Android 9 Pie was just released two days ago, but developers have had since March to update their apps. Unfortunately for many users, the Samsung Gear app, which is used for pairing Samsung Gear devices such as the Gear IconX or Gear smartwatches to your smartphone, does not work at all with Android Pie.
Update 8/9, 12:45 PM/CT: A user on the XDA Forums has posted some modified APKs that will temporarily fix the crashing until Samsung patches it.
Update 8/14, 10:20 AM/CT: Well, well, believe it or not, Samsung has actually pushed out an update that fixes the issue.
The app never worked at all with Android P since it was first released as a developer preview, but to make matters worse, this was Samsung’s response to Play Store reviews saying that the app was incompatible with the Android P beta:
It sucks when a company doesn’t live up to its promises, and Samsung certainly did say that the app would “work normally when P OS official version is released.” Well, the official version of Android Pie is out, and upon pairing my 2018 Gear IconXs to my Pixel 2 XL within the app, the app crashes. Of course, I can still pair them to my phone via Bluetooth settings, but I can’t tweak any of the settings for the earbuds because the Gear app won’t work.
And below is just a small snapshot of the plethora of new reviews all saying similar things:
The Play Store website says that the app was last updated on January 31, 2018, but the Play Store app says that it was last updated on November 29, 2017. And to make matters even more confusing, APKMirror says December 22, 2017.
Anyhow, if you’re on Android Pie and use a Gear accessory with your phone, let us know if your app is crashing as well.
Update 8/9, 12:45 PM/CT: Jackz314 over on the XDA Forums posted some modified APKs to stop the Gear app from crashing on Android Pie. You can view his post here and install the modified APKs from here. All you need to download and install is the Samsung Gear app and the corresponding plugin for your Gear device.
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Update 8/14, 10:20 AM/CT: After the Samsung Gear app v2.2.20.17113061 updated to v2.2.21.18080361 (and changed its name to “Galaxy Wearable”), the crashing on my Pixel 2 XL on Android 9 Pie seems to have stopped. No need for the XDA’s temporary fix anymore.
Honestly, I don’t know if this update would have been resolved anytime sooner had Samsung not unveiled its all-new Galaxy Watch last week because the app changelog merely states “Galaxy Watch supported.”
Anyhow, if you haven’t received the new app update from the Play Store, you can grab it from APK Mirror here.
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