Galaxy Watch 9 users are resorting to fans and ice baths (!!) to fix slow charging speeds

The rollout of Samsung’s latest wearables, the Galaxy Watch 9 and Galaxy Watch Ultra 2, has brought plenty of excitement to wrist-tech enthusiasts, but a growing number of early adopters are hitting a frustrating wall. Despite promises of quick top-ups, users across Reddit and official forums are experiencing painfully slow charging speeds that stretch far beyond Samsung’s official figures.

Samsung officially rates the 40mm Watch 9 at 80 minutes for a full 0-100% charge, while larger models like the 44mm Watch 9 and Watch Ultra 2 are rated for 90 minutes. However, real-world experiences tell a drastically different story. A 40mm Watch 9 owner documented that a full cycle took well over two hours, while a Watch Ultra 2 user reported waiting a whopping four hours under normal ambient room conditions.

From what we can gather, aggressive thermal throttling seems to be the primary culprit behind the sluggish pace. The watches appear to repeatedly throttle charging power — dropping from 5.5W down to 3.5W or lower — as heat builds up during charging sessions.

Things have gotten so ridiculous that affected owners are resorting to extreme DIY workarounds. One user managed to cut charging times significantly by pointing a desk fan directly at the watch during top-ups, while another went so far as to use thermal paste to bond the puck to metal and set it on ice (!) just to maintain full speed.

The complications don’t end with heat management. Several reports on the US Samsung Community forum indicate that backwards compatibility with Galaxy Watch 8 chargers and third-party charging docks is likely broken, with devices frequently displaying “slow charging” alerts or outright rejecting the power source. Curiously, some owners found that plugging into an older Watch 6 puck actually delivered faster results than the included fast-charging cable, pointing toward a possible firmware handshake issue.

This problem doesn’t affect every single unit out there, but the growing number of consistent complaints is hard to ignore. We have reached out to Samsung for official comment regarding what is causing these thermal throttles and when owners can expect a software fix to roll out.