How long do smartwatches get security updates?

Usually two to five years, and less than the phone it pairs with. A Google Pixel Watch gets updates for at least three years from its US launch, so the Pixel Watch 2 reaches its guaranteed end this month. Fitbit promises at least two years after a model is last sold on its own store, Amazfit two years from a model's first shipment, and Polar five years from the start of sales. Apple publishes no number at all, and its own records show that so far an Apple Watch's security fixes have stopped when it missed a new version of watchOS, which five models did in September 2026.

End dates by brand, in one table

These come from each maker's own pages as of October 2026, except where the table says otherwise. Read the third column first: it decides whether the years run from a date you can look up or one nobody knows yet.

Two rows are worth a second look. The Fitbit dates "may be extended in the future" because those trackers are still on sale, so today's date is provisional. And Amazfit's list shows how short two years from first shipment is: the Balance and the Active both reached their listed security end in September 2025.

Why a watch gets less than the phone it pairs with

A Pixel 8 phone gets seven years of updates; a Pixel Watch 2 from the same autumn gets three. A watch runs its own operating system and depends on an app on your phone to sync and pass on notifications, so both halves have to keep working together, and the smaller half is dropped first.

The consequence for you is that the watch, not the phone, usually sets the date. If you checked how long your phone will get security updates and felt reassured, the watch probably runs out first. And a watch past its end date still shows your messages and sign-in codes, and on many models can still pay at a contactless terminal.

Apple Watch: the cutoff is the new watchOS

You will read that Apple supports a watch for five to seven years. That counts every update, which is the wrong number for security. Apple's security releases page shows whether each update fixed published vulnerabilities, and the watch entries follow a pattern.

When watchOS 11 arrived on September 16, 2024, it required a Series 6 or later. The Series 4, Series 5 and first SE stayed on watchOS 10. Their last update with published security fixes was watchOS 10.6, on July 29, 2024. Apple did release watchOS 10.6.1 in August 2024 and 10.6.2 in February 2026, but both are listed with "no published CVE entries," meaning no disclosed security flaw was fixed. So do watchOS 9.6.4, 8.8.2, 6.3.1 and 5.3.10, all released in 2026 for retired watches.

iPads are treated differently: the same page shows published fixes in May 2026 for the 2014 iPad Air 2.

That makes September 2026 the date to know. watchOS 27 runs only on the Series 9 and later, the SE 3 and the Ultra 2 and later. It dropped the Series 6, Series 7, Series 8, the second generation SE and the original Ultra. Those watches stay on watchOS 26, and as of October 18, 2026 the last watchOS 26 update is 26.6, from July 27, 2026. Meanwhile the iOS and iPadOS 26 line got 26.7 on September 14 and 26.7.1 on September 28, both listing security fixes. The watchOS 26 line got nothing.

Samsung and Fitbit: why the figures disagree

Samsung's security updates page lists every Galaxy Watch it currently patches, from the Watch5 to the Watch9, plus the Watch Ultra, Ultra2 and FE. All sit in the quarterly group, so about four security updates a year is normal. The Galaxy Watch4, which launched in August 2021, is no longer on the list. A footnote says the list changes "as the internal support period or WearOS support period expires." The page's "up to 7 years" pledge for Galaxy devices gives no figure for watches.

The five years you may have seen comes from SamMobile's report on Samsung's July 2026 launch event, which said that the Watch9 and Ultra2 get five years of security patches, and that models from the Watch4 on had a five-year window too. The Watch4's exit, five years after launch, fits that, but Samsung's own page does not state it, so treat it as an expectation rather than a promise. On that reading the Watch5, launched in August 2022, leaves next.

Fitbit is the opposite case: a firm promise with a moving date. Google guarantees Fitbit devices security updates for "at least 2 years after the applicable device is last sold on Fitbit.com or the Google Store." Nobody knows that date while a model is on sale, so the February 2028 shown for the Versa 4, Sense 2, Charge 6 and Inspire 3 is marked as one that may be extended. The same rule means a Fitbit bought near the end of its run gets about two years, however old the design.

What the law requires

• United Kingdom. The Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure regime, in force since April 29, 2024, makes makers of connectable products publish a minimum support period. Its Schedule 3 excepts laptops, desktops, Wi-Fi only tablets, smart meters, car charge points and medical devices, but not smartwatches, so every watch maker selling in the UK has to state a period.
• European Union. The ecodesign rule that forces long update periods on phones and tablets does not cover watches. The Cyber Resilience Act will: once it applies in full on December 11, 2027, makers must set a support period for each product and state its end date clearly at the time of purchase.
• United States. No rule sets a minimum. The maker's page is the whole answer.

That is why a smartwatch needs a statement while a Wi-Fi only iPad does not, as how long tablets get security updates explains.

When the answer stops applying

• A minimum is not an end. Google's Pixel Watch dates are "at least," and Amazfit says it may still fix critical flaws after a model's end date. Neither is a schedule.
• Polar counts product support, not just security. Once its five years end, Polar says firmware updates and critical vulnerability fixes are no longer guaranteed.
• The phone app can end support for you. A watch that cannot sync with the current app loses features even while still patched.
• Policies change. These are the makers' pages as of October 2026.

How to check your watch and what to do next

On an Apple Watch, open the Watch app on your iPhone, then General, About. A watchOS version of 26 or lower means an older line. On a Pixel Watch or Galaxy Watch, look under Settings, then System or About watch, for the software and security patch details. For Fitbit, Amazfit and Polar, find the model on the maker's support page.

1. Still on the current software, or more than a year left: keep it, and install updates as they arrive. Which updates to install at once applies to watches too, and the security ones are worth not postponing.
2. Past its date: reduce what it can do. Turn off wallet payments and stop it showing message previews and sign-in codes.
3. Pairing trouble after a phone update: rule out the ordinary causes with Bluetooth pairing problems and their fixes before blaming age.
4. Replacing the phone: weigh both dates together, the way deciding when to replace a phone sets out.
5. Buying used or discounted: find the model and launch year, then count what is left; buying safely from sellers you do not know covers what to ask.
6. Selling or handing it on: unpair it from your phone so it is removed from your account and activation lock, then erase it, following how to wipe a device before it leaves your hands.

The same check is worth doing at home, where smart home devices run their own update clocks.