Samsung releases update for Galaxy Watch 4 and 5, seemingly fixing ‘raise to wake’ gesture

Kyle Bradshaw | Feb 13 2023 - 9:56 am PT

Only a few weeks after its most recent update, Samsung has begun rolling out a new patch for the Galaxy Watch 4 and 5 series, bringing some timely bug fixes for recent issues like the broken “raise to wake” gesture.

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Unlike Samsung’s Galaxy phones, most of which receive updates on a consistent, monthly basis, the Wear OS based Galaxy Watch series can be hit or miss about getting updates. That said, in the last few months, Samsung has updated its smartwatches almost every month, sometimes even bringing the latest Android security patch.

At the end of last month, the Galaxy Watch 4 & 5 series got a pretty significant update that included the January security patch and the ability to remotely control the camera of your flagship Galaxy phone. However, for some, this same update also caused the “raise to wake” gesture (an essential feature for any smartwatch) to stop working.

A new update for the Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 5 series has begun rolling out, with some reporting it has already arrived for their watch. On Galaxy Watch 4 and Watch 4 Classic, this is the “GWB1” update, while on Galaxy Watch 5 and Watch 5 Pro, it’s “AWB1.”

In both cases, the release notes are short and simple, pointing to bug fixes, and while Samsung does not specify what’s been fixed, early reports suggest the “raise to wake” gesture is once again working as it should.

• Stability and reliability
The stability has been improved.

If you have the Galaxy Watch 4 or 5 series and this update has arrived for your smartwatch, let us know in the comments if the gesture is working correctly.