The lack of a backup feature is a major shortcoming of Wear OS. If you want to switch the connection to a new smartphone, you need to factory reset your smartwatch. As such, you’ll have to start all over again once you pair the watch with the new device. You can’t begin where you left off with the same settings and data you had on the previous phone. There are workarounds to it but nothing official. But new code strings spotted in the latest version of the Google Play Services app suggest the company is working on it. XDA Developers spotted the code strings during an APK teardown of the Google Play Services v22.32.12 beta for Android. The strings suggest that your data will be backed up to your Google One account. It’s unclear though whether the ability to backup Wear OS smartwatch data will be available with the free version (15GB of storage) of Google One or users will need to sign up for a paid version. Hopefully, it is the former. Of course, it will be an optional feature. You can always opt to not back up your Wear OS smartwatch data and start fresh on a new smartphone. But backing up will make switching more seamless and faster. Unfortunately, the feature is still in the early stages of development and may take some time to be available publicly. We will let you know once it is here or when we have more information about it.
Samsung already lets you back up your Wear OS-powered Galaxy Watch
Wear OS lacking a backup feature even today is likely because of Google not caring much about the platform for years. Only after Samsung joined forces last year that the company is actively developing its smartwatch platform. Samsung’s Galaxy Watch lineup, including the newly-launched Galaxy Watch 5 series, already lets you back up your data. You need a free Samsung account for it. You can restore your data on the new device by signing in with the same account.
