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When I turn on the "Always On" mode in settings the "just two watch hands" mode sputters (flashing a couple of times) on the screen. Within a second or two the full watch screen then reappears. If I set the watch down on a flat surface, a variant of the same thing happens: the two watch hands (only) will appear for a second or two, then sputter and then the screen goes blank. If I use a digital watch face, it's the same thing except it is the numeric time values in black and white that sputter on and off. I have done a factory reset and it didn't help. If I have an app loaded up, same thing: the screen dims, the watch face sputters on then off again and the app lights back up. I called Samsung tech support and they are a complete joke. I thought that in "Always On" mode you would see just the dimmed watch hands and nothing else most when in watch mode. Help!
For me the Always on works fine with Samsung watch faces, however it behaves erratically with custom watch faces.
ColMustard said:
For me the Always on works fine with Samsung watch faces, however it behaves erratically with custom watch faces.
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Interesting. I've tried it with several of the stock watch faces and with a couple from Mr. Time Maker and they all have the same problem. So, when "Always On" is "On" what happens if you just sit the watch down on a table or something? Does it stay on or does it need to somehow recognize that it is on a wrist? And, do you see just the watch hands when the watch is "idle" and then the full watch screen appears when you lift the phone towards your line of sight? Just trying to get a proper diagnosis here - thanks for your help!
I'm thinking you also have the Wake-up Gesture under the Device setting turned on. If so, these both being turned on can compete with each other. Try turning that off, and see if you like the results. Also, to save battery, the always on watch hands will turn off if the watch senses you set it on a table. Apparently, they will also turn off if you remain still for a prolonged period (30 or 60 minutes?), like laying on a couch or bed.
FitzAusTex said:
I'm thinking you also have the Wake-up Gesture under the Device setting turned on. If so, these both being turned on can compete with each other. Try turning that off, and see if you like the results. Also, to save battery, the always on watch hands will turn off if the watch senses you set it on a table. Apparently, they will also turn off if you remain still for a prolonged period (30 or 60 minutes?), like laying on a couch or bed.
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I was really hoping that you had the solution - seems logical. Alas, I tried turning off the wake up gesture and am still having the same problem. Thanks so much for taking the time to try to help out,
Intljock said:
When I turn on the "Always On" mode in settings the "just two watch hands" mode sputters (flashing a couple of times) on the screen. Within a second or two the full watch screen then reappears. If I set the watch down on a flat surface, a variant of the same thing happens: the two watch hands (only) will appear for a second or two, then sputter and then the screen goes blank. If I use a digital watch face, it's the same thing except it is the numeric time values in black and white that sputter on and off. I have done a factory reset and it didn't help. If I have an app loaded up, same thing: the screen dims, the watch face sputters on then off again and the app lights back up. I called Samsung tech support and they are a complete joke. I thought that in "Always On" mode you would see just the dimmed watch hands and nothing else most when in watch mode. Help!
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How would you expect it to behave? I ask because, unless I'm misinterpreting what you are saying, mine does the same thing, but this is how I would expect (and want) it to work.
It seems to me maybe you expect "Always On" model to suppress the display of the full watch screen even the the wake up gesture is enabled and activated. If that is the case, then what you are expecting is inconsistent with the design.
GeorgeP said:
How would you expect it to behave? I ask because, unless I'm misinterpreting what you are saying, mine does the same thing, but this is how I would expect (and want) it to work.
It seems to me maybe you expect "Always On" model to suppress the display of the full watch screen even the the wake up gesture is enabled and activated. If that is the case, then what you are expecting is inconsistent with the design.
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I think that you were misinterpreting what I was trying to describe. However, now, for whatever reason, I did another factory reset and it is working correctly and as you described. Thanks for taking the time to assist me!
Intljock said:
I think that you were misinterpreting what I was trying to describe. However, now, for whatever reason, I did another factory reset and it is working correctly and as you described. Thanks for taking the time to assist me!
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Glad it is working correctly.
I wasn't having your problem but I thought mine was fudged too when I was first playing with it. With it in my hands the ambient mode kept going from screen off to dim w/ the hour/minute hands.
I figured out later it tires to sense when you set the watch down. If you are playing with it, it gets confused. If you set it down on a surface, the screen will go off in ambient mode but will keep the screen lit up when wearing it.
I can't say I have the same problem (Regular Model, Don't use Always On Mode) but another possible reason for it to act erratic when its off your wrist is the watch constantly detects your body to make sure it is on you, this comes into play especially for the auto unlock screen feature for your phone as well as when NFC payments through the watch become available.
Same for me, mine is set to "Always On" is "On", "wake up gesture" is Off, watch face is Modern Utility or BALR, I have it on my wrist and I have two issues:
- When I turn my wrist (to look at the watch) it isn't showing the full display. Have to use a button or the "ring" for this. It worked for several days and then it stopped working. I have done a factory reset already. Seemed to work for a few minutes and then it got confused again.
- Occasionally it even doesn't show the watch hands when in "ambient" mode.
My expectations are:
- "Always On" shows watch face, dial and hands, ALWAYS
- "Aways On" is "Off" shows black screen and when looking at the watch is automatically turns on. Some "smart" watch faces show only dials when screen is "Off"
- "wake up gesture" should not have any impact.
Guys (Gals?), if You want to keep the display turned on all the time, just install 'I am alive' app and have it running in the background.
Carl Stoepker said:
Same for me, mine is set to "Always On" is "On", "wake up gesture" is Off, watch face is Modern Utility or BALR, I have it on my wrist and I have two issues:
- When I turn my wrist (to look at the watch) it isn't showing the full display. Have to use a button or the "ring" for this. It worked for several days and then it stopped working. I have done a factory reset already. Seemed to work for a few minutes and then it got confused again.
- Occasionally it even doesn't show the watch hands when in "ambient" mode.
My expectations are:
- "Always On" shows watch face, dial and hands, ALWAYS
- "Aways On" is "Off" shows black screen and when looking at the watch is automatically turns on. Some "smart" watch faces show only dials when screen is "Off"
- "wake up gesture" should not have any impact.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are 3 ways to reset the watch:
1- Light Reset
- Factory Reset
2- with restore previous settings & Apps
3- without restoring previous settings & Apps
Using reset-2 did not fix the "Buggy - Always On" issue
Using reset-3 did fix the "Buggy - Always On" issue.
Carl Stoepker said:
Same for me, mine is set to "Always On" is "On", "wake up gesture" is Off, watch face is Modern Utility or BALR, I have it on my wrist and I have two issues:
- When I turn my wrist (to look at the watch) it isn't showing the full display. Have to use a button or the "ring" for this. It worked for several days and then it stopped working. I have done a factory reset already. Seemed to work for a few minutes and then it got confused again.
- Occasionally it even doesn't show the watch hands when in "ambient" mode.
My expectations are:
- "Always On" shows watch face, dial and hands, ALWAYS
- "Aways On" is "Off" shows black screen and when looking at the watch is automatically turns on. Some "smart" watch faces show only dials when screen is "Off"
- "wake up gesture" should not have any impact.
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Click to collapse
The wake up gesture is initiated by the accelerometer, meaning any movement will wake the watch.
---------- Post added at 08:09 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:07 AM ----------
Intljock said:
I think that you were misinterpreting what I was trying to describe. However, now, for whatever reason, I did another factory reset and it is working correctly and as you described. Thanks for taking the time to assist me!
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Glad you got it worked out.
Carl Stoepker said:
My expectations are:
- "Always On" shows watch face, dial and hands, ALWAYS
- "Aways On" is "Off" shows black screen and when looking at the watch is automatically turns on. Some "smart" watch faces show only dials when screen is "Off"
- "wake up gesture" should not have any impact.
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Click to collapse
But that is not how it is supposed to work. "Always On" is suppose to show only hands, except with you use the wake up gesture (and that feature is enabled) at which point it will show hands and full watch face.
GeorgeP said:
But that is not how it is supposed to work. "Always On" is suppose to show only hands, except with you use the wake up gesture (and that feature is enabled) at which point it will show hands and full watch face.
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Thank You, finally. I said before - just use 'I am alive'. Standard option is not for that...
Just searched and found this thread, had the same issue, turns out the on body detection is the cause, as in if it's not on you it will go off, if you have it on it stays on as in the boring watch hands
While I had my my AT&T S3 Frontier LTE watch set to "Always On" I was getting something like a "Screensaver" which consisted of just the hour and minutes hands in white on a black background. It came on after the watch display dimmed and after the display time out. This happened while using the Chronograph+ (default) watch face. It was a distinctive + useful screen face that probably saved me some battery life. Now the displays dims after the time out and then it turns completely off (black). After I power cycled the S3 yesterday, I stopped getting this "Screensaver" and can't find the settings combination that will get this "screensaver" back. Does anyone know what I'm talking about and how to get it back?
tamanaco said:
While I had my my AT&T S3 Frontier LTE watch set to "Always On" I was getting something like a "Screensaver" which consisted of just the hour and minutes hands in white on a black background. It came on after the watch display dimmed and after the display time out. This happened while using the Chronograph+ (default) watch face. It was a distinctive + useful screen face that probably saved me some battery life. Now the displays dims after the time out and then it turns completely off (black). After I power cycled the S3 yesterday, I stopped getting this "Screensaver" and can't find the settings combination that will get this "screensaver" back. Does anyone know what I'm talking about and how to get it back?
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Click to collapse
Enable Settings -> Style -> Watch Always On
tamanaco said:
While I had my my AT&T S3 Frontier LTE watch set to "Always On" I was getting something like a "Screensaver" which consisted of just the hour and minutes hands in white on a black background. It came on after the watch display dimmed and after the display time out. This happened while using the Chronograph+ (default) watch face. It was a distinctive + useful screen face that probably saved me some battery life. Now the displays dims after the time out and then it turns completely off (black). After I power cycled the S3 yesterday, I stopped getting this "Screensaver" and can't find the settings combination that will get this "screensaver" back. Does anyone know what I'm talking about and how to get it back?
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I don't think I've really ever used the default faces. I know in a lot of the Watchmaker faces you can get a toned down face with maybe just the numbers and hands glowing when using AOD mode but I don't know about the default faces. In display settings there's a setting for auto low brightness that may affect that.
10urshin said:
Enable Settings -> Style -> Watch Always On
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If you read the first sentence of my post you'd see that I'm already using this setting.
tamanaco said:
If you read the first sentence of my post you'd see that I'm already using this setting.
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Click to collapse
Yea i have read it. Not just first sentence but I also read the whole thing, you must admit it is not really making much sense. "Screensaver"? There is no such thing on this watch, only AOD and "Now the displays dims after the time out and then it turns completely off (black)." this sentence perfectly describes the AOD off behavior. So i thought it worth mentioning.
Only other thing that comes to my mind is default analog AOD watchface(attachment) which is something watch shows if the current watchface does not support AOD. But since you stated that you were getting your "screensaver" on Chronograph+ which supports AOD, it doesn't really make sense either.
Anyway hope you'll find your answer.
I also saw this "screensaver" mode in a review video somewhere, but I have not been able to locate it again. Once I find it, I'll post a screenshot of it.
tamanaco said:
While I had my my AT&T S3 Frontier LTE watch set to "Always On" I was getting something like a "Screensaver" which consisted of just the hour and minutes hands in white on a black background. It came on after the watch display dimmed and after the display time out. This happened while using the Chronograph+ (default) watch face. It was a distinctive + useful screen face that probably saved me some battery life. Now the displays dims after the time out and then it turns completely off (black). After I power cycled the S3 yesterday, I stopped getting this "Screensaver" and can't find the settings combination that will get this "screensaver" back. Does anyone know what I'm talking about and how to get it back?
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Click to collapse
Thinking more about it, I don't think the AOD is even supposed to remain on all the time. That has been a major complaint, the AOD mode not being actually AOD. What you're experiencing now isn't normal and there should be no setting to change that. If you want to set up the watch again, you might try resetting it. That's assuming you've already tried just restarting it.
What comes to my mind with "Watch always on" (or "Always On Display", AOD) and having screen completely black is if watch thought at some point that you weren`t wearing it - only in that case should the screen go completely black with AOD set, otherwise it should, well, keep "always on display", that`s the point of the setting
When you take the watch off your hand, then it goes blank even though AOD setting is still active - watch is "playing it smart" to preserve battery life in case where you`re not actively using it.
But, it`s possible for the watch to (wrongly) think that you`re not wearing it even when you do, thus turning the screen off when it should otherwise be in AOD mode (as set). For example, it can happen when your wrist band is a bit loose so the heart rate sensor has issues reading your pulse, or when the heart rate sensor itself is smudgy or otherwise blocked to make the valid reading - some people with tattoos reported that AOD doesn`t really work for them, having the screen constantly turning off (tattoo effectively confusing the heart rate sensor reading).
This is especially troublesome if you`re using "Samsung Pay", where the watch asks for you PIN in order to unlock itself every-single-time, as it`s thinking that you didn`t wear it in the meantime...
All this said, from what you described, it looks like AOD doesn`t work for you at all anymore, as what you seem to call "Screensaver" is actually AOD - a dimmed and more simple version of the watch, whose main purpose is to spare the battery while still providing a bit more realistic feel, having the watchface shown all the time.
There is additional "trick" to trigger AOD mode (once you have the setting configured), besides simply waiting for some (configured) time to pass by - just cover the watch with your palm for a few seconds, and it should fall back to AOD mode. If the screen goes blank instead, you might have an issue with the watch.
It would be good to have some default watchface in use when you`re trying AOD (like mentioned Chronograph+), just to opt out a possibly "broken" third-party watchface, and you could also check if "S Health" heart-rate reading works for you, starting a heart-rate readout manually (you can use a widget for that as well).
If the issue is still there, you may try restarting the watch again, or eventually soft (or factory) resetting might be a thing to go for, too, though you`ll have to setup the watch again, as already mentioned.
I have seen the exact same behavior. My AOD will suddenly become black and white, while normally it is full color, and any app icons that are usually on the AOD disappear. When the watch is active (by turning wrist or touching the screen), the full color face returns and looks normal - it is only the AOD that is always B&W. The difference for me is that I don't like it and I would like to figure out how to get it to stop happening.
I've had the watch for about 2 months and it has happened to me 3 times with different watch faces. It lasts from several hours to more than a day. I have changed every related face setting, changed faces, changed face settings, AOD settings, restarted, and reset the watch completely (and restore), but it still happens. The only thing that I've noticed may help (may be coincidence) is that it will stay indefinitely until I power cycle the watch. After restarting, the AOD remains black and white for a few hours and then suddenly the color AOD will return. Next time it happens I will take a pic.
I'm actually somewhat relieved that I'm not the only one who has seen this because my googling revealed next to nothing. I don't know if I would call this a screensaver, but it would be nice to be able to control it.
annulation said:
I'm actually somewhat relieved that I'm not the only one who has seen this because my googling revealed next to nothing. I don't know if I would call this a screensaver, but it would be nice to be able to control it.
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I knew I was not seeing things... please take a picture if it happens again, so that we can have a reference image. I'll do the same if it happens to me again. In certain situations... I actually like just having the hour and minute hands in "brightish" white on black background. Like you, I would also like to control it. I thought it was a "screensaver-like" feature as the watch face turns mostly black. But as you say, it might be a glitch... it has not happened to me since I last power cycled the S3.
Low Color AOD
I finally figured it out.
The behavior is called "Low Color AOD" and "High Color AOD". It is controllable by swiping from the right side of the screen near 5 o'clock straight up. This consistently toggles it for me, and a popup message shows a message saying either "Low Color AOD" or "High Color AOD". See pics attached (sorry, don't know how to rotate them).
Pics:
1. Low Color AOD
2. High Color AOD
3. popup message Low Color AOD
4. popup message High Color AOD
Only some faces support this behavior. For me, "Low Color AOD" always means monochrome B&W and no app icons.
PS - this face is called "Stylish Set" and the creator gives free coupons for it if you email him. It is one of the few faces I've found that shows day/date, with temperature and battery.
As mentioned, the function described is dependent on the functionality of each watch face independent of the watch itself. If a given watch face supports it, it can be accessed. The "always on" function also depends on the capabilities of each watch face. Some have customized always on displays, and some do not (generic). The watch will go black if it senses it is not against the skin (the sensor on the back). This will also cause the watch to lock again and require the security code to re-activate. If a band is too loose, the watch can falsely think it has been taken off. The time that the watch face itself is on can be extended with an app called "Flaunt" available from the Galaxy app store. It can extend the original watch face active time to 30 minutes. It can then be re-activated to extend for other 30 minute time periods. Of course it does impact the battery life.
Hey guys,
I was hoping a few people here could do a quick test for me. On my watch (Gear S3 Frontier non-LTE), I have noticed a difference in the dimming depending on the brightness set.
Basically, if you set a brightness level of 1 OR 2, and turn always-on display ON, I have noticed that when the always-on kicks in, the watch also significantly dims itself.
As soon as you set a brightness level of 3 or higher, the always-on display kicks in but does not dim itself at all.
Can anyone else try this and let me know if you get the same results? Basically, does your always on get significantly dimmer when using the 1 or 2 brightness level, and does your always-on seem to not dim at all after switching the brightness to 3 or higher?
Thanks!
Yea that happens: https://forum.xda-developers.com/gear-s3/help/automatic-low-brightness-t3540063 . I never set my brightness to 1 or 2 tho. I always keep it at 5. So not sure about that.
10urshin said:
Yea that happens: https://forum.xda-developers.com/gear-s3/help/automatic-low-brightness-t3540063 . I never set my brightness to 1 or 2 tho. I always keep it at 5. So not sure about that.
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I'm not talking about the auto-low brightness. This happens whether or not this setting is on, for me at least.
HuntingMage said:
I'm not talking about the auto-low brightness. This happens whether or not this setting is on, for me at least.
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my suggestion is to keep brightness at 3-4-5 and then install the app "theater mode". When you're inside and don't need too much brightness just tap on the Theater Mode widget so the whole thing gets dim. When you're out tap it again, and the watch goes back to the brightness (3-4-5 depending on what you set).
I have this great phone since a week now but what is really annoying for me is the automatic display brightness mode. Since the sensor is in the middle of the buttom, it is often hidden by my hand and the display brightness is too low.
Is there any trick to improve this behaviour without disabling automatic mode completely? Something like a minimum brightness level (probably time based).
Or am I the only one with this problem?
Since the OTA last week, my auto brightness is determined to set itself to minimum almost every time I turn the phone on. Even in direct sunlight. Really annoying bug.
mike freegan said:
Since the OTA last week, my auto brightness is determined to set itself to minimum almost every time I turn the phone on. Even in direct sunlight. Really annoying bug.
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Same problem here in outdoors, is there any fix?
Does anyone else have issue with the continuously flashing green light at the back of the watch? It even happens when I'm not wearing my watch. My "stress" measuring is set to "manual only" and my HR measuring is set to either "Manual only" or "every 10 minutes while still". I've tried both settings and experience the same issue. The only way to make it stop is reboot the watch but then a couple of hours afterwards it starts again. When I reboot the watch I do notice the green light being on sometime when I take the watch off but as soon as I set it upside down the light goes off. It also activates again when I pick it up. It feels more like it's trying to figure out whether I'm wearing the watch or not. This green light is still, doesn't blink. That's not what I'm complaining about. The issue I'm having is a constantly flashing green light. It doesn't seem like it should be doing that and the fact that it's not doing it for a while after I reboot the watch seems to support that thought.
I have the latest software updates and tried resetting the watch also with no luck.
I just took a manual HR reading and that stopped the blinking, for now. As a test, I went into the HR settings and set it to measure contiously and noticed that the light would blink continuously however when I set the watch face down on the table the blinking would stop and only continue when the watch was back on my arm. So even with the setting set on continuous it's technically not supposed to be blinking when you're not wearing the watch. Regardless, my setting was always either "measure every 10min when still" or "manual only". It's interesting that taking the manual reading for now has made it stop blinking.
I've noticed that same behavior, so I keep it set to manual for now...
Mine does it even when it's on manual. It seemed to be working fine earlier but then I set it down to charge and when I picked it up later it was flashing like crazy again. I have all the sensors set to manual and I also don't have a watch face that displays any of the sensor information. I'm actually returning it today because it just does not seem like normal behavior. But like I said, when it appeared to be working fine again I did a little test and set it to measure HR continuously at which point the light was flashing like crazy while the watch was on my wrist however as soon as I took it off and set it face down on the table it would stop flashing. And I would assume that's the way it's supposed to be working as opposed to flashing non-stop even when you're not wearing it.
Wow, that sounds like a buggy sensor! Agree it should not be flashing nonstop when not wearing it....
I've had the replacement for 2 days now and don't notice the issue with this new watch. Same settings as before.