How to Get Text Messages on a Samsung Galaxy Watch

Receive, read, and send texts from your wrist

What to Know

  • To enable: Open the Galaxy Wearable app on your phone > Watch Settings > Notifications > Messages > ON.
  • To receive: Swipe right on watch to view notifications, including incoming text messages. Tap messages to view.
  • To send: Swipe up, tap messages > Start chat or an existing message > enter text > send message.

This article explains how to get text messages on a Samsung Galaxy Watch, including what to do if you aren’t receiving texts on your watch.

Do Samsung Watches Receive Text Messages?

Samsung watches are capable of both sending and receiving text messages. If your Samsung watch has its own LTE data plan and phone number from your cellular carrier, then you can send and receive texts and make phone calls without the assistance of a phone. If you use your watch in conjunction with your phone, then you can use it to receive and send texts as long as it’s connected to your phone.

How to Enable Text Messages on a Samsung Galaxy Watch

Before you can receive text messages on a Samsung Galaxy Watch, you need to enable the feature. Your watch can receive notifications from many different sources, and you can choose whether or not to receive those notifications on an app-by-app basis. For example, you could choose to receive alerts about text messages, email, and alarms but turn off all others.

Here’s how to make sure you receive texts on your Samsung Galaxy Watch:

  1. Open the Galaxy Wearable or Galaxy Watch app on your phone.

  2. Select Watch Settings.

    Older versions of the app allow you to select Notifications directly on this screen, so do that if you see it.

  3. Select Notifications.

  4. If it's off, select the Messages toggle to turn it on.

    If you don’t see Messages, select More and scroll down.


    Watch settings, Notifications, and Messages toggle highlighted in Galaxy Watch settings
  5. Select < (in the upper left).

  6. Your watch is now set up to receive text messages and notifications.

    Make sure the Mute notifications on phone toggle is set to off, and the Messages toggle is set to on.

    Back > icon, Messages toggle on, and Notification toggle off highlighted in Galaxy Watch app

How to Read Text Messages On Your Galaxy Watch

When you receive a text message, you’ll receive the alert of your choice on your watch. Depending on the settings you choose, you may feel a vibration or hear a short alert sound. When you receive that notification, you can wake your watch by raising it, tapping it, or tapping the home key, and the text will appear on the watch automatically.

You can also check and read text messages on your watch manually if you don’t catch the alert in time:

  1. From the main watch face, swipe right.

  2. Your most recent text message will appear. If you want to reply, tap the text message.

    Swiping right to view text message on a Samsung Galaxy Watch.

    If you have multiple texts, you can swipe up to view them.

  3. Tap an input method or a quick reply message.

  4. Tap the send icon (paper plane). Your text message reply will be sent to the recipient.

    Replying to a text message on a Samsung Galaxy Watch.

How to Send Text Messages From a Galaxy Watch

You can also send text messages from your Galaxy Watch if you’re using it with an Android phone or if the watch has an LTE data plan and phone number. 

Here’s how to send text messages from a Galaxy Watch:

  1. From the main watch face, swipe up to access your apps.

  2. Open Messenger.

    Swiping up and selecting Messenger on Samsung Watch.

    If you’ve never sent a text from your watch, you may need to install the app first. Open the Google Play app, and search for Messenger.

  3. Tap Start chat, or tap any of your existing text conversations.

  4. Tap the emoticon to send an emoji, the microphone to use text-to-speech, or the keyboard to type a text message.

  5. After you’ve entered the message, tap the send icon (paper airplane).

    Starting a chat on Samsung Watch

Why Am I Not Receiving Text Messages on My Galaxy Watch?

If you aren’t receiving text messages on your Galaxy Watch, the first step is to make sure text alerts are enabled. That process is described above, and it involves opening the Galaxy Wearables app on your phone and turning on notifications from the messages app.

If you use a different app for text messages, try enabling notifications for that app as well. You may also need to install the companion app for your text app on the watch. If your text app doesn’t support watches or doesn’t support Samsung Galaxy watches in particular, try switching back to the default Android text messaging app.

Also, make sure your watch is connected to your phone via Bluetooth. Check your phone to see if Bluetooth is on, and turn it on if it isn’t. You can also try setting the watch close to your phone to see if it establishes a connection, or take both the phone and the watch to an area where there isn’t a lot of interference from other devices.

If your watch has a data plan and phone number, and you can’t send or receive texts, you’ll need to contact the carrier for more information. The phone number may not be set up correctly on the watch, or another issue may need attention.

FAQ
  • How do I delete messages on my Samsung Galaxy Watch?

    In the Messages app, tap and hold the message you want to delete, then tap Delete. To delete multiple messages, tap any additional messages to select them before you tap Delete.

  • Why do I get two sets of texts messages on my Samsung Galaxy Watch?

    If you have an LTE Galaxy Watch and it's disconnected from Bluetooth, you may get duplicate messages when you reconnect to your phone via Bluetooth. Unfortunately, there's no way around this issue other than turning off Bluetooth.

  • How do I connect my Samsung Galaxy Watch to my phone?

    To connect your Samsung Galaxy Watch to your phone, install the appropriate watch app on your phone, open the app, then tap your watch when it appears. Your Samsung Watch can only be connected to one phone at a time, so to connect to a new phone, reset the watch.

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