Samsung 7 watch not receiving texts when away from host phone

Samsung 7 40mm watch is not receiving texts when away from host phone (Pixel 8 pro) or if bluetooth is turned off. When I attempt to send a text from watch if it is away from host phone using number share, the watch will hang on "sending" and never complete (even though text is received). The receiving number of text will receive the text but if they respond, the watch will never receive it. The phone does receive it, it just wont get forwarded to watch.

Remote connection is enabled in Samsung app.

Both eSims (watch and phone) have been reset, re-activated

Watch has been reset/wiped multiple times and reconnected to phone

Samsung 7 watch was replaced, no change.

All notifications are enabled and have been checked.

Calls work fine from watch both in and outbound when away from host phone.

Watch was purchased on 3/20/25 and did work properly when I first got it.

I have a 2nd setup that's almost identical (Pixel 9 pro and Samsung Galaxy 7 44mm) that works fine and have matched all of the settings. What could be causing this?

Accepted answers

Verizon_Support

Thank you for the details. There's some troubleshooting we'd like to try and you can find it here: https://www.verizon.com/digital/nsa/nos/ui/troubleshooting/acss/samsung-galaxy-watch7#/ Just look for "Text messages are delayed or slow to deliver" as it'll be the closest search available. If this doesn't resolve the issue, please let us know. We're standing by.

~Jesse

All comments

Verizon_Support

We're sorry to hear you've been experiencing issues with your messages on your watch when away from your phone, stevo474. We appreciate all of the steps you have taken so far and would like to check a few other things with you. Just to confirm, are you using Google Messages on the watch and the phone? Using the same messaging app can help with issues. Another setting to check is RCS Messages. Test your messages with this turned off and on to see if there is any change. Please let us know how this goes.

-Danielle

stevo474

Hi Danielle. Thanks for the reply. I am using Google messenger on both devices and have also tried disabling RCS in messenger settings but did not make a difference, watch still does not receive texts.

SynthpopAddict

I've never used a smartwatch, but I thought they always had to have Bluetooth on in order to work, because they are paired to a "main" device, usually a phone? Someone please correct me if I don't have my ducks in a proper row.

If you have Number Share in your plan for the watch, maybe it's a problem with the Number Share setup from what I read on Google:

Carrier Issues:

If your watch independently sends and receives calls but not texts, there may be an issue with your carrier's number sharing feature or their ability to forward text messages. You can contact your carrier for assistance.

Verizon_Support

~Jesse