# Having issues with Fossil's Hybrid Retro Pilot Watch (model FTW1318)... Anyone else?



## smithmal (Dec 16, 2021)

New to the forum and hoping for some feedback...

In September 2021 Fossil released an interesting smartwatch called the "Hybrid Retro Pilot" smartwatch in three colors. You can see this watch on the Fossil website here: https://www.fossil.com/en-us/produc...ro-pilot-dual-time-brown-leather/FTW1318.html

At the time I really like this concept as it was a "tweener" smartwatch in that it looked like a classical watch, but it allowed you to contol media content on a BT device and kept track of activity steps by syncing to the Fossil phone app. What's more unlike most smartwatches it used a coin battery that provided a year or more of battery life so you weren't constantly tethered to a charger when using it. This ticked a lot of boxes for me as I wanted a smartwatch without dealing with smartwatch charging oversight. I also like the look of a classic watch vs. all the fancy touchscreens that smartwatches have now. 

I got this watch in early October. Within a month I had an issue where it wouldn't sync at all. I removed the battery and put it back in and then the watch sync'd and worked as usual. About a month after that the watch completely stopped, wouldn't respond to any touches with the control buttons and my app couldn't connect to it. I tried the battery trick again and nothing. I purchased a new battery and still nothing. I sent it in for warranty (which I needed to pay for shipping) to Fossil's HQ in Dallas TX and it will take 2-4 weeks before I hear back.

So far I'm not impressed with this watch out of the gate. Maybe a firmware update from Fossil will fix the watch locking up issue. Anyone else have this watch and can comment on whether they have had any issues?


----------



## Rocket1991 (Mar 15, 2018)

Firmware may fix it. But you may have hardware problems or phone software/system problems.

Hybrid smartwatches usually built on some 3d party internals and not much difference in phone software part either.
So hopes of fossil releasing new firmware are not 0 for sure but i would say they not in rapid fix cycle. 
I had issue with my older Samsung once pairing was transferred from one framework to another and yes, phone software fix solved it. 
Problem with smartwatches is like this. You have watch and you have phone and whatever happening on the phone. Both can create problems which result in loss of connectivity. 
Sending watch back is best course of action. Let them test it and handle it. Nothing stimulates bug fixing like product returns.


----------



## Kent W (11 mo ago)

smithmal said:


> New to the forum and hoping for some feedback...
> 
> In September 2021 Fossil released an interesting smartwatch called the "Hybrid Retro Pilot" smartwatch in three colors. You can see this watch on the Fossil website here: Hybrid Smartwatch Retro Pilot Dual-Time Brown Leather - FTW1318 - Fossil
> 
> ...


----------



## Kent W (11 mo ago)

Have had the same problem myself.

I was originally syncing to my Ipad but got a new Samsung S21 at Christmas and started syncing to that. However the problem still persists. In my case it will work fine for about 7 - 8 days then refuse to sync.


----------



## xymptlx (8 mo ago)

This watch is garbage. When I reset my cell phone the bluetooth disconnected. Since the watch was in storage it sat there, vibrating for two days until someone mentioned there is something in my room that is making a strange noise. It was vibrating several times every 15 seconds or so, just wasting away the battery. After that I could not get it to sync anymore and customer service is horrible. I suspect this watch will end up in the garbage.


----------



## rationaltime (May 1, 2008)

xymptlx said:


> This watch is garbage. When I reset my cell phone the bluetooth disconnected. Since the watch was in storage it sat there, vibrating for two days until someone mentioned there is something in my room that is making a strange noise. It was vibrating several times every 15 seconds or so, just wasting away the battery. After that I could not get it to sync anymore and customer service is horrible. I suspect this watch will end up in the garbage.


I can see that is a disappointment.

Recall though you asked for bluetooth pairing. When you broke the link 
it should try to reconnect. It is like you put your cell phone in the drawer
where it can't get signal. It will keep searching for a cell and run down
the battery. 

You could try charging everything and reset. Otherwise, as you say,
toss it.


Thanks,
rationaltime


----------



## Rocket1991 (Mar 15, 2018)

rationaltime said:


> I can see that is a disappointment.
> 
> Recall though you asked for bluetooth pairing. When you broke the link
> it should try to reconnect. It is like you put your cell phone in the drawer
> ...


He can take battery out of it. it's coin operated hatch. He can try to contact Fossil too.


----------



## xymptlx (8 mo ago)

I found this on the internet - so problem solved, still, I hate having to spend a bunch of time on a watch, every time I decide to use it. I like watches that just work.

Go into the Fossil app.

Go to the Profile page.
Tap on the gear for your active watch.
Tap Calibration.
In your phone, use the buttons to move the hour hand on your watch to point up (like in the picture in your app)
Tap Next.


----------

