Google Pixel Watch 2 | Image credit: PhoneArena
Google had to put the WearOS 5 rollout on hold after receiving a fair number of soft-bricking reports from Pixel Watch 1 and Pixel Watch 2 users. Apparently, the search giant paused the rollout on September 26, but it didn’t provide any details about what’s happening with the update.Today, Google returned with an official statement involving the WearOS 5 update, and it’s not great news. According to the Mountain View company, its engineers are still working on a resolution, which means a fix for the issues hasn’t been found yet.
However, Google is confident that it will be able to provide Pixel Watch 1 and 2 users with an update that will fix the soft-bricking issues by the end of the year. In a short blog post, Google confirms plans to resume the WearOS 5 rollout to Pixel Watch 1 and 2 later this year, “once we’ve mitigated the observed issues.”
Google also promised to share additional updates with its community as they become available, so if anything changes, we’ll definitely let you know.
The soft-bricking issues appeared after Pixel Watch 1 and 2 received the September OTA update. Many users reported that their smartwatches got stuck on a blank screen as soon as they installed the said update.
If you’re one of those affected by this major issue, you’ll have to reset your Pixel Watch. Unfortunately, a simple restart process will not help users fix their wearable devices, so they specifically need to reset their device from Fastboot.
Simply follow the step-by-step instructions below, and that should hopefully fix your Pixel Watch.
- Restart your Google Pixel Watch.
- Long press the crown and the side button of your Google Pixel Watch for around 20 seconds until it shows a dark screen with the white “G” logo. *If your watch is currently turned off, press the crown for a few seconds to turn it on.
- As soon as the watch shows the white “G” logo, tap the upper-left and lower-right edges of the watch face screen at the same time. The watch will go into “Fastboot” mode.
- Press the side button next to the crown to scroll down.
- When “Recovery Mode” is highlighted, press the crown. The message “No Command” will appear on the watch face.
- Press and hold the crown and swipe up on your screen at the same time. A debug screen will appear on the watch face.
- Swipe down until “Wipe Data/Factory Reset” is highlighted.
- Swipe right to reset your watch and PIN.
- Swipe right again to confirm.
- Reset from your phone settings.
