Owners of the Galaxy Watch 9 and Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 are reporting charging speeds far slower than the figures advertised by the manufacturer, with some resorting to unusual measures to speed up the process. Reports across online forums describe full charges taking hours rather than the promised time, and at least one owner has placed the charging puck on ice in an attempt to get results.
The two smartwatches were announced on 22 July and reached shops on 7 August. Buyers who pre-ordered the devices soon noticed that real-world charging times did not match the official specifications.
According to the published figures, the 40 mm Watch 9 should charge from 0 to 100% in 80 minutes, while the 44 mm Watch 9 and the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 should need roughly 10 additional minutes for a full charge.
Charging Times Stretch to Four Hours
Owner reports paint a very different picture. One Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 user described a charge lasting four hours, with several others confirming the same behaviour. A 44 mm Watch 9 owner reported that the device took around two hours to reach above 90%, then struggled to reach 100%, becoming stuck in the 90s despite battery protection being switched off. That same owner noted that a previous Galaxy Watch 4 had consistently completed a full charge in under an hour.
Another owner documented an entire charging cycle that ran for more than two hours. In each case, the devices were charged at normal room temperature using the charger supplied in the retail box.
Thermal Throttling Points to the Cause
Initial suggestions that third-party or older chargers were to blame were largely ruled out, as most affected owners were using the bundled charger. The likely explanation appears to be thermal throttling. One owner measured charging starting at around 5.5W for the first five minutes, with the watch at 15% charge, before dropping to just 3.5W by the end of the test. At that point the watch was only about 50% charged, indicating a fall in charging power of roughly 36% without an obvious reason.
The same owner attempted a radical workaround, gluing the charging puck to a metal plate and dipping it into ice to counter the heat build-up. Reports also mention the use of desktop fans to keep temperatures down during charging.
The Galaxy Watch 9 begins charging at 5.5W before quickly reducing power to 3.5W as heat rises, a pattern consistent with the slower-than-advertised charging times observed across affected devices.
Source
Image: phonearena.com
