After previously having connection woes with the Pixel 9 series, the Galaxy Watch 8 looks to be near-incompatible with the new Pixel 10 lineup. Google says it’s “looking into the pairing failures,” but a recent system update seems to have solved the issue.
Update 9/12: Following an update to the August 1 Google Play services update, users are reporting that the Galaxy Watch 8 can now connect to the Pixel 10. It’s unknown if this is the case for other Pixel devices, as the issue appeared to include other models.
In our own testing, a previously barred Galaxy Watch 8 Classic paired flawlessly to our Pixel 10 Pro XL on the first go following the update. It’s worth noting we skipped signing into Samsung Health at the start, though that should have no bearing on a successful connection.
The connection appears stable after rebooting both devices.
At the time of launch, Galaxy Watch 8 users immediately saw issues connecting to the Pixel series on Android 16 QPR1. This was somewhat expected, considering the software was in beta form and connection faults aren’t out of the ordinary with pre-production software.
That issue has since been resolved with subsequent updates.
However, it appears Google’s Pixel 10 series is now suffering from the same problem, though beta software has nothing to do with it. This comes from a post on Google’s official support forum. One user submitted a ticket indicating that their Pixel 10 Pro would not connect with the Galaxy Watch 8, and over 260 users have indicated that they’re experiencing the same issue.
According to them, after confirming pairing codes on both watch and phone, the setup fails or glitches out. No pending updates seem to be the issue.
Some devices on the NewGeekGuide team are seeing the same issue. After getting the Watch 8 Classic to work on the Pixel 9 Pro Fold with no problems, upgrading to the Pixel 10 Pro XL resulted in multiple failed setup attempts. Sometimes the Pixel 10 Pro would refuse to give a pairing code, and the Watch 8 Classic would have to be reset because of the error. Other times, the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic and Pixel 10 Pro XL could agree on codes and begin the pairing process, though it never exceeded 84% completion without faulting. This issue takes a tremendous amount of time and has no success.
Google responded to the forum poster. It says it’s looking into the issue with the Pixel 10 Pro XL specifically, though we’d assume other Pixel 10 models are also being addressed.
The team is already looking into the pairing failures with Pixel 10 Pro XL and I’ll update this thread once there’s more information to share.
The original entry was posted on August 30. At the time of writing, it’s been over a week since Google responded to the thread. The thread has since received a substantial number of replies from users expressing the same issues.
The issue has come up on Samsung’s forums and Reddit, too. The number of users affected implies that this issue is widespread for the majority of Watch 8 and Pixel 10 users.
Gone unsolved, the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic is a $350+ paperweight.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Comments