then update the watch and its connected apps, check location permissions and GPS reception, and test whether one workout app or power-hungry setting is responsible. These steps apply to Apple Watch, Samsung Galaxy Watch, Google Pixel Watch/Fitbit, and Garmin devices in the US; exact controls vary by model and software version.
A slow GPS lock, a missing map, and a crashing workout app are different problems. Work through the checks below in order, and sync important activity data before removing apps or resetting the watch. A restart cannot guarantee recovery of a workout that never saved.
Quick diagnosis: what is failing?
| What you see | Start with |
|---|---|
| The whole watch is frozen or blank | Charge it, then force-restart it. |
| The workout opens but GPS keeps searching | Check location access and test outdoors with a clear view of the sky. |
| Only one workout app crashes | Update or temporarily remove that app; compare it with the watch’s built-in workout app. |
| The watch reboots during several kinds of workouts | Check for updates, recent apps, battery or heat issues, and whether the problem persists after restart. |
| It still fails after a clean reset | Contact the manufacturer or arrange service rather than repeatedly resetting it. |
Before troubleshooting, note when the failure occurs: at workout start, while GPS is searching, when pausing, or while saving. Also note whether the watch freezes entirely, returns to its face, shuts down, or merely fails to sync. Those differences help separate a GPS acquisition issue from an app, power, or save/sync problem.
Windows Errors? Fix Them Before They Spread
Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallOutdated Drivers Are Slowing You Down
One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware match1. Charge the watch and force-restart it
A low battery can cause shutdowns or make a watch appear unresponsive. Put it on its supplied charger and give it time to charge before assuming it is broken. Samsung notes that a depleted Galaxy Watch may vibrate while its display remains blank. If the watch is frozen, an ordinary power-off command may not respond; use the force-restart method for your model.
#1 Best Overall
- Built-in GPS for Accurate Outdoor Tracking – Tired of carrying a bulky phone during long runs? This GPS smartwatch tracks your real-time pace, distance, and routes with high precision, independently of your mobile device. This standalone tracking not only lightens your load during outdoor running, cycling or hiking but also preserves your phone’s battery life for emergencies. Whether navigating forest trails or urban marathons, stay focused on your performance with reliable, accurate data on your wrist.
- Bluetooth Calling & Smart Notifications – Still missing important calls while your phone is buried in your bag? With the integrated speaker and microphone, you can answer or dial calls directly from your wrist via Bluetooth. Stay updated with vibration alerts for texts and app notifications during intense workouts or busy commutes. This smart wrist companion ensures you remain reachable and informed without the need to constantly check your phone, making multitasking effortless and safer.
- Ultra-Clear 1.95" Full-Touch Screen – Struggling to read your stats mid-run? The expansive 1.95-inch HD display features enlarged fonts and vibrant color contrast for effortless visibility even under direct sunlight. Its responsive touch interface allows for seamless navigation through messages and health data, ensuring a frustration-free experience for active users who prioritize clarity and ease of use.
- Versatile Fitness Tracking with 100+ Sport Modes – Whether you are hitting the gym, cycling forest trails, or practicing yoga, this fitness watch adapts to your movement. It accurately captures real-time data across various activities, providing the motivation needed to hit your daily milestones. Perfect for fitness enthusiasts seeking a comprehensive log of their training intensity and progress.
- Comprehensive Daily Wellness Insights – Gain a better understanding of your body with continuous tracking of heart rate, blood oxygen, and daily activity levels. Monitor your steps and calorie burn throughout the day to stay aligned with your fitness goals. This wrist-based companion provides the essential data points to help you maintain a balanced and active daily routine.
- Samsung Galaxy Watch: Hold the Home/Power and Back keys together until “Rebooting…” appears, then release them. Some models can take up to 30 seconds. See Samsung’s app-freeze and crash instructions.
- Apple Watch: Use Apple’s current Apple Watch Support instructions for your model.
- Google Pixel Watch: Follow the generation- and software-specific directions in Pixel Watch Help.
- Garmin: Button combinations differ among watch families. Use Garmin’s freeze and reboot guidance for your exact model rather than trying a universal sequence.
After the watch returns to its face, check its battery and open the workout app without immediately starting an activity. If it stays responsive, try a short test workout. A restart may clear a temporary freeze, but it does not guarantee that an interrupted, unsaved workout can be recovered.
Stop and seek service if the watch is swollen, unusually hot, physically damaged, has a stuck button, or repeatedly reboots while charging. Do not keep running GPS workouts on an abnormally hot device.
2. Update the watch, phone, companion app, and workout app
Workout tracking may rely on more than the watch’s operating system: the phone OS, companion app, device plugins, workout app, and health-data sync can all be involved. Updating just one layer may leave a compatibility problem untouched. Menu names differ across models and software versions, so use the current instructions for your device.
What’s actually slowing this PC down?
Pick the symptom - the matching free tool is one click away.
- Samsung: In Galaxy Wearable, look under Settings → About watch (or About band) → Update watch software (or Update band software). Depending on the version, the action may be called Update now or Download updates manually. Update watch apps and plugins separately through the Galaxy Store area in Galaxy Wearable; Samsung’s support pages describe the app-update route and note that labels vary: frozen or unresponsive watch guidance and app-crash guidance. Samsung says the watch needs a network connection and a Bluetooth connection to the phone for software updating.
- Apple: Check Apple’s current watchOS update and support instructions rather than relying on an old menu path.
- Pixel Watch/Fitbit: Update the watch, Pixel Watch phone app, Google Health/Fitbit components, and the exercise app involved. Current Google help pages describe activity tracking; the app names and rollout can differ, so follow what your device currently presents.
- Garmin: Sync with Garmin Connect and install available watch software updates. The update controls depend on the model; start with Garmin’s model-sensitive troubleshooting guidance.
Restart the watch and phone after installing updates, then test again. If the glitch began immediately after a particular update, record that timing; it is useful diagnostic information, but timing alone does not prove the update caused the problem.
3. Check GPS, location permissions, and signal conditions
“GPS failure” can mean several things: the watch never gets a signal, the route is inaccurate, a workout crashes during GPS search, or the workout saves without a map. A missing map can also reflect phone-based GPS behavior or a sync problem; it does not by itself prove the watch’s GPS hardware has failed.
Rank #2
- Designed with a bright, colorful AMOLED display, get a more complete picture of your health, thanks to battery life of up to 11 days in smartwatch mode (5 days display always-on)
- Body Battery energy monitoring helps you understand when you’re charged up or need to rest, with even more personalized insights based on sleep, naps, stress levels, workouts and more (data presented is intended to be a close estimation of metrics tracked)
- Get a sleep score and personalized sleep coaching for how much sleep you need — and get tips on how to improve plus key metrics such as HRV status to better understand your health (data presented is intended to be a close estimation of metrics tracked)
- Find new ways to keep your body moving with more than 30 built-in indoor and GPS sports apps, including walking, running, cycling, HIIT, swimming, golf and more
- Wheelchair mode tracks pushes — rather than steps — and includes push and handcycle activities with preloaded workouts for strength, cardio, HIIT, Pilates and yoga, challenges specific to wheelchair users and more (data presented is intended to be a close estimation of metrics tracked)
- Take the watch outdoors to a reasonably open area with a clear view of the sky. Indoor tests do not meaningfully test GPS.
- Enable location services on the watch and, when relevant, the paired phone. Check that the workout app has location permission, including precise or background access where the platform offers those choices.
- Keep the watch still for a short time while it tries to acquire a signal. Google notes that GPS can take minutes to connect; a Fitbit device or Pixel Watch may keep searching if its signal drops. See Google’s workout-tracking guidance and GPS guidance.
- If your model supports both phone-assisted location and onboard GPS, test once with the phone nearby and once without it. Keep Bluetooth on for the phone-nearby test. Not every watch or workout mode uses GPS the same way.
- Retry with one workout app. Avoid repeatedly starting and stopping while GPS is still searching; that can leave duplicate or partial activity records.
Pixel Watch: From the watch face, swipe down and tap Settings → Location. Check that location is on, review app permissions, and review Google Location Accuracy. Google says Location Accuracy can combine GPS, Wi-Fi, mobile networks, and sensors; with it off, the watch relies on GPS and sensors, which may take longer or be less accurate. See Google’s Pixel Watch location settings. Wear OS permission labels vary, but Google documents a general route through Settings → Apps & notifications → App permissions: Wear OS app permissions.
Apple Watch and iPhone: On iPhone, review Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services, then check the workout app’s access. Apple explains the effect of location settings and per-app permissions in its Location Services support. Check relevant health-data access as well. Do not assume every Apple Watch workout requires an iPhone: behavior depends on the model and workout setup.
If GPS works with the phone nearby but not independently, investigate phone-assisted versus onboard GPS behavior, permissions, battery settings, and model limitations. If only one app crashes while searching, troubleshoot that app before blaming the GPS receiver.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.4. Isolate the app, recent changes, and power load
A third-party app, a recent update, or a combination of demanding features can be the trigger. Samsung identifies third-party apps as a possible cause of freezing and recommends removing suspect apps. Some platforms also require compatible app components on both the phone and watch, so check both sides when applicable.
- Write down which app fails and when. List apps or system components installed or updated shortly before the problem began.
- Sync first, then test a short outdoor activity with the built-in workout app. If that works but a third-party app fails, focus on the third-party app and its permissions or sync connection.
- Try a different workout type and a five- to ten-minute test. If the failure happens only while pausing or saving, GPS reception may not be the main issue; investigate the app, storage, and sync path.
- Temporarily remove or disable the most recently added suspect app, restart the watch and phone, and test again before changing several apps at once.
- For Samsung, app removal is generally available through Galaxy Wearable → Apps (sometimes Apps screen or under Settings); on Wear OS models, touch and hold the app, tap Uninstall, and confirm. Some preinstalled apps cannot be removed. See Samsung’s instructions.
Also test whether the crash happens only with a heavy combination of features. Change one variable at a time: battery saver or low-power workout mode, music streaming, Bluetooth headphones, LTE, navigation, always-on display, multiple health apps, or automatic workout detection. Temporarily relaxing a power-saving setting is a diagnostic test, not a recommendation to leave it off. Settings and effects vary by device.
Rank #3
- Designed with a bright, colorful AMOLED display, get a more complete picture of your health, thanks to battery life of up to 11 days in smartwatch mode
- Body Battery energy monitoring helps you understand when you’re charged up or need to rest, with even more personalized insights based on sleep, naps, stress levels, workouts and more (data presented is intended to be a close estimation of metrics tracked)
- Get a sleep score and personalized sleep coaching for how much sleep you need — and get tips on how to improve plus key metrics such as HRV status to better understand your health (data presented is intended to be a close estimation of metrics tracked)
- Find new ways to keep your body moving with more than 30 built-in indoor and GPS sports apps, including walking, running, cycling, HIIT, swimming, golf and more
- Wheelchair mode tracks pushes — rather than steps — and includes push and handcycle activities with preloaded workouts for strength, cardio, HIIT, Pilates and yoga, challenges specific to wheelchair users and more (data presented is intended to be a close estimation of metrics tracked)
Before uninstalling apps or resetting, sync the watch and confirm important activities appear in the phone app. Export or note important data if the platform offers that option, and capture any error messages or relevant settings. Do not count on a hard-crashed activity being recoverable.
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems5. Back up before a factory reset; service the watch if it still fails
A factory reset is a last software step, not the first. Consider it only after a force restart, updates, permission checks, and app isolation—and when the failure persists across workout types. First sync and back up what matters. A reset can erase local data or settings, require re-pairing, and change cellular setup.
Samsung Galaxy Watch: Samsung’s documented route for supported models is to unpair the watch, then on the watch open Settings → General → Reset → Reset, and reconnect it in Galaxy Wearable. Check for updates again after reconnecting. An LTE watch activated with a QR code may need a new QR code from the carrier. If the watch cannot reach its normal interface, Samsung’s recovery-menu process is model-specific; use its app-crash and frozen-watch instructions rather than applying another model’s button sequence.
Apple Watch, Pixel Watch, and Garmin: Follow the current reset, backup, and service steps in the relevant manufacturer’s support flow: Apple Watch Support, Pixel Watch Help, or Garmin support. Exact reset and re-pairing steps vary by generation and model.
Stop troubleshooting and contact the manufacturer for suspected water or impact damage, a stuck button, swelling, severe heat, a blank display after charging, or repeated reboots while charging. Service is also the sensible next step if the watch crashes across apps after a clean reset or GPS repeatedly fails outdoors across different apps and locations. Apple’s US repair and service page describes in-person and mail-in service; estimates depend on model and coverage, so check the current estimate rather than relying on a generic price. Garmin and Google owners should use their device-specific support flow.
Quick Recap
Platform quick reference
- Apple Watch: Check iPhone Location Services and the workout app’s permissions; use Apple’s current Watch Support instructions for updates, restart, and service. Model and phone setup affect GPS behavior.
- Samsung Galaxy Watch: Charge and force-restart with Home/Power plus Back until “Rebooting…” appears; check Galaxy Wearable updates and suspect apps. Labels vary by watch and software version.
- Google Pixel Watch/Fitbit: Check watch location settings and app access; allow time for GPS acquisition outdoors. Google’s current help references Google Health and Fitbit features, and app naming may vary.
- Garmin: Use Garmin Connect to sync and check for software updates, but get restart and recovery instructions for the exact model.
Before you reset: final checklist
- Charged the watch and performed the model-appropriate force restart.
- Updated the watch, phone, companion app, plugins, and workout app where available.
- Checked watch and phone location settings and the exercise app’s permissions.
- Tested outdoors with a clear sky view and allowed time for GPS lock.
- Compared the built-in workout app with the app that usually fails.
- Tested without recent suspect apps or demanding extras such as music, LTE, or navigation.
- Synced important data and backed up before uninstalling or resetting.
- Contacted manufacturer support if there are hardware warning signs or the fault survives a clean reset.
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
