Some Google Pixel users unable to backup Galaxy Watch 6 while restoring it via Samsung Cloud

Some Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 users are reporting that they can’t use the Samsung Cloud to restore backup data from their old watches.

The problem is most prominent among users who pair their Galaxy Watch with non-Samsung devices such as Google Pixel smartphones.

I have Smart switch GWC6 on Pixel 7. I noticed I have no backups despite all the options set correctly both phone and watch… and smart switch app on the phone. I’ve tried to open smart switch on the phone and it can’t find the watch at all when I try manually (Source)

I have been trying to restore my watch 5 backup to the watch 6 for a couple hours and nothing works. The watch 6 can’t see the watch 5 back up. The one time it did see the back up there was no option to restore it to watch 6. (Source)

With the launch of the Galaxy Watch 6, many loyal fans are switching to the latest and greatest from Samsung.

But due to this bug, users are facing inconveniences as they can’t restore backups from their previous devices.

Restoring data backups has always been a breeze with previous Galaxy Watches. Even the reports point out that the feature is completely functional on the Galaxy Watch 4 and 5.

I just upgraded from the GW4 and *think* I have everything setup correctly (although it was more problematic than I anticipated). However, I don’t appear to be able to backup my settings to the Galaxy Wear app like I was able to on the GW4. (Source)

Samsung offers a dedicated app called Smart Switch for data backup and restore from older devices to new ones.

Unfortunately, despite having the app installed on their devices, users are still facing the problem (1,2,3,4,5).

One individual also claims that it seems Samsung has completely removed the ability to manually backup the watch from the app.

However, according to a user, customers can get back their old watch faces that they had subscribed to through older devices.

To do that, they have to Open the Google Play Store on their phone → then click on their profile picture → then click on Payments & Subscriptions → then click on Budget & History.

At first, it may seem like the watch is witnessing a bug that is preventing data restoration.

However, the real reason could be a very poor choice in the device start-up interface.

As pointed out by a user on Reddit, the Galaxy Watch 6 does offer a prompt to restore data. But it only shows up once!

During the initial boot of the device, users could see a prompt offering to restore their backup from an older watch.

However, if the user opts to decline the prompt, it never shows up again, rendering data restoration almost impossible.

While setting up the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic, there is a step where it asks if you want to restore your backup from an older watch.

This prompt only shows ONCE. After I accidentally skipped it and set up the watch as new, there is no longer any option to go back to restore an old backup from Samsung Cloud or Smart Switch (Source)

So far, there hasn’t been an official statement from Samsung regarding the issue. Fans have been demanding a reform very vocally.

We will monitor the situation and provide an update if there are any additional developments on the matter.

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