A man’s smart ring malfunction ended with an unexpected hospital visit and a missed flight. Daniel, who posts tech content under the handle @ZONEofTECH, shared that his Samsung Galaxy Ring’s battery began swelling, all in the span of “about 30-40 minutes,” he told the Daily Dot, causing it to get stuck on his finger.
Featured VideoWhat happened with the Samsung Galaxy Ring at the airport?
He explained in an X post that the problem started just as he was preparing to board a plane. “Ahhh…this is…not good. My Samsung Galaxy Ring’s battery started swelling. While it’s on my finger 😬. And while I’m about to board a flight 😬 Now I cannot take it off and this thing hurts. Any quick suggestions @SamsungUK @SamsungMobileUS?” Daniel wrote alongside photos of the device.
AdvertisementDaniel followed up with a close-up image that showed the expanding battery. “Closeup. You can see the battery expanding. Not great for something that’s now stuck to my finger,” he posted. Because the ring was swelling, he reported pain and was unable to remove it himself.
Commenters on X quickly weighed in. @sadboystoic, asked, “Was there a battery health indicator? How long have you had the ring? If this happened due to lack of maintenance, then is it user error, or…”
Daniel replied that he had owned the ring since January 2025. He added, “No clue on the battery health (never checked it and not even sure if that’s visible in the app). I think it definitely had some battery issue before, as it stopped lasting for more than 1.5 days. When I first got it, it was close to the advertised 7 days.”
“So I even stopped charging it regularly because of this. When it swelled, it had no battery juice left in it. Also – Reddit is full of reports of Galaxy Rings batteries dying super quickly, so it’s not just me.”
AdvertisementSamsung’s official UK account responded within 15 minutes of his initial tweet. They asked him to send a direct message so the company could assist.
A Samsung spokesperson told the Daily Dot, “The safety of customers is our top priority. This is an extremely rare case, and we are in direct contact with Mr. Rotar to retrieve the product and learn about the concerns.”
However, the timing of the malfunction caused more problems. Because of the emergency, Daniel could not board his connecting flight. He later wrote, “I was denied boarding due to this (been travelling for ~47h straight so this is really nice 🙃). Need to pay for a hotel for the night now and get back home tomorrow👌”
AdvertisementHe said he was sent to the hospital, where medical staff removed the device. Daniel also shared more photos of the damaged smart ring and concluded, “Won’t be wearing a smart ring ever again.”
Daniel posted an extensive follow-up update tweet sharing his experiences and findings with the ring’s malfunction. He also added that Samsung paid for the expenses he incurred due to the faulty ring and would investigate further.
AdvertisementSocial media reactions
The posts drew widespread attention on X, with many expressing concern about the safety of the wearable device. Some commenters speculated about battery quality issues, while others raised questions about potential redesigns that would protect wearers from battery failures such as Daniel experienced.
@gfodor said simply, “new nightmare just dropped.”
Although several users offered tips for removing stuck rings, others focused on the broader implications for Samsung.
Advertisement@NikTekOfficial tweeted, “Who would’ve thought that putting a battery that could expand and explode on a ring would be not such a good idea.”
Another person pointed out, “The problem isn’t the battery. The problem is the failure mode. Expanding outwards wouldn’t have been a problem. Expanding inwards? 😬💀”
He and another X user shared hypothetical troubleshooting on the design of the ring, but ultimately concluded that it would be a better design for the consumer if the battery expanded away from their finger, not toward it.
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