Is this the end of wearable payments when using a non-Samsung phone?
Samsung doesn’t just make some of the most popular Android hardware out there, but also a lot of popular software. While sometimes compatibility is limited to the company’s own devices, apps like Samsung Internet and Samsung Health offer a glimpse of its ecosystem to outsiders. Even though it can be frustrating when certain features or apps are inaccessible on other devices, at least Samsung is usually clear about compatibility requirements. And that’s why we’re so curious about a number of recent reports that have been popping up, pointing to problems with Samsung’s mobile payment service.
A growing number of submissions on Reddit and the Samsung Community forums show a pattern of Samsung Pay refusing to work, and specifically when we’re talking about the company’s smartwatches (via SamMobile). Upon trying to log into Samsung Pay, an error message saying “ID not valid” pops up for some users, barring them from using the app completely. While initially this looked like it might be restricted to non-Samsung phones, other Reddit reports sure suggest that at least some Samsung handsets are being affected, too.
A few people who talked to Samsung customer support reportedly got told that Samsung Pay will no longer work on non-Samsung smartphones. This kind of communication can hardly be considered official policy, and especially in light of how much broader this issue may be, we’ve reached out to the company for more information — we’ll update this post with any response.
Considering the recent news about Samsung Wallet absorbing Pay and Pass, it doesn’t sound completely unreasonable that the errors users are running into could somehow be tied to the transition. If there really is some change happening to Samsung’s policies for how payments work with wearables — and especially when paired with non-Samsung phones — the company has yet to make any public statement about it. That’s extremely frustrating for everyone affected, so we’re hoping to get some kind of formal response soon.
