The Wear OS 5.1 update mess has me annoyed and looking for solutions

Google wants the leeway to roll out its Pixel Watch 3 updates over a "few weeks in phases depending on carrier and device type." But when Google can't even complete its rollout before moving on to the next one, it's a sign that things need to change.

I have two Pixel Watch 3 units, a 45mm LTE and 41mm standard. Both are on the November 2024 update, which itself was just a delayed September 2024 re-rollout. That's nearly six months of unchanged software since I first reviewed it.

As someone with a Wear OS column, I had high hopes for Wear OS 5.1 coverage, like testing the new step-count algorithm, judging the UI changes, and deciding if the force-AOD dev tool should be a regular feature.

But the original March 4 update came and went, then the March 19 update window for LTE watches. But in my case, neither Pixel Watch 3 received it, no matter how often I tapped the update screen to trigger it. I tried factory resets in case old pre-release software from my review was holding back the update. Google told me it was "looking into" my case. But nothing helped.

Imagine my frustration as I see Google's April 2025 Wear OS update community post, which notes that "For those that did not receive the original March update, we will be rolling out an update in the coming weeks, more details to come."

In other words, while people had been expecting the update to arrive any day now, Google either paused the update rollout because of bugs or had a bug preventing the rollout to some watches. Now we have more weeks to wait.

The tap-to-update system needs to go

I wanted to write this post weeks ago — explaining why I couldn't cover Wear OS 5.1 yet — but Android Authority's Rita El Khoury made a similar case first and my editor made me pivot.

Her point is pretty straightforward: right now, to check for an update, you go to Settings on your watch, tap System > System update, and then tap the screen frantically for about 30 seconds while the watch invisibly checks for an update.

It's a silly, unofficial method because your watch shouldn't say it's "up to date" if it hasn't checked yet. And if it's not available yet, you miss out on the initial enthusiasm and only get to test new features once everyone else has already moved on.

An obviously better system would be to let us tap a "Check for update" button in the Pixel Watch app, like you do with any phone update. But that only starts to fix the problem.

Better clarity on timing (or a progress bar), please

Old Pixel Watch community posts always said the update would roll out "over the next week in phases." Anyone can wait a few days. Now these updates are requiring "weeks," and Google certainly didn't clarify in its March 2025 announcement that LTE owners would have to wait two weeks or more.

I understand why Google would focus on the larger non-LTE audience first, but the people who spent $450–500 on a premium model, only to consistently wait longer than everyone else, have reason to feel a little aggrieved. And all Pixel Watch owners deserve a bit more clarity on timing, if this is the new normal.

If Google doesn't want to commit to a written-down schedule matching specific devices to dates, then at the very least, it should have some kind of update widget showing the percentage of devices that (should) have received it. That way, people know whether they should continue to be patient or if something has gone wrong.

How about a Wear OS beta program, Google?

A month ago, I wrote that Google's new quarterly Wear OS update plan made sense. Let me be clear now: that opinion was predicated on the idea that I'd actually receive the updates.

I still think the system can work, but we're seeing a rise in large, buggy updates. The September 2024 update to Wear OS 5 required a weeks-long rollback due to bugs. Now this March 2025 update has introduced delayed notifications and crashes from adding watch faces — and there's the fact that not everyone received it.

I don't have the coding background to judge anyone for buggy updates. All I can do are point out common-sense solutions.

Samsung started its One UI 6 Watch beta test in June 2024, then pushed out a stable version in late October. It had 4.5 months of Galaxy Watch superfans giving them beta feedback and pointing out bugs. When the Galaxy Watch 7 and Galaxy Watch Ultra launched with One UI 6 Watch and the older watches updates, I didn't hear of any major software issues.

With a quarterly schedule, Google has consistent, months-long windows where willing Pixel Watch owners could test out new features and catch problems ahead of schedule — preventing time-wasting rollbacks. And for power users, it gives them a chance to try some features out early and feel like they're contributing to the community.

I have to put this complaint into perspective: most Android watches only get one major update per year, and typically fall a year behind Pixel Watches. So waiting weeks for a feature or fixes isn't that big of a deal.

But if Google is going to stick with monthly or quarterly updates, then I don't think the status quo will work. It has too many models now, slowing down updates. And catching every bug without beta testing is starting to seem futile.

As is, the Pixel Watch 3's confusing, delay-heavy update schedule is only likely to annoy the people (like me) who would normally get really excited about tiny feature drops.