If you glanced at your Pixel Watch (first gen) or an older Galaxy Watch this week and saw only a perpetual "Loading…" or a terse "Can’t download weather data," you’re not hallucinating. The Google Weather app and its related tiles — Forecast, Sun, UV Index — are failing to load on a swath of Wear OS devices, leaving many smartwatches effectively blind to the day’s forecast.
What’s gone wrong
Users report the app getting stuck on a loading screen, then switching to an error that a retry button can’t fix. The tiles that used to surface quick glances of rain chances or UV readings now read things like "Couldn't retrieve your location." The problem isn’t limited to the Pixel Watch 1: multiple older Wear OS watches running earlier firmware (including some Galaxy Watch models) appear affected.
Google told users in September that it would stop offering the legacy Weather app on new Wear OS 6 devices, nudging people toward the newer Pixel Weather experience on more recent Pixel Watch models. That older app was supposed to keep working for existing installs — but a bug (likely triggered by a server-side change or an update aimed at Wear OS 6) has apparently broken compatibility with older firmware.
A customer-support transcript shared publicly indicates Google is aware of the outage and says a firmware fix is coming, though there’s no firm timeline. For now, the company’s guidance is essentially: check for updates from time to time and use alternatives.
How to cope while Google fixes it
A few pragmatic options will get you through the next few days or weeks:
- Install a third-party weather app from the Play Store — AccuWeather is a common suggestion and works reliably for many smartwatch users.
- Use voice: asking Google’s Gemini assistant for the forecast can be a quick workaround if you don’t mind speaking to your wrist. Gemini’s growth into navigation and workspace features shows how Google is folding AI into these experiences; see how it’s being used elsewhere like Gemini-powered navigation features and broader Gemini integrations in Google’s apps Gemini Deep Research.
- Keep an eye on system updates. Support messages indicate the fix will arrive as a firmware update rather than a simple app-side patch, so installing any pending watch or companion-phone updates is the most likely route back to normal.
Owners of Pixel Watch 2, 3 and 4 — and any watch that shipped with or has been upgraded to Wear OS 6 — aren’t affected in the same way because they have the newer Pixel Weather experience instead of the legacy app.
If you rely on your watch for quick glances at weather conditions, switching to an OEM app (Samsung’s weather app on Galaxy watches) or a trusted third-party title will be the quickest path to getting reliable forecasts back on your wrist. The situation is frustrating precisely because checking the weather is such a simple, everyday task — and for many, a watch that can’t do that feels oddly crippled.
Google has acknowledged the bug and said it’s working on a fix; until then, the steps above are your best bet. Keep your watch and phone updated, and consider a third‑party weather tile if you need instant, glanceable data.