To make a long story short, and to save you some of your precious money: Don’t waste your bucks on this piece of #$%^UI.
After recovering the watch from a serious issue which rendered it useless (obviously due to a problematic firmware version 0.4.0), I thought that I had a properly working smartwatch on my wrist. But I was mistaken.
Since then, the watch started “freezing” at random times, especially when trying to sync data with the app – an issue faced by numerous users. Syncing usually started working properly but then the watch froze. It would not switch off, it would not switch on. The only solution was to remove the back cover and press the reset button. But this meant that all non-synced data would be lost. And they surely were.
After repeating the process numerous times over the past days, I was fed up. I was upset by losing my data because I was not able to have a full time series. My records now are sporadically spread over the days where the watch operated normally.
I am deeply disappointed by the total lack of support by Lenovo. Even if the watch was only targeted to Chinese market, it should work properly for Chinese users. So if a firmware caused issues, I would expect a company by Lenovo to take immediate action. It is a shame for them that the only workaround for bringing the phone back to life was from users/hackers and not by Lenovo.
The Lenovo Support forum is full of complaints about issues with any Lenovo smartwatch ever published. Lousy battery life and charging issues, Bluetooth issues, functions that failed to work from start, inaccurate / missing data, watch buttons coming off etc. All tips for help and workarounds come from users themselves and not by Lenovo – and in the end, most of them prove to be inefficient.
I wonder how Lenovo has the nerve to still sell “smartwatches” without taking notice of all the bugs that plague them and without providing any support at all. I’d definitely avoid them at any cost in the future.
Yes, my Lenovo Watch 9 become almost useless after upgrading its firmware to the official v0.4.0. What happened was that everyone with this firmware version received a “Low Battery” message on their new smartwatches, so Bluetooth could not be enabled and thus connection with the smartphone could not be established – so the smartwatch turned into a traditional wristwatch.
The strange thing is that I tested the watch’s battery and it was full. No matter how many times I reset the damn watch (by removing its back panel and pressing the tiny reset button), it would still show the “Low Battery” message. There was also no way of reverting back to a functioning firmware (i.e. downgrading).
I was disappointed by the total lack of support by Lenovo: Several users reported the issue on the official Lenovo Community Forums but there was no response. The same went for efforts contacting Lenovo support through Twitter and Facebook. Total lack of support.
The solution was tricky but it worked for me: There was a Lenovo Forum member who had seen a post on a Russian forum about a customized version of the Lenovo Watch app. This version would trick the Watch 9 into “upgrading” to firmware v.0.2.0 (in fact downgrading). I only had to do the following:
remove the latest version of the Lenovo Watch app from my Android smartphone,
install the modified version of the Lenovo Watch app from the Russian forum
change the battery of my Watch 9 with a fresh one so that it Bluetooth will be functional again
connect the Watch 9 with the app via Bluetooth
Install firmware version v.0.2.0 as prompted by the app (make sure your phone has internet access)
Remove the modified app version and install the latest one from Google Play
For the last couple of weeks the Watch 9 worked like almost flawlessly after this process, almost three months after being crippled by the latest firmware version. I’ve only witnessed a couple of accidental stops of the watch (mostly when it vibrates, e.g. when reaching the target number of steps or when turning on and off the Bluetooth). This requires when another reset (when I notice it) and leads to loss of the data so far (e.g. the number of steps for the day). It sucks.
Another issue I faced was that the latest version of the app prompted my to upgrade the watch to firmware version 0.4.0 (the bad one!). The workaround I found myself was to pair the Watch with the app only with WiFi turned off. Then, after data syncing is complete, I disconnect the Watch and turn WiFi back on.
In fact, the only issue I faced was that the latest version of the app prompted my to upgrade the watch to firmware version 0.4.0 (the bad one!). The workaround I found myself was to pair the Watch with the app only with WiFi turned off. Then, after data syncing is complete, I disconnect the Watch and turn WiFi back on.
In fact, the only issue I faced was that the latest version of the app prompted my to upgrade the watch to firmware version 0.4.0 (the bad one!). The workaround I found myself was to pair the Watch with the app only with WiFi turned off. Then, after data syncing is complete, I disconnect the Watch and turn WiFi back on.
Video on how to access the back pane’s reset button; a knife will also work
It was that simple but still the solution was not provided by the official Lenovo support but from some experienced users. I was informed that the Watches are not manufactured by Lenovo but by another supplier and then are branded as Lenovo. I could not care less about that; a Lenovo-branded product should have a Lenovo-quality support.
On top of that, another forum member stated that the Watch 9 may be targeted to Chinese market only, and this is why e.g. instructions are only available in English, ads in app are in Chinese, the watch is not available through Lenovo sites other than the Chinese one etc. Even if this is the case, what about the Chinese owners of Lenovo’s Watch 9 with firmware 0.4.0? Don’t they have the same issue as we do? Don’t they expect a solution to this issue?
A nice review of the Watch 9
In any case, Lenovo or their partner put the Lenovo Watch 9 users into trouble, almost crippling their smartwatches. Lenovo did not take ownership of the issue and have not provided any help after many months; they should at least push their vendor to fix the issue.
As a result, my trust in Lenovo as a customer has been disrupted and given the hard competition, it will be hard to restore. Would I upgrade to the more fancy Lenovo Watch X or even X Plus, shelling out even more money for another unsupported device by Lenovo? No way!
I was never especially attracted to fitness trackers; after all, I was not into fitness. But I am into collecting data related to my activities. And I recently started going to the gym.
I found the Lenovo Watch 9 on a sale for something about 20 euros (after applying a discount coupon), including shipping from China, and it was a deal I could not resist: A nice looking traditional watch with smart features.
When I first got it in my hands, I admit I got a bit disappointed…the app, without which the watch is not smart at all, looked crippled and incomplete. Lousy translations from Chinese, mixed bag of data etc. On top of that, coming from a Timex chronograph, which was my daily companion for the last years, the Lenovo watch looked pretty small, with a really hard to read scale and a lousy manual that left a lot to be imagined.
Since then, I have been using it daily and I admit I tend to like it more and more every day.
What I like
The unique combination of a traditional watch with several smart capabilities – at this price level.
It is pretty discreet: Its all-black color, with the brushed black body looks serious and I like the contrast with the white hands and bars.
It is light and feels comfortable even when wearing it all day – a significant difference compared to my larger Timex Expedition Chronograph.
It actually has a lot of features: I mostly use its pedometer and I realized that I can have an indication of the step count by pressing the crown button once (so without connecting to the app). In addition, when I reach my daily goal, the phone starts vibrating! It supports reminders, alarms, remote shutter (but all through the app)
I started using it for monitoring my sleep (and it does a surprisingly good work with that!), I play around with the heart rate functionality of the app (which I find rather inaccurate) and I have set a couple of reminders which make my watch vibrate.
The hands are (supposed to be) illuminous so they look rather bright at night.
I would like it to be a bit larger. It’s not a deal breaker, but I am used to larger wrist watches.
The pretty thin strap; I believe it could be a bit wider, to look more masculine.
The lack of light, so to be able to check the time in the dark; the Indiglo feature of my Timex is a really handy feature and a simple led would do the work anyway..
The lack of date indicator; I tend to look at my watch for keeping up with the current date. It is a feature I look for in all my watches and I miss this one.
I cannot share my progress through social media, as I do with the similar Samsung Health app.
The app is lousy, with bad translations from Chinese to English and weird organization of options. On top of that, the weather forecast never worked for me in Greece. I admit that a received a couple of updates over the past few days, which slightly improved various aspects of the app.
There is no Windows app, which could aggregate data from the watch, allow export in a standard file format and provide various visualization options.
Data about sleep monitoring seem to take ages to sync;
There is no clear info on how long / how much data can the watch hold before it syncs with the app.
The battery is not rechargeable; while it lasts longer (about 1 year, based on some reviews), it would be nice to have the option to recharge it via USB.
From one hand, it is a nice hybrid watch bout on the other hand, it is hard for anyone to imagine how a high-tech and acknowledged company like Lenovo produced something so incomplete (see the app and the Chinese-only manual).
In this context, while I was attracted to Lenovo’s Watch X and Watch X Plus (especially the latter, I am reluctant to pay for something that looks buggy and under development while on the market. I plan to keep the Watch 9 for as long as it lasts and then I will look around for alternatives, even at higher prices.
For the time being, I am happy with my selection and strongly believe that the Watch 9 is a great value for money – as long as one is happy with what it offers.
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