Setting up tech can sometimes be annoying...

The Background

Think back, if you can, to Friday, December 12th, 2025. It's easy for me to remember, not just because it was only a month ago at the time of writing, but because it was the best night of my life up until that point: Grade 6 graduation, in my first year teaching Grade 6, and as PLC Leader, and with the best class of kids you could possibly imagine!

We had fun. We had KFC for dinner (their request), I MC'ed the event, we danced, we were jolly, it was amazing.

Afterwards, I washed the dishes - and that's where my problem started.

I rarely wash dishes, for all sorts of reasons - the main one being that I very rarely use them. I tend to use disposable plates and cutlery. Again, all sorts of reasons. But this night, the kids had used a LOT of dishes, and the school's dishwasher could only hold so much at a time, so I opted to wash some dishes manually.

I forgot to take off my Samsung Galaxy Watch 4, which I've had for a few years.

The fatty, greasy water appeared to ruin it. The screen was subsequently either off or always 'fully on' - fully lit up, so nothing could be seen. I know it still worked, as it vibrated when my phone alarms would go off in the morning, it buzzed when I received SMSes, phone calls or emails, etc. I just couldn't see or use the screen.

---

The Solution

So close to Christmas, I looked into options for a replacement. The price difference between another Watch 4 and the latest model - a Watch 8 - wasn't huge. I ordered a Watch 8. It arrived around Christmas and I set it up quickly - turned it on, paired it via Bluetooth.

Everything worked. Joy.

But I wasn't getting SMS notifications. Or call notifications. Or email notifications. I was sleeping through my alarm, as there were no vibrations. And any time I wanted to use features of Samsung Health, like workout tracking or antioxidant measurement, etc., I had to open the Wearable app and click 'Connect' first. Annoying.

As a teacher, I have come to rely on the watch for notifications. I can't always look at my phone or computer during class-time - in fact, I never really can. But I can glance down at my wrist when the watch vibrates to see if something needs my immediate attention.

I looked at settings. I turned off battery optimisation. I turned off Wi-Fi on the Watch 8 (since it was connected via Bluetooth) - I didn't even know it had Wi-Fi! I asked ChatGPT for tips and tried all those. I Googled, and tried everything I saw. I went on the Galaxy-related subreddits and tried everything I saw.

No success.

I went to the Samsung website and engaged with their live chat. The AI bot there didn't help much and connecting me to a 'live agent' wasn't helpful.

Eventually, I went into Bluetooth settings on my phone and unpaired the Watch 8. I then went into the Wearable app and it prompted me to connect to the Watch 8 it could see. It set everything back up. Woohoo.

---

Testing

My next step was to test notifications, etc. I sent myself an email via Gmail. I got nothing. Huh.

I tried to send myself an SMS - literally by opening Google Messages and texting myself - but got nothing. I worked out this likely had something to do with RCS and not actually sending a message to myself. OK. I looked for an Internet SMS-sending service, tried one, got no message. Tried another - it wanted me to sign up (nope). In the end, I resorted to logging into myGov since that requires two-factor authentication via SMS - success!

I then used Gmail to email my Department of Education email address and... success!

Hopefully the devices stay connected now. I keep my fingers crossed.