Have you ever felt like you got a vibration notification on your Galaxy Watch, only to realize there was nothing on your screen? Join the club. You're not the only one getting these random haptic feedback taps.
Worse yet, nobody seems to know exactly why they happen. These random feedback taps remain an unexplained mystery are inexplicable, as there's no trace of what triggers them or logs users can check.
If you're one of the numerous Galaxy Watch users getting random haptic taps on your wrist, you might even begin to wonder if what you're experiencing is a tactile hallucination known as “phantom vibration syndrome.”
Worry not, though. You're not imagining things. And this phenomenon doesn't happen to the new Galaxy Watch 7 and Watch Ultra only. But is there anything you can do about it?
Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a straight answer to what could cause these random haptic feedback triggers. But they usually follow the same pattern. You get one tap and then three more in quick succession. And users have come up with some ideas that may or may not help.
A few things you could try
Some users have suggested that these taps might be triggered by a loss of connectivity between the Galaxy Watch and the phone. That could be true in some cases, but other users (myself included) attest that these random taps can occur without any disconnects — or at least that whenever they happen, there's no phone notification to confirm them.
Other Galaxy Watch users on Samsung's Community forums have suggested that the random vibrations might be caused by Google Maps mirroring. Then again, many users who have tried turning this feature off say they get the haptic “ghost” even regardless. Nevertheless, here's how you can turn off Maps mirroring if you want to try this possible solution:
- Open Google Maps on your Galaxy Watch
- Swipe up and tap Settings
- Turn off the mirroring option(s)
One other potential cause could be WhatsApp. If you have the app installed on your Galaxy Watch, try uninstalling it and using your smartwatch without WhatsApp for a while. With a bit of luck, the random vibrations might not come back, and maybe then you can find a workaround to using WhatsApp again without getting weird taps on your wrists.
If none of these solutions help, some recommend factory resetting and reconnecting your Galaxy Watch to your phone. It's a bit of a hassle, but if you want to try it, you can open Settings, go to “General,” select “Reset,” and follow the on-screen instructions.
Unfortunately, nobody seems to really know exactly why these seemingly random haptic taps occur for some Galaxy Watch users. Not even Samsung, by the sound of it.
There is no clear solution yet, and it is possible that there might be more than one cause, which could be why the answer eludes everyone. Either way, we will keep you posted if this develops further and more possible fixes are found.
Updates after the video
Update 1: We received a tip in our inbox about Wi-Fi causing these random vibrations on the Galaxy Watch series. Turning off Wi-Fi could fix the problem.
We will test this out. If you also want to give this a try, simply swipe the quick toggle panel down on your Galaxy Watch and turn off Wi-Fi.
As long as your Galaxy Watch is connected to your phone via Bluetooth, you won't lose any functionality by turning off Wi-Fi on your smartwatch.
Thanks for the tip, Kyle!
