A Pixel Watch bug could make users late for work

If you need to be somewhere at a certain time or want to avoid oversleeping in order to get to work on time, the alarm on your smartwatch can be very useful. But it is not useful if the alarm happens to sound late instead of on time. And this seems to be an issue with some Pixel Watch users. One Reddit subscriber with the user name "91114" wrote, "I have an alarm for 7PM set as a reminder to give my son his milk. It worked just fine for a while but as of the last few days (started Monday) it was going off late."

"On Monday it showed it was still set for 7PM but it went off at 701," the Redditor posted. "So I thought maybe it was some kind of glitch and deleted the alarm and remade one. Same time (7PM) and it went off at 702 instead. Has anyone else encountered something similar to this?" Well, the quick and dirty answer is that yes, other Redditors are reporting the same problem with their Pixel Watches.

One member who is known as "blaqice" says, "I have been having an issue that has now occurred 4 or 5 times in which my alarm will sound a few minutes before or after the time that it is set for. This morning it alerted me 1 minute after its set time but a few nights ago it was 6 minutes after. Only once it has gone off before its set time and that was roughly 4 minutes early. I've had the watch since December, but all of these instances seem to have happened within this month so I'm wondering if an update broke something?"

A problem introduced by the latest update is a possibility. However, most of the late alarms had been set to go off in the morning which indicates that the issue could have something to do with the timepiece being in a deep sleep before the alarm goes off. Just like humans, rousing a Pixel Watch from a deep sleep might be easier said than done.

Since this most certainly sounds like some software problem, we're hoping that a future update will exterminate the bug. Otherwise, you just might have to double-set your alarm times on your smartphone. Somehow, telling the boss that you arrived late for work due to a software issue on your Pixel Watch doesn't sound like an answer that is going to get you much sympathy from the guy/gal who signs your paycheck.

Setting a backup alarm is what the Reddit user named "zrobbs" is forced to do. He says, "I've had my Pixel Watch since October and I've noticed that the alarm on the watch has malfunctioned a few times. When going to bed I would set the alarm and then turn on bedtime mode. In the morning I would wake up past the alarm with bedtime mode still active. I figured that means I haven't accidentally disabled the alarm and went back to sleep as that would disable bedtime mode."

He continues, "It hasn't happened more than 3-4 times but it's enough that I am hesitant to use the watch alarm for important things. For that reason, I do have a backup set on my phone just in case. Has anyone else had this happen? All my apps and OS are up to date and I can't seem to find a way to reproduce it. The watch doesn't look like it has restarted in the morning and sleep tracking works properly during the night."

One feature found on Fitbit wearables that Google could use for the Pixel Watch is the Smart Wake. According to Fitbit, "When enabled, Smart Wake attempts to find the best time to wake you starting 30 minutes before the alarm time you set. It avoids waking you during deep sleep so you're more likely to wake up feeling refreshed. If Smart Wake can’t find the best time to wake you, your alarm alerts you at the set time." It won't fix the issue, but it might leave you more refreshed when you're awakened by the alarm.

We will keep our eyes peeled for an update from Google that will fix what really is a serious issue with the Pixel Watch.