‘This thing hurts’: YouTuber’s scary experience as Samsung smart ring battery begins ‘swelling’
A popular tech YouTuber says he had to go to the emergency department after the battery on his smart ring began expanding, painfully trapping the device on his finger.
A popular tech YouTuber says he was denied boarding a flight and had to go to the emergency department after the battery on his Samsung smart ring began expanding, painfully trapping the device on his finger.
Daniel Rotar, who has more than 1.6 million subscribers to his channel ZONEofTECH, shared the terrifying experience in a viral post on X on Tuesday.
“Ahhh … this is … not good,” the UK-based expert wrote, sharing two images of the fitness tracker device on his swollen index finger.
“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?”
Rotar followed up with another close-up photo of the ring’s interior bulging out, pressing into his skin.
“You can see the battery expanding,” he wrote. “Not great for something that’s now stuck to my finger.”
The post quickly racked up millions of views as users shared suggestions — and many questioned the wisdom of wearing smart devices.
“If Samsung made chokers, some would buy and wear them,” one person wrote.
Rotar then shared an update, saying he had been denied boarding due to the issue.
“Been travelling for ~47h straight so this is really nice,” he wrote.
“Need to pay for a hotel for the night now and get back home tomorrow. Was sent to the hospital, as an emergency. Ring got removed … Won’t be wearing a smart ring ever again.”
After finally arriving home, Rotar said he had been contacted by Samsung, which had refunded his hotel and booked him a car, and collected the ring “for further investigation”.
“My finger is also doing well, aside from some small marks that I’m sure will heal in a few days,” he wrote.
He added that the battery on the ring “has been acting very weird for many months” but “when this swelling incident happened, it wasn’t even charged”.
Rotar pointed to several posts on Reddit of users reporting similar battery issues, including one who reported battery swelling a few months ago.
“Personally, I think there’s something going on with the battery inside many (if not most) Galaxy Rings,” he wrote.
“According to these posts on Reddit, Samsung has been offering free replacements but even these ended up having the same issue, later on.
“Samsung told me they’ll inform me of the investigation findings, so will keep you guys posted! Hopefully they diagnose the issue and permanently replace all the affected units.”
Samsung has been contacted for comment.
In a statement to Engadget, Samsung said “experiences like this are extremely rare”.
“The safety of our customers is a top priority and we are in direct contact with this user to learn more about their concerns,” the company said.
The tech giant’s Galaxy Ring went on sale in Australia last year with a hefty price tag of $699.
The tiny device, which weighs between 2.3 to 3.0 grams and comes in sizes 5 to 13, is designed to complement rather than replace a fitness tracker or smart watch.
The Galaxy Ring auto detects workouts such as walking or running, as well as giving users an energy score, monitoring things like sleep time, consistency, activity and sleeping heart rate.
It takes around 90 minutes to charge, with an intended battery life of up to seven days.
Kylie Mason, head of wearables at Samsung Australia, told News Corp last October she was excited Australia would be the first market to launch in Southeast Asia and Oceania.
“It is insanely comfortable and super light,” she said. “It literally feels like you have nothing on … on your fingers.”
Originally published as ‘This thing hurts’: YouTuber’s scary experience as Samsung smart ring battery begins ‘swelling’
