Some owners of the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 4 Classic smartwatches are reporting that a software update is bricking their wearables.

Interestingly, it doesn't appear that the update is breaking watches as soon as it's installed. Instead, software version R8xxXXU1GVI3 is causing people problems the next time they need to power their watch on - whether that's after a planned restart or if their watch runs out of power. Either way, trying to turn it back on results in frustration - and one that Samsung needs to fix.

At the moment it doesn't look like there's an actual solution for the issue once you've fallen foul of it, although those who have yet to restart their Galaxy Watch 4 or Galaxy Watch 4 Classic can likely keep it on life support until an updated software release is rolled out. For now, Samsung says that it is aware that "a limited number of Galaxy Watch 4 series models are not turning on following a recent software update". It's also stopped the update from being installed on any other devices, too.

As for those who have already updated and found that their watch won't turn back on, Samsung says that you should take it to your nearest Samsung service center or call a contact center for instructions on what to do next.

Thankfully, it sounds like no new installations of software version R8xxXXU1GVI3 will happen until Samsung figures out what's going on. But that's sure to be of little comfort to anyone trying to resuscitate a bricked watch right now.