LG Tackles G Watch Corrosion Complaints With Software Update

A few days back many LG G Watch owners noticed that they received a new software update which bumped up the build number from KMV78V to KMV78Y. The update didn’t come with a changelog so it was difficult to tell exactly what changes were brought by the new update. Someone was able to get through to an LG representative who provided an explanation for the update during an online chat, the update is being rolled out to tackle corrosion issues on the smartwatch.

There have been multiple reports about charging issues with the LG G Watch over the past few weeks, at first glance it appears that the issues are caused by corrosion buildup on the exposed POGO pins located on the back. This is also known as galvanic corrosion which happens when electrical current flows through two different materials and an electrolyte, human sweat is the electrolyte here.

Thus users not only found issues with charging, some even reported feeling uncomfortable while wearing the watch and burns being left behind on the skin. In order to fix this LG has rolled out a maintenance update which disables the current flowing through the metal contacts when the smartwatch is not in the charging cradle. While corrosion may still occur if salt has accumulated on the contacts this update should take care of skin burns for good.

LG is rolling out this update in stages so it may take a while before it goes live across all regions. The company representative assures in the online chat that discoloration and residue buildup on the contacts is completely safe.

Adnan Farooqui
Categories: Gadgets
Tags: g watch, Smartwatches, Wearable Tech