With the increasing frequency of authentication on Android smartphones, Google Wallet on Wear OS may require you to enter a PIN code before tapping to authorize a payment transaction.
There have been only a few such reports to date, and Wear OS users have not previously been asked to enter their PIN before paying with Google Wallet. All I had to do was open the Clock app and tap.
If you notice this change, please let us know below.
I haven’t been able to reproduce this on the Pixel Watch 2 over several transactions so far, so it could be that it’s still being rolled out, testing, or just a bug in the app. That said, the fact that this change was made after the phone’s new behavior lends some credence.
It’s clear that the reason for this change is security, but it feels very confusing. The advantage of a watch is that it’s always on you, and Wear OS is already pretty conservative about asking for your PIN even if it thinks the watch is too far away from your wrist. This somewhat means that Google Wallet doesn’t trust the security of his Wear OS, making today’s changes even more confusing.
This new behavior works unless you know to open the app first (assuming there’s a prompt/UI) using the app list/grid, the quick settings tile on Pixel Watch, or whatever’s on the watch face. ), which probably means that the first tap always fails. as a shortcut.
For comparison, you always have to double-tap the side button when making payments with your Apple Watch.
You can use Google Wallet on your phone within 3 minutes of first unlocking it. Then, unless you first open the app and “verify your identity” or always lock/unlock your device before paying, your tap to pay will fail and you’ll have to authenticate and tap again.
Earlier this week, Google confirmed that this was an intentional change to the phone – “Google Wallet enhances the in-store payment experience with new authentication updates” – and it’s now officially rolled out. “Contactless payments with Google Wallet are now even more secure. Before you make a payment, you’ll be prompted to verify your identity with either a PIN, pattern, thumbprint, or Class 3 biometric unlock. , you can also select the option to turn off transit fare verification.
If you have verified your identity on your device in the past few minutes, you may not need to do so for another transaction. Once the validation times out, it must be validated again for the next transaction.
However, the updated support documentation does not specify the form factor. They’re probably talking about phones, but smartwatches aren’t explicitly mentioned.
For people bothered by phone changes, using Wear OS can be an alternative, but not with this new behavior. It’s much more convenient to unlock with your fingerprint than entering her PIN on a small screen. (Speaking of PINs and Wear OS, Pixel Watch should now allow more than four digits.)
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